Jonathan Barrett shares how Kallikor brings real and synthetic worlds together to make ambitions a reality
I’ve been in the tech industry for 25-to-30 years,” says Jonathan Barrett, Kallikor’s CEO. “My whole focus has been on how to harness cutting-edge technology to solve business challenges. Over the years, I’ve worked for some very large tech companies like Microsoft and Dell, and more recently, at the other end of the spectrum, with startups.”
Kallikor is a spin-out of the multinational technology company, Improbable. Its legacy is steeped in cutting-edge technology and strategic insight developed for the entertainment, gaming, defense sectors and beyond. It builds rich, world-scale synthetic environments by harnessing the latest AI, gaming, and open-source technologies.
“We have deployed our technologies in the most complex and critical situations and are now bringing these tools into the business world to transform operational strategy. While Kallikor may not be able to solve all business issues associated with the UN’s goals for sustainable development, I do passionately believe that the right use of technology can have a material and positive impact on some aspects, such as carbon emissions, waste in the supply chain, and improving people’s working conditions for example.
“When you consider the technologies in question, such as AI, automation, and robotics, Kallikor can enable organizations to adopt all of them at scale, at pace, and in a way that they have clarity over what the ROI and outcome of adoption will be,” Jonathan explains. “Through modeling and simulation, organizations can see what the future might look like and why they should adopt some of these emerging technologies. This is what excites me when I go out and talk to our customers about how we can help them.
“There is a lot of data out there but one of the challenges is that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Manufacturers are facing uncertain times, particularly where the supply chain is concerned. From geopolitical considerations to unforeseen events, there are implications for a range of circumstances, along with the current skills shortages in certain sectors. Modelling and simulating a synthetic environment enables customers to see how certain events could play out. We think this is essential for businesses going forward.”
AI-powered simulation
The team at Kallikor understands the ever-changing landscape facing corporate leaders. It plays a vital role in enabling the rapid uptake of AI, automation and
robotics in the supply chain. With its AI-powered platform, Adaption, Kallikor helps organizations adopt new technologies and rehearse the transformation of their supply chains and operations to make the needed changes confidently.
“Our platform gives leaders the confidence to plan, knowing precise, robust simulations back their strategies,” he continues. “This gives them the clarity, control, and confidence needed to make decisions at pace. Adaption gives insight into local impacts, providing a clear view of how decisions affect big-picture strategies and everyday actions. The platform makes introducing and implementing new technologies accessible and at lower risk, for businesses of all sizes. By integrating AI-powered simulation tools, Adaption allows business leaders to bridge the gap between ambition and achievement to achieve operational efficiency by deploying data-driven decision-making.
“In the past, advanced simulation techniques were the domain of a few. As such, we aim to democratize access to advanced modeling to enable businesses to adopt new technologies. One barrier to entry is the perceived complexity of robotics and automation and the capital expenditure involved. Clearly an investment is necessary but if modeled correctly, companies will only pay for the applications that will add value.
“Most organizations recognize that they need solutions to drive productivity, improve automation and meet their business objectives. They also know there are a lot of providers out there and our customers want to evaluate their options objectively. This is where our platform can help. Establishing the optimum configuration gives customers confidence that their investment will deliver on their business objectives.
“Adaption is intuitive. It allows users to drag and drop and play around with what-if scenarios, so they can change parameters that are important to them. A user might, for example, want to make a change in a transport distribution network or within the warehouse to view the implications of those changes on other important aspects of the business such as CO₂ emissions. This visualization enables manufacturers and supply chain leaders to take others in their organization on the journey with them.
Tailored approach
“Our platform provides a sophisticated enterprise-scale foundation, enhanced by a suite of interchangeable, purpose-built templates. This powerful modeling and simulation environment enables both experts and non-experts to achieve trusted outcomes through a unified operating platform that ensures a single source of truth. Each template is precisely designed for specific use cases while maintaining seamless compatibility across the ecosystem. We work with the user to understand challenges and then create a model for them. We ensure it is reusable to maximize ROI. By modeling different configurations, we can help our customers predict the outcomes of various initiatives, allowing them to balance efficiency with ecological responsibilities effectively. Sometimes, there may be a healthy tension between the two, but if you can optimize both and reach that equilibrium, that’s a strong position for organizations.
“As its name suggests, the Adaption platform is designed to be highly adaptable, allowing manufacturing organizations to customize simulations to their specific operational and strategic needs. Whether adjusting supply chain lines for better resource allocation or testing new market entries, our simulations provide a safe sandbox to experiment. This tailored approach ensures that solutions are practical, enabling users to tackle their unique challenges in a much more structured and successful way.
Leading the charge
“The team at Kallikor is committed to transforming how businesses think about and manage their supply chains. Our collaboration with industry leaders, cutting-edge technology integration, and focus on practical scalable solutions position us to really lead the charge. Our vision is for a global society that can thrive in the face of uncertainty and that knows how to harness these emerging technologies for the good. We’re excited to partner with businesses to embark on this transformation journey. Many are still thinking about it, but we hope we can give them the confidence to go on that journey to make their operations not just more efficient today, but more resilient and sustainable for the future,” he concludes, “and that’s really at the heart of what we do.”
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