Innovation and strategic foresight are crucial in high-stakes industries like global logistics. That’s why the most significant investment for the number-one supply chain provider in France was creating a World Lab, a hub for strategic thinking. And at the helm of this lab during its heyday was Nuoya Li.
Thanks to her efforts, one of the largest supply chain providers in the world has navigated the changing waters of global trade even in stormy weather, positioning itself as an industry leader in technology integration and sustainability.
Learn more about Li and her part in helping a world leader in logistics find even greater success.
Nuoya Li’s Early Career
Li was first identified as a promising leader by Dr. Luca Silipo, the then-managing director of Natixis APAC. She drew his attention thanks to an in-depth treatise on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy that involves significant investments in over 150 countries. Her paper — co-authored with Dr. Zhihuan E, chief economist of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) — was published in 2015 by the official magazine of China’s Central Bank, and it demonstrated Nuoya’s comprehensive understanding of the global economy and established her as a thought leader.
Dr. Silipo was particularly impressed by Li’s insights and knowledge at such a young age and offered her a position as the first employee at the World Lab in Berlin.
The World Lab
The World Lab is where the biggest supply chain provider in France tasks its brightest thinkers with improving the organization’s sustainability, economics, and digital transformation.
It’s here that Li and her team were tasked with several duties:
Strategic Idea Generation
Li’s team brainstormed unsolicited strategic ideas in economics, politics, regulatory changes, risk management, and innovation. These ideas were presented to internal stakeholders before being finalized through a collaborative process.
On-Demand Consultancy
The team also provided strategic consultancy services in the core organization’s various lines of business, including assisting in the management of major operations and strategy.
High-Powered Information
The Lab produced regular reports on global economics, regulatory risk, trade flow monitoring, competitor strategies, and financials. And because the World Lab worked independently, these reports and other ad hoc services could be packaged and sold directly to some of the organization’s customers.
Ecosystem Approach to Sustainability
Finally, Li and her team worked to identify and create a foundation for one of the biggest supply chain providers in the world to improve sustainability within the core business.
Nuoya’s Impact on The World Lab
During Li’s tenure, the World Lab developed and implemented several high-impact initiatives that significantly transformed the core organization’s operations and strategy. Li’s ability to take technological advancements and integrate them into the Lab’s workflow was a major driving force in these projects, including when it came to using tools like Tableau to present data in concise, impactful ways.
She is particularly proud of two specific projects:
Looking East: The Asia Route-to-Market Strategy
Li worked to expand the organization’s market presence and improve operational efficiencies in the complex realm of Asia logistics. In a formal presentation, she highlighted how contract logistics companies are vulnerable to digital disruption, and she emphasized the need for timely responses to capitalize on valuable opportunities. She detailed the impact of technology like drones, autonomous vehicles, and warehouse robotics, and she noted the geographical shift of future market growth from advanced economies to emerging economies.
In the end, her strategy provided detailed insights into industry developments and proposed how the organization could leverage its expertise and network to take advantage of them.
Applying Digital Transformation to Freight and Trade
Following an enlightening conference on logistics, Li presented to the CEO of Freight Forwarding, proposing automatic and transparent services to meet customer demand. Her proposal, which was thoroughly researched and backed up by cost-benefit analyses and real-world data, clearly demonstrated the potential of digital transformation.
Despite initial resistance, her persistence paid off, and the implementation of her proposal drastically improved operational efficiency, reduced the cost of sales operations, and generated new streams of revenue.
Nuoya Li: Leading the Future of Logistics
Although Li has moved on from her role at the World Lab and now leads a startup called Forest Friends Innovation Studio, the momentum she established continues to this day, with the Lab achieving significant contributions in her absence.
Li’s time as a pioneer for the World Lab is a strong example of the impact of strategic vision and innovative thinking, and her efforts have cemented the core organization’s position as a global logistics leader. As the logistics industry continues to evolve, her work will undoubtedly influence the sector’s trajectory for years to come.
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