Monthly Roundup – April
While many say April showers bring May flowers, we felt “teamwork makes the dream work” was a consistent theme this month. Between blossoming partnerships, acquisitions and new offices, we’re seeing some exciting developments both within Tradeshift and the world of commerce. Take a look!
1. EY shines spotlight on Tradeshift with prestigious entrepreneurs awards program
Tradeshift CEO and co-founder, Christian Lanng, is among the semifinalists for the EY (Ernst & Young) Entrepreneur of The Year Award in Northern California. On May 15th we’ll find out if he moves to next round, so fingers crossed! Our team is thrilled that our leader is among an elite group of innovative trailblazers in more than 145 cities in 60 countries taking part in this global competition.
2. FinTech in London has a fighting chance
But it’s not going to be easy. Philip Hammond, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a speech to FinTech entrepreneurs and investors “the world does not owe us a living” and the UK would have to fight to maintain its status as a leading player on the global stage. From this, he went on to mention the project between HSBC and Tradeshift as a “great example of a partnership between a banking giant and a FinTech entrepreneur to develop practical solutions to support everyday businesses”. We’re excited about this partnership as well!
If you’re in a leadership role, you can expect your first hundred days to fall under scrutiny. While President Trump’s first one hundred days is graded by both sides of the aisle, take a look at our roadmap for the new CPO’s first one hundred days. It even comes in a handy infographic-checklist form.
4. Automation: it’s more pervasive than you thought
When you think of jobs that are likely to be automated in coming years, you probably think of manual labor and factory jobs that previously displaced middle-class workers. Now, we’re seeing big data and machine learning take over food preparation and administrative support jobs. How will this affect your industry? Don’t wait until it’s too late to find out.
That quote was spoken by the 16th-Century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who is credited with circumnavigating the globe in effort to find a faster way to the spice islands. In keeping with his zeal to revolutionize commerce, we’ve named Tradeshift’s first product update of the year Magellan 1.
We are excited to announce the official opening of our new office in Chongqing, which brings a lot of excitement to the region. On the day before the office opening event, we were thrilled to meet with Liu Guiping, Vice Mayor of Commerce and Industry of Chongqing. This not only gave us the opportunity to discuss our short- and long-term plans in the region, but also gained us full support of Tradeshift activities in China. This month we also announced a partnership with CreditEase to offer low-cost financing to millions of businesses in China. We’re thrilled to continue accelerating growth in China.
7. We’re gonna need a bigger boat
Although technically it occurred in May, not April, it’s official: IBX Business Network is now officially part of Tradeshift! Tradeshifters new and old are banding together as one team with one mission: building commerce for all.
Say you ordered 100 office chairs from a new supplier who promised the most exquisite, high-end, luxurious chairs delivered right to your doorstep. They’re a new supplier, but they promise to out-do any other office chair supplier you’ve worked with so you give them a chance. Instead, you receive 95 mismatched folding chairs delivered to the wrong location. About half are broken. The other half require rigorous assembly. You’d be furious. Hopefully this hasn’t happened to you, but let’s use the infamous Fyre Festival as a cautionary tale as to why you should always vet your suppliers.