We’re going to be hearing more and more about electric vehicles on the road – I should really re-phrase that, to… you’ll be reading more about electric cars, because a) i’m getting one soon, and b) i’ll be reviewing it here!
But in all seriousness, you might have read the news about Royal Mail and their new electric vehicles…
If not, here’s a link to the article on the BBC Website…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41025771
A couple of things with this…
Don’t the vans look really smart! – I mean, when they started with the first electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and the Prius, let’s be honest – they were not the most good looking cars. But this van…
Then, the progress being made… okay, there’s various other delivery companies around the world who are exploring, and even, using electric vehicles extensively in their fleet, which is great news. But it’s always seemed that Royal Mail were a little behind… let’s be honest, they have recently picked up speed in terms of using latest technology not just in delivering letters… but in the whole value stream.
And that’s how we should all be thinking.
How can we be using, the latest technology, in our whole value stream – not just the core activities we do.
Because there’s so much waste in other areas of the Value Stream that can be tackled using technology or more importantly, collaborating with others who are leading in this area.
I often say, you might not have all the answers… collaborate. Go and talk to people. Read and research what others are working on, what your competition is doing – but more importantly, get access (if you don’t already) to incubators, innovation labs, etc… (plenty of them exist) and see how you can work together with other startups, universities, companies in solving problems that either you’re facing or problems that someone has developed an answer for which in the long run… saves you money!
Back to Postman Pat and his new van… he’ll be happy won’t he?! – well, until it breaks down, or he has problems with it – then how easy will it be to ensure it’s fixed quickly. Not something you could take down to the local garage.
Then, there’s the training – mechanics will need to be trained – or is it a matter of having some computers – you plug in and there’s a ‘do it yourself’ process to fixing the problem. You know, similar to how you get your phone going again when it freezes up! (Okay… vans won’t be that simple, but are we heading in that kind of direction?)
I think, it’s a step in the right direction – and i’m sure, those who may be effected with the introduction of electric vehicles (like the traditional mechanics) will be able to see new opportunities and train to do a new type of servicing… which could be ‘electrifying’.
For those who don’t know who Postman Pat is, here you go… enjoy!