Nov 24, 2017  -  SafePlus, a new Government developed and endorsed health and safety toolkit, is now available to all New Zealand businesses, and is set to help lift the health and safety performance in workplaces across the country.  SafePlus currently consists of three products: Resources and Guidance, the market-delivered Onsite Assessment and Advisory Service and the Online Self-Assessment tool.

Malcolm MacMillan, SafePlus Programme Manager says, "New Zealand has an unnecessarily high rate of serious workplace accidents. The social and economic cost of this in New Zealand workplaces is conservatively estimated at $3.5 billion each year, and inflicts an enormous emotional toll on the people affected. We need a change in our workplace health and safety culture and SafePlus provides an important toolkit to achieve that change.

"SafePlus digs deep into a business to assess workers practices, behaviours, attitudes and culture towards health and safety, this behavioural approach helps them identify opportunities and strive for excellence."

The launch of the Onsite Assessment and Advisory Service includes the SafePlus Register of Independent Accredited Assessors so businesses will now be able to directly engage with assessors. The Accredited Assessors have been trained to deliver SafePlus and carry sector specific and generalist experience. This public register can be found at www.safeplus.nz

Mr MacMillan says, "SafePlus Accredited Assessors are an essential component of the SafePlus initiative. The services they provide during an Onsite Assessment and Advisory Service will change the way businesses view their health and safety in the workplace.

"Accredited Assessors use an approach that focuses on the people and their practices rather than written policies and procedures. They engage at all levels of a business, from senior leaders to front line workers, then use these insights to measure a business’s health and safety performance, and provide them with advice and guidance."

SafePlus is a voluntary performance improvement toolkit that defines what good health and safety looks like in the workplace, and sits above minimum legal compliance. It is a joint harm prevention initiative developed by WorkSafe New Zealand, ACC and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

SafePlus has been developed in direct response to the Independent Taskforce into Health and Safety, and the Working Safer Reforms. Working Safer is aimed at reducing New Zealand’s workplace injury and death toll by 25 per cent by 2020. The Act’s key emphasis is on everyone in the workplace being responsible for health and safety.

For more information visit safeplus.nz

Nov 24, 2017  -  The investment group will grow the niche export apple brand Rockit, which is a mini-apple under licence by Rockit Global.  One of the Rockit Global's challenges has been growing enough apples to meet global demand despite production lifting 40 per cent on last year.  In spite of higher numbers, the crop sold out several months earlier than last year and delivered a price increase to growers.

The miniature snack apples, sold in a plastic tube, are grown under license in nine countries and sold in airports, sports stadiums, and in cafes in 29 countries. MyFarm chief executive, Andrew Watters said it had worked closely with Rockit Global to create a one-off opportunity for New Zealanders to share in its apple success story. He said Rākete Orchards Limited Partnership would lease and fund the planting of 55 hectares across four orchard blocks in the Heretaunga Plains of Hawke's Bay. This would be the only new planting of Rockit apple trees in New Zealand next year. Rockit Global would provide the Rockit apple trees, orchard management services, packing and storing and markets and sell the apples offshore. The Rākete Orchards lease model, with a term of 18 years plus two rights of renewal of five years each, suited the production of the trade marked apple which had a further 22 years to run under its plant variety rights, Watters said. MyFarm is forecasting that the partnership would generate a higher return than the "darling" of New Zealand horticulture, Gold3 Kiwifruit.

Watters said investors were forecasted to receive the value of their original investment back within seven years.

"It's a stunning product and an outstanding, unusual investment opportunity. Rockit has cleverly marketed its niche as a sweet crisp, small apple perfect for snacking and then carefully controlled its licensing and supply." Applications for the partnership offer for 1300 parcels of $10,000 closes on December 15.

Watters said investors had previously responded swiftly to opportunities to access returns from the pip fruit industry.

"MyFarm's $3.6 million capital raise to purchase a Hawkes Bay apple orchard in July was fully subscribed within one week of issue."

The company is a specialist syndication business providing land-based investment opportunities in dairy farms, sheep and beef farms, the horticulture sector and rural commercial property. It has more than $500 million of rural assets under management.

|  Source: FreshPlaza ||  November 24,  2017   |||

Nov 23, 2017  -  Air New Zealand is exploring the use of blockchain-based systems within its business, reinforcing its global reputation for innovation and embracing new and emerging technology.  Blockchain is being used globally to build encrypted, shared platforms, providing a secure and efficient way to track the exchange of goods or information. Air New Zealand is looking at a number of potential use cases for the distributed ledger technology including cargo and baggage tracking, retail, distribution and loyalty programme opportunities. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says applications of blockchain are developing rapidly, and the airline is excited by the possibilities. “With its built-in efficiency and security, blockchain has the potential to trigger huge innovation in travel, paving the way for new business models and collaboration.” Air New Zealand is partnering with Swiss travel platform Winding Tree, which is developing the world’s first travel marketplace on blockchain to connect suppliers such as airlines and hotels directly to sellers. “While we are still exploring its benefits, blockchain may offer a streamlined way to retail airfares and ancillary products alongside our current channels. In removing complexity from the sales chain, customers benefit from reduced transactional costs, and airlines benefit from swift and secure sharing of information,” says Mr Golan. Winding Tree Founder and Chief Executive Officer Maksim Izmaylov says Winding Tree is a decentralised alternative to the current travel distribution landscape.   “With a business-to-business marketplace system powering blockchain-based travel booking transactions, startups and companies will be able to gain direct access to travel service providers’ offerings.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Air New Zealand, as it’s an important step in bringing blockchain technology to the travel industry and creating opportunity for innovation,” says Mr Izmaylov.

Air New Zealand has worked with a range of leading technology partners to introduce innovations to enhance the customer experience. These include its artificial intelligence backed chatbot Oscar, who helps customers with queries online and through the Air New Zealand mobile app, and its experiment with the social robot Chip, who assisted customers with check in at Sydney Airport earlier this year. German carrier Lufthansa has also recently announced a partnership with Winding Tree.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  November 23,  2017   |||

Nov 22, 2017  -  In politics, timing is everything. So it might have been inopportune amid a faux furore over Auckland Council business-class travel spending for Mayor Phil Goff to have to made public the details of his two-week sojourn to Europe and Britain.  Goff, however, has been around too long in the public eye, and is too much of a swot, to allow his time astride the world stage to be portrayed as some cosy junket writes Tim Murphy on Newsroom.

Instead, in full-press workaholic mode, he has revealed in a written report to councillors an eye-watering work programme of research on transport and housing and of diplomacy on climate change and World War 1 commemorations.

His 15-page note supplemented by photographic evidence and graphs, even explains that both Goff and an adviser's return airfares to Europe and accommodation in France were paid for by the global Bloomberg philanthropic foundation. (For completeness, that charity deemed business-class appropriate for a travelling public official).

What did the mayor - and the public - learn from the former foreign minister's return to a jet-setting life?

* He may have uncovered a "major New Zealand expatriate investor who is interested in investing in large-scale, built-to-rent developments to help alleviate Auckland's housing shortage. Goff's report says Kent Gardner, of multi-billion dollar investment company Evans Randall, is returning to New Zealand and is interested in projects here similar to those the company developed in the UK. "His goal is to build good-quality long-term rentals with secure tenure, including some social housing. This could represent a major opportunity to increase housing stock to address Auckland's housing shortage."

* He met New London Architecture, an independent forum for discussion on design and planning for the city, which has used 3D technology to create a 12.5 long metre scale model of London, showing in miniature the city's full 85 square kilometres. Notably, Goff says the Auckland Design Office is working with AUT on a similar model for Auckland.

* He had four and a half hours with the chief executive of Transport for London, Mike Brown, and his officials, learning that rubber-wheeled trains that can run along roads without the cost of tram-tracks were not the cost savers some think, because roads have to be strengthened to take the weight of the trams, they need power and the rides are not comfortable. TFL's experience also helped persuade Goff that elevated light rail costs four times as much as grade-level light rail - and underground light rail cost ten times that on the ground. "These costs largely rule out these options for Auckland."

* From TFL, the mayor also learned that autonomous vehicles were "highly . . .

| Continue here to read the full article on Newsroom   ||  November 22,  2017   |||

Nov 22, 2017  -  Company to streamline business operations and support a drive for efficiency across the entire organisation.  Coda Group, one of New Zealand’s leading and most innovative logistics companies, has commenced deployment of Promapp’s cloud-based business process management software (BPM) to streamline business operations and support a drive for efficiency across the entire organisation.

Coda Group was established two years ago as a joint venture between Port of Tauranga and freight and logistics company, Kotahi, to boost the efficiency of New Zealand’s nationwide supply chain, remove wasted capacity and reduce the costs of consolidating the cargo necessary for big ships.

The joint venture brought together four of New Zealand’s leading freight brands, including DTL, Tapper Transport, Priority Logistics and MetroPack, each with their own processes, many of which were paper-based and held in a variety of formats. Many of these processes couldn’t be shared, accessed and updated across the entire Coda Group business operation.

“In order to support the overall business in driving continuous improvement, optimising freight flows and creating a leaner, more efficient organisation we needed to ensure that our processes across the business could be easily aligned with business objectives,” said Wendy Mallowes, Business Process Improvement Lead, Coda Group.

Coda Group has company-wide processes, including those involving freight management, import-export procedures, and health and safety. These need to be consistently adhered to while individual customer requirements also add to the complexity of processes and procedures with specific legal and compliance requirements.

David Choong, Coda CFO, says, “As the business has grown and gained momentum, we concluded that we needed a central repository of business processes and documents on anything relating to operations, from staff induction and everyday warehouse operation to import and export procedures. We needed these processes to be universally followed and updated by our 310 staff at any time and from any location."

Promapp was selected to support Coda Group’s requirements based on its ease of use, friendly graphical user interface and its central repository which enables individuals in an organisation to store and update processes, supporting continuous business improvement.

“Being cloud-based also means that Promapp gives us the ability to share processes with our customers and provide staff with the comfort that they are always working with the latest information,” said Mallowes.

“Promapp’s feedback options will support Coda Group’s approach to continuous improvement which will enable customers to provide feedback and remove waste from the logistics network, boost efficiency and help streamline operations."

Coda Group has also set its sights on deploying Promapp’s Process Variant Management (PVM) software which will help the company manage or eliminate process variations.

Coda Group will be able to standardise processes across the entire company, while simply incorporating process variations to meet the requirements of a specific location, product, or customer.

PVM will also enable Coda Group to customise activities and manage service delivery for key customers helping to improve customer service.

“Ultimately, Promapp will support our strategy to remove wasted capacity, reduce the cost of consolidating freight and create real change in the logistics network. The end game is to provide greater value to our customers and logistics partners and to meet our target to handle more than five million metric tonnes of containerised cargo annually,” said Mallowes.

Promapp will be gradually rolled out across all Coda Group business units during 2018.

| About Promapp

Established in 2002, Promapp (https://www.promapp.com) works with hundreds of organisations worldwide to foster a thriving business improvement and process management culture.  Promapp’s cloud-based business process management (BPM) software makes it easy to create, navigate, share and change business processes, enabling continuous improvement, risk management, quality assurance and business continuity. Providing an intuitive online process repository, an integrated process mapping tool, and a process improvement toolset, Promapp’s proprietary software supports the development of smarter and safer ways to work, while encouraging sharing of information by operational teams rather than limiting it to process analysts and technical specialists.

Promapp’s wide range of public and private sector customers includes: Coca-Cola Amatil, Air New Zealand, WesTrac, Lumo Energy, Toyota, Ricoh, McDonald's, Audi Australia, Department of Justice, Victoria, Adelaide City Council, Waikato District Council and Southland Regional Council. The company is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. www.promapp.com

| A CSO release  || November 22,  2017   |||

Nov 22, 2017  - Kiwi tech companies urged to ‘eat more of their own dog food’ when it comes to selling – Kiwi technology needs to sell itself smarter to realise its full potential to become the country’s largest export industry, according to the latest Market Measures report.

“We don’t face the same environmental constraints of the other two major export sectors –agriculture and tourism – so the potential for tech is virtually limitless,” says Owen Scott, Managing Director of Concentrate Limited, who organise the study along with fellow tech marketing company Swaytech.

“Improving our ability to sell efficiently is one way of unlocking this potential, and ultimately becoming New Zealand’s primary export industry,” says Scott.

Now in its ninth year, Market Measures gathers information about sales and marketing from over 300 New Zealand technology companies, and compares the results to similar data from the USA.

“In the 2017 study we have found that Kiwi companies are over-reliant on company founders and high-value sales people to sell their products and services. More than 46% of companies said a founder was still closely involved in sales, and the average sales person in an export market was paid a base salary almost 50% higher than the typical equivalent US sales person.”

“It’s not a scalable approach to generating export sales – 40% of the surveyed companies reported that productivity was their main problem when it came to managing their sales teams,” says Scott.

Bob Pinchin, Managing Director of Swaytech, says the fact that US companies used on average three times the number of digital sales tools (e.g. email automation, contact intelligence and similar) than their New Zealand counterparts, was evidence they were more focussed on efficiency.

“In the tech industry we call this ‘eating your own dog food’, but our firms are turning their nose up at these tools at the moment.”

“We have talented tech sales people who convert leads at an incredibly high rate, but it’s the volume of sales that is the issue – this productivity challenge is one we have to solve to overtake the other two big export industries,” says Pinchin.

“Our tech sales people are really ‘artists’, talented and creative and able to craft sales, but what we need more of is scientists – people operating within a rigorous system able to produce repeatable, predictable sales results at a lower cost,” says Scott.

Scott says that more than ever before, New Zealand tech companies must be willing to invest in sales and marketing, which has been a constant trend of Market Measures since it began in 2008.

“It ranges from a stable 25% of annual revenue spent on sales and marketing (including salaries and costs) for established companies, through to an aggressive 86% for start-up tech businesses.”

“NZTE works with an increasing number of internationally successful tech companies but as the Market Measures study suggests, some of them – big and small – are forgetting to cover some of the basics that lead to export growth,” says Charles Haddrell, Customer Director at NZTE, the principal sponsor of Market Measures.

“Getting your sales and marketing strategies right isn’t just a nice to have – it’s a must have. We’ve worked with hundreds of companies and know from experience that implementing robust sales processes, developing sales and execution skills, hiring well, and being aware of the technologies to support the sales and marketing functions are vital to being successful overseas,” says Haddrell.

The full Market Measures 2017 report can be downloaded from www.marketmeasures.co.nz at a cost of $375.

| A Concentrate release  ||   November 22,  2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  - Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand has brokered an unprecedented partnership investment of AUD$1.14 million to support smallholder coconut growers in Samoa.  The investment partnership, supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Business Partnerships Platform, will expand the opportunities for Samoan coconut cream producers Krissy Co Ltd. and the Savai’i Coconut Farmers Association (SCFA).

The Business Partnerships Platform boosts private sector investments with companies like Krissy Co.

This partnership will enable a two-year project to increase the capacity of the supply chain producing the Fairtrade certified coconut cream Savai’i Popo, scaling up Krissy Co and Fairtrade’s impact in Samoa.

“This partnership will increase the income of smallholder coconut farming households in Samoa, create new jobs, and support the development of new Fairtrade products into Australia and New Zealand markets,” says Molly Harriss Olson, CEO of Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand.

Krissy Co Ltd. and Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand, supported by the New Zealand Government, have worked together since 2012 to initiate the development of SCFA, a smallholder farmer business which achieved Fairtrade certification in 2013.

This DFAT support will enable the Krissy Co Fairtrade partnership to scale up the impact achieved so far.

“Together, we have pioneered Samoa’s only certified Fairtrade and organic coconut cream, and have identified opportunities for a new product line with Krissy Co. that will amplify the benefits we’ve already achieved,” says Perise Mulifusi, Board Secretary of SCFA.

The partnership will support the SCFA to develop a new product line of 200-litre sized barrels of 100 per cent Fairtrade and organic coconut cream, ultra-heat treated for export, to meet current demand from the food service sector in Australia, New Zealand and other markets.

“This project alone will create over 26 new jobs for Samoans and increase the income of 200 smallholder coconut farming households on the island of Savai’i in Samoa,” explains Mr Elvis Prasad, Product Development Manager at Krissy Co.

Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand will oversee the implementation of project activities, including the improvement of processing facilities, business management support for coconut farmers, a tree replanting pilot programme and contributions to Fairtrade Premium investments addressing community development.

“Helping Samoan farmers to grow their businesses is a vital part of our work in the Pacific. This funding will enable producers to invest in their communities and enhance Samoa’s economic future,” Ms Harriss Olson concludes.

| A Fairtrade ANZ release  ||  November 21, 2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  -  Air New Zealand has today announced it will work with the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to explore the establishment of a private afforestation scheme, providing funding to landowners to plant trees in return for the carbon benefits this will create. Building on the success of MPI’s existing Afforestation Grant Scheme, Air New Zealand is working with Government to scope a complementary private afforestation fund, with the airline to engage landowners to plant up to 15,000 hectares of new native and exotic trees. If the fund goes ahead, Air New Zealand intends to offset some of the emissions from its domestic operations with credits generated by the new forestry. It hopes planting will commence in winter 2018. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon says the initiative demonstrates how business and government can work together to move New Zealand towards a low emissions future. "As an airline, managing our carbon footprint is a key challenge and while we are working hard to improve efficiencies, offsetting is an important tool in our carbon reduction efforts. “Air New Zealand has been a strong advocate for more quality offsetting options within New Zealand and we are pleased to work with Government to encourage thousands more hectares of trees into the emissions trading scheme, which will create broader social, environmental and economic benefits,” says Mr Luxon. MPI Director-General Martyn Dunne says the Ministry is well-placed to be involved with this initiative. “MPI has significant expertise and experience in forestry and forestry-related investment. We’re proud to be working with Air New Zealand and the Ministry for the Environment to scope this important initiative, which could have far-reaching environmental and economic benefits,” says Mr Dunne. Secretary for the Environment Vicky Robertson says: “I’d like to congratulate Air New Zealand. Partnerships like this between Government and industry provide the opportunity to make a positive difference to New Zealanders and the environment.”

| An air New Zealand release  ||  November 21, 2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  -  Second Electron rocket was delivered from Rocket Lab’s factory in Auckland to Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula placed 200 km to south east.  After failed first launch attempt on May 25, 2017, Rocket Lab announced that second test flight is planned before end of 2017. For all spaceflights fans in New Zealand we have good news: second Electron rocket arrived to Launch Complex 1 on November 16, 2017.

Second launch attempt named "Still Testing" is planned for December and seems to be different flight comparing to first one, "It's a Test". This time rocket will deliver few Cubesat satellites and deploy them at 300 km x 500 km orbit inclined 83 degrees to the equator.

Payload of Electron rocket will be one Dove Earth-imaging CubeSat for San Francisco-based Planet, and probably two Lemur-2 weather CubeSats operated by Spire Global.

Rocket Lab still has not unveiled when exactly Electron will be launched but is highly possible that second launch attempt will be performed before Christmas.

| A Spaceflight.News release  ||  November 21,  2017   |||

Nov 21, 2017  _  On October 20, 2017, Mastercard announced that developers would be able to access its blockchain technology platform via its Mastercard blockchain API published on Mastercard Developers writes Giulio Prisco on nasdaq.com.

The new service was launched during the Money20/20 Hackathon in Las Vegas after testing and validation had been completed. According to the company, Mastercard's blockchain solution "provides a new way for consumers, businesses and banks to transact and is key to the company's strategy to provide payment solutions that meet every need of financial institutions and their end-customers."

Mastercard wants to provide an easy-to-use, permissioned platform to its network of developers and partners, designed for privacy, flexibility and scalability. According to the company, Mastercard's blockchain technology platform provides privacy by ensuring that transaction details are shared only amongst the participants of a transaction while maintaining a fully auditable and valid ledger of transactions; flexibility by providing the blockchain APIs and a wider suite of Mastercard APIs, with software development kits available in six different languages; and scalability to commercial processing speed. Mastercard emphasizes that its blockchain technology is integrated into the company's widely popular payment network.

At this moment, the Mastercard blockchain website for developers states that, due to an overwhelming amount of interest in Mastercard's blockchain, "We are limiting access to our API documentation to a select audience at this time."

Besides specific use cases such as Proof-of-Provenance and vehicle service history, Mastercard notes that the global market opportunity for peer-to-peer (P2P) bank transfers is $16 trillion. Mastercard intends to take advantage of blockchain technology and the Mastercard Settlement Network to transfer funds between bank accounts.

"The Mastercard Settlement Network reads the blockchain and will transfer the funds between two banks," stated Mastercard. "It then writes a confirmation of transfer to the Mastercard blockchain."

According to Mastercard, the company operates the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Besides developing its own blockchain platform, Mastercard had previously filed for over 35 patents related to blockchain technology, invested in Digital Currency Group and joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance to explore the possibilities of Ethereum technology across a wide range of potential use cases.

"This move comes as a bit of a surprise, as Mastercard previously issued a blanket rejection of Bitcoin," reads a commentary published in Futurism . "Still, Mastercard's blockchain service heralds what Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin described to be blockchain's potential to replace credit cards."

It appears that the payment processing giant, realizing that blockchain technology is here to stay and disrupt the credit card industry, is accelerating its blockchain-related plans. Last week, Mastercard filed a new patent for a " Method and System For Instantaneous Payment Using Recorded Guarantees ."

While it may seem that Mastercard is trying to patent blockchain technology itself, the filing is more specific and targets fast, verifiable and guaranteed payments on a blockchain network.

Mastercard noted that, while fiat currency enables merchants to receive instant payments, it may take several days for a merchant to receive electronic payments due to processing, clearing and settlement times. On the other hand, credit cards are more convenient for consumers. Therefore, according to the filing, there is a need for a technical solution that allows merchants to receive instantaneous, guaranteed electronic payments while maintaining a high level of consumer convenience.

| A Nasdaq release  ||  November 20,  2017   |||

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.