The total damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina ' be it physical, psychological or economic ' is difficult to quantify. But the numbers reported by the Office of State Budget and Management are harrowing: over 100 deaths, US$59.6 billion in damages and thousands of homes destroyed, as of Dec. 13, 2024. More than two months after the storm struck land on Sep. 27, small businesses are still struggling to recover from the flooding and lost inventory. Families remain displaced, their homes laid to waste. But natural disasters like hurricanes don't just endanger homes and infrastructure. There are items at risk that might not have price tags attached to them, but nonetheless matter a great deal to survivors: family photographs, heirlooms, journals, letters and documents. Bright is an objects conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she's responsible for the long-term preservation of the collection, including preventive care and repairs. Lione manages the International Cultural Heritage Protection Program at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute, supporting disaster response globally, including in Iraq and the U.S....

But behind that demand lies a huge amount of inefficiency and fragmentation. Are logistics businesses ready for AI to help run their services better' A startup called Boon thinks the answer is yes. It has now raised $20.5 million to prove that out, by way of a platform to help them make better use of data from disparate applications, to improve their operations, planning, and overall efficiency. 'Think of Boon as the second employee in the back office,' said Deepti Yenireddy, the company's founder and CEO, in an interview. 'Our AI agent is like another teammate doing critical work so that people can focus on tasks that actually make them more money.' Taking just goods carriers alone, there are more than 60 million fleet vehicles globally, according to research from Berg Insight, with the vast majority of the companies operating them classified as SMEs. Meanwhile, the tools they use are equally scattered: accounting, routing, sales, HR ' on average between 15 and 20 different apps and pieces of software are used to run a logistics or fleet company, all existing in silos surrounded by reams of physical paperwork....

All of us are on a continuous journey of learning and growth, and the change of the calendar year offers a chance to reflect. Some of the HBR podcast episodes that have resonated most with listeners in 2024 can help you gear up and get excited for whatever next step may be. They cover topics such as artificial intelligence skills, assertiveness and warmth in the workplace, balancing privacy and public safety, setting boundaries, capturing value, effective communication, and rising from middle to senior management....

Whether you're a fulfillment center, a manufacturer, or a distributor, speed is king. But getting products out the door quickly requires workers to know where those products are located in their warehouses at all times. That may sound obvious, but lost or misplaced inventory is a major problem in warehouses around the world. Corvus Robotics is addressing that problem with an inventory management platform that uses autonomous drones to scan the towering rows of pallets that fill most warehouses. The company's drones can work 24/7, whether warehouse lights are on or off, scanning barcodes alongside human workers to give them an unprecedented view of their products. 'Typically, warehouses will do inventory twice a year ' we change that to once a week or faster,' says Corvus co-founder and CTO Mohammed Kabir '21. 'There's a huge operational efficiency you gain from that.' Corvus is already helping distributors, logistics providers, manufacturers, and grocers track their inventory. Through that work, the company has helped customers realize huge gains in the efficiency and speed of their warehouses....