Posted on 01 February 2013 by Adrian Mather – Comments (0)
Being efficient is one of the most important things a business can strive for, so this week, we’re looking at some great ideas to improve efficiency that are still in the works, but could have a big impact on small businesses in the coming years.
Getting help from robots
What better way to improve your efficiency than to get robots to do all the hard work? Well take a look at how Amazon already uses an army of machines to pick and transfer its warehouse stock - or, if you prefer the idea of machines actually delivering the goods, check out this proposed unmanned drone helicopter that could send a taco to your front door. Check out this video of the Amazon robots at work:
Tweet ThisFinding better ways to pay
There are already some great new ways that businesses can make payments without being charged hefty credit card fees, such as GoCardless or Dwolla. But the next generation of super-efficient payment methods for businesses is also currently in the pipeline. Our tip for the next big thing? Fingerprint scanning like this technology being trialled in French supermarkets and which is rumoured to be on Apple’s radar for inclusion in future iPhones.
Tweet ThisPlaying the game
Need to create new ways to motivate you and your staff, improve efficiency or attract customers? The answer’s simple: treat everything like a video game. These OpEd articles from Forbes and Time explain how “Gamification” is becoming the hottest new trend in business - and how, just like World of Warcraft, structuring your business around gameplay dynamics can encourage you, your staff and customers to level up and achieve mastery.
Tweet ThisMaking business more mobile
Smartphones and 3G-equipped tablets are making it easy for people to do business when out of the office, but the next generation of mobile computing could take efficiency to its next level. We’re intrigued about how “wearable computing” - such as Google’s Project Glass - could beam important notifications about your business direct to your eyes, enable you to do all your work on the go and even automatically translate foreign languages in real time.
Tweet ThisThink we’ve missed out some amazing new technology that’s going to help the world be more efficient? Hit us up in the comments or on Twitter. And have a great weekend!
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Thanks to @freeagent I will never need to use the crappy HMRC payroll software come April.
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