The core premise of the strategic concept of 'proximity' is that, thanks to digital technologies, value is being created closer and closer to the moment of demand ' not just in time but also physically closer. This means companies can, in effect, procrastinate and wait until customer demand is present before producing an actual product or service. This trend, which is made possible by technologies ranging from AI to 3D printing to IoT, can help leaders make smart strategic decisions, especially when they feel overwhelmed by new trends and the speed of change. To do so, they need to first understand the four big shifts that are driving proximity, and then begin to brainstorm ways proximity can pay off in their own organizations....

Digitalization has the potential to transform the way businesses achieve a triple bottom line ' economic, social and environmental ' to address the rising concerns of shareholders. One way to achieve this objective is to enhance transparency and meaningful integration of these dimensions into the entire supply chain, for which digitalization can be a powerful tool. A study on the Impact of Digitalization of Sustainable Supply Chains shows the prospects of various digitally powered technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), additive manufacturing, blockchain, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), all of which can contribute to supply chain sustainability. While there is little doubt that the digitalization of supply chains helps reduce inventory, waste and the environmental footprint, saves time and cut costs, digitalization does not help almost two-thirds of the population of the least developed countries (LDCs) that are still offline. Therefore, the inclusion of the excluded (offline population) is equally, if not more important, if the past development paradigm of "winner takes all" is to be avoided....

'OK, Houston, we've had a problem here,' said astronaut John Swigert in 1970, after an explosion disabled the Apollo 13 spacecraft on its way to the moon, 200,000 miles from Earth. Those iconic words triggered a heroic effort that eventually succeeded in bringing the astronauts home safely. To do so, NASA scientists and engineers needed to develop and test innovative solutions on the fly. A critical tool they used was an Earth-based 'twin' of the spacecraft ' then, mostly physical ' upon which they could experiment swiftly and safely without endangering the astronauts. Half a century later, this concept has evolved into the digital twin (DT) ' a digital replica of a complex real-world entity. DTs comprise two key elements: a high-fidelity model of the entity and a dynamic mechanism to keep the model true in real time, even as the entity undergoes changes. In industrial settings, internet-of-things (IoT) sensors typically provide the data for dynamic updates. DTs are especially powerful tools for mission-critical applications, where experimenting with the physical system isn't feasible or is expensive, time-consuming, and hazardous....

Making infrastructure sustainable requires us to combine the real and digital worlds. By leveraging data for informed decision-making, we drive more efficient asset management, more profitable business, and, most importantly, more sustainable operations'all of which support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Is data really 'the new oil'' Unlike the latter, the torrent of ones and zeroes ' if processed and measured ' can be harnessed to make infrastructure more sustainable. Digitalization is the key to achieving improvements in efficiency, profitability, and especially sustainability. Investment in digitalization yields returns in the most energy-intensive industries, the most life-critical facilities and the most remote locations. While the hinge between the real and digital worlds is often invisible, digitalization is our most powerful tool for sustainable transformation. Let's explore its value in more detail. The volume of data passing through IP networks and stored in various media has long surpassed the zettabyte (ZB) threshold. The information generated by the Internet of Things (IoT) alone is set to grow from 13.6 ZB in 2019 to 79.4 ZB in 2025....