By Leon Gettler, Talking Business

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) will become the norm in medicine, according to franklin.ai, the joint venture between harrison.ai, the clinically-led healthcare AI company and Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL), the global medical diagnostics company.

Franklin.ai general manager Peter Dassos said AI would improve the ability of doctors and pathologists to diagnose conditions such as cancer.

“When I think of AI in the health sector, I think of it providing peace of mind with every single diagnosis,” Mr Dassos told Talking Business.

“I’m considering it as a peer review on every single patient case.

“You don’t have to look far globally to see health care systems are under pressure and need support and I think intelligent software solutions, AI driven, are part of the key to transforming not only access to health care but the quality of health care across a range of specialties.”

Mr Dassos cited cancer as an example of where 100 percent of cancer pathologies required some form of laboratory pathology. Rather than looking at a subset of findings for a given case, the AI can provide pathologists with a broad number of findings, he said. 

“The real benefit of comprehensive AI is that it can analyse a tissue sample, not just for one or two or three abnormalities but for a broad range of abnormalities. That’s one of the key differentiators we’re looking at delivering with our AI solution.

“It’s the ability to broadly add a specimen or multiple specimens and share those insights with the doctor.”

AI IS LIKE A CLINICAL COLLEAGUE

Mr Dassos said AI was like doctors having a colleague that they could tap on the shoulder for a second opinion on every single case, rather than cases that may be of interest,

“That benefit of almost a 100 percent second opinion or 100 percent peer review on every analysis performed,” he said.

Mr Dassos himself comes from an engineering background. He studied engineering at the University of New South Wales and his final year thesis focussed on understanding cochlear implants in brain MRIs and how that could impact diagnosis.

With that background in medtech and biomedical engineering, he spent a decade at Resmed launching cloud and software solutions and then transitioned into harrison.ai with the primary goal of setting up franklin.ai.

Mr Dassos said AI models fed off complex data sets and franklin.ai was in the process of building a large team with diverse skill sets. \

These included the AI component, the front end team of doctors, and a platform engineering team that is working on “all the technology under the hood”. There is also a clinical team, regulatory affairs and quality assurance components.

The findings will be scientifically validated and published in peer-reviewed journals.across the globe.

“I believe this concept of augmenting doctors with AI insights is going to become the norm in modern medicine,” Mr Dassos said.

“This concept or paradigm of a second pair of eyes on every single case is going to apply not just to pathology but to a number of areas across modern medicine.”

Mr Dassos pointed out that the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia was reporting on current and projected pathologist shortages.

“When I think of global health care shortages, across medical specialties, and I think of that ability to provide that second pair of eyes or an instant second opinion, I think of peace of mind for doctors and patients, and I think it will absolutely become the norm as part of a doctor’s daily workflows,” Mr Dassos said.

www.franklin.ai

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness.

https://play.acast.com/s/talkingbusiness/talking-business32-interview-with-peter-dassos-from-franklin

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AUSTRALIA’s courier, express and parcel (CEP) market has been forecast to grow to $15 billion by 2025 – according to a Mordor Intelligence report – thanks to an online shopping boom worth $47.9bn last year. This is projected, according to IbisWorld research, to increase 8.9 percent this year alone.

It is in this environment that Richard Thame has strong ambitions for CouriersPlease (CP), having joined as CEO in February this year.

“Australia presents a significant growth opportunity for the CEP market, largely due to the surge in online purchases, its readiness to adopt innovation, its established trading ties with South East Asia, and a relatively stable economy,” Mr Thame said.

“This is despite the increased operating costs for the industry on the back of rising oil prices, supply chain disruptions and the challenge of scaling up fast to meet demand.

“The industry is also going through much change and consolidation, presenting an opportunity for CP to build on its strengths as a reliable, innovative and sustainable delivery provider with a 40-year heritage.” 

Mr Thame said in the coming three years the most successful industry players will be those that “digitise their operations, outside of physical deliveries; can pivot quickly to respond to external economic, supply chain and environmental changes; and can disrupt the traditional delivery model to deliver an enhanced customer experience”.

“The challenge for large, recognised carrier networks is to evolve their traditional models, by leveraging their national footprint, large warehousing network and fleet, brand recognition, industry and customer relationships, and deep understanding of the industry – all of which take many years to establish.”

Singapore Post advantages

As part of the Singapore Post (SingPost) group, Mr Thame said CP was able to offer customers a range of services from warehousing, logistics technology, parcel delivery and logistics optimisation.

He said the CP franchise model sets it apart from other providers and means that customers are dealing with fellow business owners rather than delivery drivers.

Mr Thame said CP’s strong metro fleet would help it continue capitalising on the growth of eCommerce in capital cities, while its expanding regional fleet will “provide a better service for the many Australians that have moved to regional areas in recent years”.

Over the next three years, Mr Thame said he would focus on building CP’s capability to meet rapidly growing demand – including in new areas – continuing its strong growth, and transforming the company into one that is sustainable, has a flexible workforce, offers customers more choice and has a stronger digital footprint.

“The customer experience will be an important litmus test for the success of the CP growth strategy,” Mr Thame said.

He said CP was also eyeing global growth.

“We want to tap into global e-commerce trade – up to now, we have been leveraging the SingPost network to deliver to other markets. Working with SingPost, we will launch CP cross-border deliveries, for customers importing products into Australia and providing our current local customers with cost effective access to global markets.”

Revitalising CP franchise model

Locally, Richard Thame plans to revitalise the CP franchise model, which is backed by more than 800 franchisees across 847 active territories.

Passionate about franchising and innovation, Mr Thame is also a director of the Franchise Council of Australia.He has held leadership positions at franchise brands McDonalds and Thrifty, in addition to Fastway Couriers where, as managing director, he led the sale of the company to Aramex and implemented innovations such as the Blu Couriers crowdsourcing platform.

Prior to joining CP, Mr Thame led transformational change as CEO at Snap Print and Design.

Sustainability will remain an important part of the company journey, he said. SingPost has recently announced a 2050 net-zero emissions goal for its global network, and since 2020, CP has been developing sustainable initiatives towards that goal. The company offsets 100 percent of its operational emissions, backed by a LowCO2 certification from The Carbon Reduction Institute.

“From a growth perspective, we will place great emphasis on the customer experience,” Mr Thame said. “We will be delivering a comprehensive product suite with a fully digital customer experience that includes self-service products, recognising that we are an extension of the brands that we deliver each day.”

Mr Thame is enthusiastic about building on the growth and success that CP has achieved. With a passion for working with teams, customer experiences, growing franchisees, and leveraging technology platforms, his vision for CP is clear.

“It is an exciting time to grow one of the country’s most successful and respected parcel delivery companies, in a rapidly changing environment,” Mr Thame said. “In the last two pandemic years particularly, CP has cemented its reputation as one of Australia’s most reliable and sustainable carriers.

“Its efforts in sustainability, innovation and operational performance, and its highest-ever growth, have been recognised through multiple award wins, and have resulted in a rapidly growing franchisee network, a wealth of new talent joining its executive ranks, and strong revenue growth. I look forward to taking the business to the next level.”

www.couriersplease.com.au

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By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

POWERPAL is an app that can cut electricity household bills and reduce the home carbon footprint.

The app has so far reduced CO2 emissions by 21,388 tonnes and helped Australians save $6,955,723, since November 2020, according to Peter Neal, the founder and CEO.

According to Mr Neal, Powerpal works “much like a Fitbit for homes”.

“Your Fitbit provides you with a real time instant feedback on your exercise routine and it will give you prompts to say you’ve been sitting for too long or maybe you should go for a walk this afternoon. What Powerpal does is exactly the same thing but it’s like a Fitbit for your home,” Mr Neal told Talking Business. 

“It will tell you in real time how your home is using energy and then give you tips on ways you can change or adjust your energy use to either improve your energy bills or reduce your environmental footprint.

“It’s an app and the Powerpal product fits on the household electricity meter with magnets that stick on to the meter box. It takes about 60 seconds to install. The app takes the data from the energy meter and displays it on phones in real time.”

Mr Neal said the universal response so far has been people running around their homes holding the app and closing down systems like air conditioners “as they are costing them a fortune”.

“We’ve had people report they’ve reduced their energy use by up to 50 percent,” he said.

Mr Neal said on average people reduced their energy bills by 6.6 percent.

DEVELOPED THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Peter Neal and his crew have used their expertise in customer engagement when they ran a telecommunications business.

Powerpal gets $160 for each product it installs which covers its product costs, marketing costs and installation costs as it requires a registered installer, and then takes some margin for profit. 

Powerpal started in Victoria as part of the Victorian energy upgrades program. The project kicked off in February 2020 and got three weeks in when COVID-19 hit and it had to be mothballed for six months because the company could not go to people’s homes. It then re-started in November 2020.

During the second lockdown, it was fortunate as the system gained an exemption for “solo home installation”.

Powerpall is now planning to expand to New South Wales and has been in discussions with the state government there.

“We’re very much reliant on these government schemes,” Mr Neal said. “I think if we hadn’t had the backing of the Victorian Government, it would have been very difficult for us to get started.”

TAKING TECH FURTHER AFIELD

Mr Neal said Powerpal was now looking at rolling out products that go beyond energy monitoring.

These are potentially global applications and will be funded through different models.

“The plan is very much to use Victoria and Australia as our beachhead and then take our technology off to California, Europe and the UK and go and deliver those benefits to as many places as we can.”

He said Powerpal did not necessarily need good relationships with utilities because it operated “like WhatsApp for energy”.

“We don’t have to integrate with the utility at all,” Mr Neal said “We’re like an OTT player that sits on top of all the infrastructure.

“It gives you this benefit where rather than having to sign up all these little contracts with every kind of energy retailer globally, you just go for it.

“Our technology is compatible with any digital electricity meter and there’s over a billion of them out there so there’s plenty of market to go at.” 

www.powerpal.net

www.leongettler.com 

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness.

https://play.acast.com/s/talkingbusiness/talking-business6-interview-with-pete-neal-from-powerpal

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