Forging the Future of Work
Logistics Service Provider Technology Report
Logistics Service Provider Technology Report
The Logistics Service Provider Technology Report (LSPTR) will be an annual report published by the University of Maryland’s Supply Chain Management Center that aims to provide technology spend visibility for logistics service providers (LSPs) in a variety of areas.
We find that LSPs do not know how much to invest in technology because public filings do not disclose specifics about IT spend, consulting firms have limited data to back their perspectives, and industry analysts are bias and do not collect hard data. Shippers also cannot compare providers' technology capabilities or investments due to LSPs alignment with strategy being unclear despite marketing various capabilities, and they cannot compare their partners’ technology investment within their segment or the broader market.
Publishing an annual technology report compiling technology spend data will provide a solution to the identified problems and create value for stakeholder groups including, but not limited to: LSPs, software vendors, hardware vendors, shippers, industry associations, trade groups, shareholders, and consulting firms.
The report will encompass all technology-related expenditures of the companies who opt in to provide a complete perspective of LSP interest, activity, and spend on technology, with an initial proof-of-concept/pilot addressing 2 key sub-sets of technology in 2025: AI and robotics.
Geoff Milsom - UMD Professor
Jaclyn Wilton - Advisor
Maggie McGuire - Fellow
Ryan Sachar - UMD Undergraduate Student
Ivy Zheng - UMD Undergraduate Student
AI-powered Analysts
We explore how brokerage firms’ investments in artificial intelligence (AI) affect their analysts’ information production. We find that analysts employed at brokerage firms with greater AI integration issue more accurate earnings forecasts. Cross-sectional analyses reveal that AI’s benefits are more pronounced for analysts with less firm-specific experience and when the firm’s disclosures are more readable. Further tests indicate that a key mechanism driving the improvement in forecast accuracy is that AI adoption helps mitigate the adverse effects of analyst decision fatigue and optimism bias. Finally, we find that forecast revisions made by AI-powered analysts are more informative to capital markets. Overall, our evidence points to the advantageous impact of AI on information production capabilities of financial analysts.
Michael Kimbrough, Musa Subasi, Yang Liu
Transforming Products into Platforms: Unearthing New Avenues for Business Innovation
NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, October 2024
It is impossible for brands to ignore digital platform opportunities. Network effects are one of the strongest sources of power and defensibility ever invented and underlie some of the most valuable businesses in the world. Managers and entrepreneurs can leverage the power of platforms by adding some platform elements to their existing products or services, by distributing their brands via existing platforms or by developing their own new platforms. By using one’s own brands as platforms requires creativity but can help businesses unlock new value and build resilient ecosystems around their products. There are three key methods. The first is to invite third-party sellers to enhance existing products. Examples include selling advertising space around products or creating app stores to extend offers. The second is to connect one’s customers by enabling interactions among users to add value. Third, brands might reach out to customers’ customers by enhancing the end-user experience in a way that benefits both themselves and their direct customers. If thoughtfully implemented, any platform strategy will create self-reinforcing feedback loops sparking growth and keeping competitors at bay.
Andrei Hagiu, Associate Professor of Information System, Boston University; Bobby Zhou, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Maryland