AI is saving workers time, but not always improving business performance. This insight explores why hidden effort, poor work design and weak oversight are limiting AI’s impact – and what leaders must do to unlock real value.

Danny Bathmaker, VP of the Office of the CIO at Inchcape Shipping Services, shares insights on leading global technology transformation, creating business value through modernisation, and preparing for the opportunities presented by AI and automation.

A global maritime organisation set out to modernise time‑critical communication across 60+ countries. While a new shared‑inbox platform brought automation and visibility, the real challenge was shifting long‑established behaviours around ownership and ways of working. A globally consistent but locally sensitive change approach focused on confidence and enablement rather than speed. Over 2,000 users transitioned successfully, reducing duplication, improving handovers and delivering more consistent customer communication - proving that sustainable transformation depends as much on behaviour as technology.

As organisations scale globally, locally optimised ways of working can introduce complexity, inconsistency, and rising cost. Fragmented processes and siloed communication reduce transparency and slow execution. A unified global operating model, standardising where possible, adapting only where necessary, and supported by trust‑based change management, creates the foundations for efficiency, resilience, and control at scale, without losing sight of local realities.

A global port agent operating across 53 countries transformed its fragmented, manual invoice processes into a scalable procure‑to‑pay operating model. By standardising core processes while accommodating local complexity, the organisation strengthened financial control, reduced risk, and improved cash flow - all while supporting consolidation into regional hubs and handling over 600,000 invoices annually.

Port agencies are at a turning point. As digitalisation, regulation and customer expectations accelerate, the traditional “helpful go‑between” model is no longer enough. This article explores how port agencies must shift from manual coordination to owning the end‑to‑end port call outcome - using standardised ways of working, behavioural change and data‑driven insight to remain relevant. Over the next five years, those that rethink their role will strengthen their value; those that don’t risk being left behind.

Backend digital infrastructure is now the biggest driver of Retail and Hospitality success. Research shows the real performance gap lies in modernising supply chain systems, data foundations, AI, and automation - not front‑end upgrades. With many businesses still struggling to achieve ROI, leaders must strengthen core systems, improve data readiness, and link tech investment to commercial outcomes. Growth comes from the engine behind the customer experience, and now is the time to get those foundations right.

Culture change fails when leaders focus on messaging instead of the behaviours their systems actually reward. In retail and hospitality, frontline culture is shaped by daily routines, manager decisions and informal influencers - not posters or values statements. Real culture transformation happens when leaders redesign incentives, equip managers and engineer the behaviours they want to see.