ASBM Business
Updates is a Weekly Selective Compilation of Business News from Various
Sources. To find details follow the links.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
WhatsApp,
Facebook’s Over-The-Top instant messaging service that recently hit the billion
users mark, has introduced a new document sharing feature for Android an iOS
devices. According to a report, even though the company has not yet made an
official announcement, users have noticed a new ‘Document’ option show up in
the drop down when the attachment icon is tapped. To make room for the
addition, the photo and video sharing icons have been rolled into the camera
button.
Users
wanting to attach files to their messages will have to click the Document
button to access options from Dropbox, Quip, iCloud or Google Drive. Once the
file is shared a document preview is displayed along with the number of pages,
file type and size. The only catch with the new update is its exclusive
PDF-compatibility for now. It has been speculated that since WhatsApp has taken
the trouble to annotate the document file type, it will begin to support other
file formats in the near future.
A report states this new development reveals WhatsApp’s
commitment to becoming a business-friendly communication tool, something that
was alluded to in January when it did away with its annual fee of 99 cents. Not
only does this present a new means of monetizing the application but a
significant challenge to email and other messaging applications. WhatsApp has
also stepped up its end-to-end network encryption, so when users share
documents of a more personal nature such as e-tickets and brochures, they are
guaranteed security.
LOGISTICS
dPronto
has partnered with online marketplace Snapdeal to provide last mile
logistics. A group company of NSDC backed skilling partner Empower Pragati,
dPronto will provide Snapdeal with delivery staff to provide same day
delivery to its customers.
Starting
with Delhi NCR, the skilling company has a target to train 50,000 personnel
over the next three years for jobs in the logistics sector. Under the new
arrangement, dPronto’s delivery staff will pick up packages from Snapdeal’s
sellers or fulfilment centres and deliver to customers on the same day the
order is placed.
Currently,
Snapdeal’s success rate for same day deliveries is 90%, and the partnership
targets even higher success rates by expanding to other towns across the
country.
Rajiv
Sharma, Managing Director and Co-Founder of dPronto, said: “We are excited
about providing last mile logistics services to Snapdeal starting with
Delhi-NCR. We are confident that this partnership will scale rapidly to reach
many additional towns and thereby help in transforming the lives of
underprivileged youth in those towns.”
ODISHA
BUSINESS
Essar
Steel has
emerged as the successful bidder in the first iron
ore block offered
for e-auctions
in
Odisha. A robust bidding helped the steel maker to bag the block, upstaging
strong contenders like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) and JSW
Steel.
“Essar Steel has won the iron ore block in Odisha.
The company emerged as the H1 bidder, quoting a price of 44.5% over the reserve
price of the block. The first ever iron ore block auction in Odisha
has
fetched a better response compared to other mineral bearing states", said
a source in the know of the development.
The financial bids for the auctions were completed
after seven steel firms had qualified in technical bidding. Tata Steel, JSPL,
JSW Steel, Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel Ltd, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd and
Rashtriya Ispat & Nigam Ltd (RINL) had submitted technical bids.
Deepak Mohanty, director (mines), Odisha declined to
comment on the name of the successful bidder.
“The financial bidding for the iron ore block has
been completed. The name of the successful bidder would be disclosed on Friday
after government approval", he said.
The Ghorhaburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block offered
for e-auctions is at G2 exploration stage and located in Koira sector in
Sundargarh district. The block, with deposits of 99.54 million tonne, has been
reserved for integrated steel plant as end use and mining lease (ML) will be
issued to the successful bidder.
The mineral concession area is spread over 139.16
hectares (ha) including 20.88 ha forest land, 110.69 ha government land and the
balance 7.58 ha private land. Survey of the mineral block has been done by the
Geological Survey of India (GSI).
SUPPLY CHAIN
Two
of the world’s largest coffee companies Nestle and Jacobs Douwe Egberts say
beans bought from Brazilian plantations may have been grown using slave labor
because they do not know the names of all the plantations that supply them. This
followed an investigation
from the Danwatch media and research centre which confronted the two companies
with the possible infraction.
“Two
coffee giants [together account for 39 percent of the global coffee market –
Ed.] admit that coffee from plantations, where working conditions resembled
slavery according to the Brazilian authorities, may have ended up in their
supply chains,” the Denmark-based group said, adding the companies often
bought beans from middlemen and exporters in a muddled supply chain.
Nestle
and Jacobs Douwe Egberts told the Guardian they took DanWatch’s allegations
seriously and were very concerned by the findings.
“We
do not tolerate violations of labor rights and have strongly maintained that
forced labor has no place in our supply chain,” Nestle said in a written
statement to Danwatch. “Unfortunately, forced labor is an endemic problem
in Brazil and no company sourcing coffee and other ingredients from the country
can fully guarantee that it has completely removed forced labor practices or
human rights abuses from its supply chain.”
____________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on Mar 7, 2016
We welcome your suggestions in improving this information updating service.
Knowledge Is Power. Be Informed, Be Knowledgeable, Be Powerful.
Best wishes
Compilation
Sabita Sahu
Sabita Sahu
Asst Librarian
Information and
Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of
Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road,
Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012
Tel:0674-2374832, 2374833
E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, 
Sabita Sahu, Asst Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. library@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in
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