With the constant advancements in medical technology, it is no secret that the medical industry, as a whole, has been able to combat more diseases and administer more demanding surgical procedures, such as orthopaedic, neurological, and even cardiovascular corrective implants.

However, with greater complexity in procedures comes the heightened risk of side effects that may be costly to remedy. In the case of implant-supported corrective surgeries, the body’s immune system may view the implants as foreign or harmful and subsequently develop a hypersensitive allergy to them, beginning with post-surgery complications like impaired wound healing, infections, effusions, or loosened implants altogether.

Immunosuppressive drugs or therapy are the most common stopgap measures for acute bodily reactions to implants. Long-term dependence on these drugs to fully overcome these complications, however, is detrimental and far from sustainable.

Also Read: Healthtech data: The race for new oil in Southeast Asia

This prolonged recovery process leads not only to increased post-surgery follow-up workloads for doctors and healthcare providers but also places great mental and financial strain on patients.

The good news is that the risk of rejections occurring can be significantly reduced by replacing artificial implants with tissue regeneration technology. Before delving further into the benefits of said technology, it is important to first understand what it means.

Tissue regeneration: Understanding what it means

Tissue regeneration is the process in which new tissue is guided to naturally grow or renew itself to replace those that are damaged from disease. Over the past 30 years, the medical sector has been hard at work to unlock the potential of tissue engineering and has seen some notable breakthroughs, allowing for even the growth of an entire skull after a cranioplasty.

Today, tissue engineering can either be done in-vitro (inserting fabricated tissue into the affected area) or stimulated in-situ (harnessing the body’s regenerative abilities to rebuild lost or damaged tissues).

One of the most common applications of tissue engineering is through 3D-printed biomaterial scaffolds that are installed in the body to encourage tissue and bone growth in the surrounding area.

This is achieved by replicating the microstructure that is representative of native bone while also imitating the interconnected pores necessary to facilitate the stages of tissue healing. Hence, a conducive environment for bone cells and blood vessels to grow is created.

Once the tissue and bones are successfully regrown, the scaffolds are designed to dissolve into water and carbon dioxide, leaving behind nothing but a fully healed body part.

This allows patients to rest assured that no foreign materials are left in their bodies for any longer than necessary, in contrast to conventional implants that might need to stay in the body for a lifetime.

Implementing the tissue regeneration technology

This technology has been successfully implemented in the region by Osteopore, a regenerative solutions provider headquartered in Singapore that also operates on Malaysian shores. Their implants are made of a bioresorbable polymer, chosen specifically for its versatility to be applied across various applications in craniofacial, orthopaedic, oral maxillofacial, and dental surgery.

Also Read: Innovating medical devices towards better dental patient care

This material will then degrade over a period of 18 to 24 months, leaving the only natural, healthy bone in its place. Osteopore’s tissue regeneration procedures conducted in Malaysia have so far reported zero rejections, a testament to the viability and effectiveness of regenerative technology.

The reduced risk of post-surgery complications has, in turn, helped decrease the number of follow-up visits to only two-three years of follow-up visits with doctors, as compared to a lifetime of visits normally. Additionally, a re-replacement surgery will be equivalent to the cost of the recent surgery (excluding inflation and the cost of new technology).

This means the total cost is doubled or more to the healthcare system per patient that require re-replacement surgery, not to mention the risk of surgery does increase with age. Furthermore, 3D printing has been reported to produce between 70 to 90 per cent less waste compared to traditional manufacturing methods.

Clearly, tissue regeneration technology is making its mark on the local and global healthcare industry. The financial and medical benefits garnered through the combination of regenerative medicine and 3D printing techniques have proven that tissue engineering is not only an increasingly feasible alternative to traditional implants but that this technology is here to stay.

As such, it is more timely than ever for doctors and stakeholders in the healthcare industry to encourage more widespread adoption of regenerative technology.

Enhancements on a larger scale, such as through increased government funding and greater accessibility to this technology for everyday patients, can go a long way towards ensuring a better future for the local medical industry and, in the long run, positioning Malaysia as a regional leader in championing regenerative medicine.

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Singapore-based customised IoT solutions company UnaBiz has secured an undisclosed sum in fresh funding led by Japan’s SPARX Group to close the ongoing Series B round at over US$50 million.

G K Goh Holdings and Optimal Investment also participated.

This development comes just over a year after UnaBiz bagged over US$25 million in funding led by the Toyota-backed SPARX.

Launched in 2016 by Henri Bong, UnaBiz aims to provide scalable, energy-efficient IoT solutions for firms in critical verticals, such as aerospace, facilities management, F&B, healthcare, logistics, supply chain and smart cities.

Its unique selling point lies in its advances in hardware designs and the company’s deep connection to Singapore and Taiwan’s supply chain and innovative ecosystem.

The company operates with sales offices in Tokyo, Paris, Madrid and Rotterdam, and has two R&D centres in Taipei and Labège.

Also read: How to firm up your IoT strategy to combat online risks

UnaBiz counts Nippon Gas (Japan), Shin Kong Communications(Taiwan), and UEMS (Singapore) among its clients.

Earlier this year, the company acquired the Sigfox 0G technology that powers the global public 0G Network and connects over 10 million sensors for 1,500+ B2B customers through 70+ national 0G operators worldwide.

Post-acquisition, UnaBiz doubled its office locations and tripled in headcount. The company currently employs over 240 employees worldwide.

“Aside from the investments already planned to support business development in strategic markets, we will also use the fresh funds in research and development to further enhance the core low-power 0G capabilities and enable cost-effective long-range connectivity dedicated to very low-value assets,” said Philippe Chiu, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of UnaBiz.

“Our product portfolio will also be expanded to integrate more LPWAN and satellite technologies, ultimately providing aggregated and clean data through UnaConnect service. The proliferation of new solutions aimed at a broader market will allow our customers to enjoy economies of scale and the freedom of choice when collecting data from physical assets – that is what the Technology Convergence movement is about,” Chiu added.

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A long list of five-star reviews and positive customer survey results may look good, but they are meaningless if customers feel pressure to always leave positive feedback.

Negative feedback is necessary; otherwise, you’ll never understand how your customers feel or the areas where your business can legitimately improve. Constructive criticism may be tough to hear, but it’s the only way to learn and grow as a business.

Why do most businesses get inflated positive feedback

If you’ve ever measured your customer satisfaction, do you suspect they are being “too nice” or that your score is somehow “too good”? You are likely receiving inflated feedback from your customers. When you expect to get high ratings and push your customers to give them to you, you lose the value of receiving feedback.

An article in the Los Angeles Times pointed out that customers give 5-star reviews because they are coached to give 5-star reviews.

It’s time you asked yourself if your business is really searching for feedback from your customers or just asking for another 5-star result.

Also Read: Customer retention strategies are getting trickier. Can you keep up?

There’s a natural psychological bias among customers who wish to be perceived as nice people. People giving feedback have no wish for a hard-working employee to get into trouble on their account.

Customers also want to do what’s easy. They may not want to give poor ratings because then they might be asked to answer follow-up questions.

The dangers of inflated customer feedback

Receiving inflated reviews is not only unrealistic, but it’s also dangerous. Customer feedback is supposed to serve a purpose: It’s designed to help you improve your business practices based on data from your customers.

Inflated scores may feel nice and look good in reports, but they aren’t giving you any value.

 You need to truly know how your customers feel about your business in order to make positive changes.

Why you need critical/negative customer feedback

Inflation isn’t the only problem.

You need to receive negative feedback in order to learn from it. Criticism is a healthy part of growth. Without it, you’re left carrying on with business as usual, eyes wide shut to all of the ways you could be improving your processes and outcomes.

Your business must receive negative feedback to determine what areas need improvements. If you receive the equivalent of 5-star reviews across the board in all areas, the data you collect won’t tell you much about how you are actually doing. 

Remember, most customers aren’t going to give you these critical reviews naturally. They’ve been conditioned and trained for years to give positive reviews so they can move on with their day.

On the other hand, you don’t want to wait until you have an angry customer to start receiving some criticism. Chances are this angry reviewer isn’t leaving you constructive feedback with their hot-tempered one-star rating.

Also Read: Customer frustrations: How and when to respond

So how do you flip the script to receive negative feedback and valuable criticism from your customers?

Strategies: How to get critical feedback from customers

Ask for negative feedback

Let your customers know it’s okay to be critical.

You want them to be critical. Simply asking your customers for negative feedback will make a difference. If they aren’t completely thrilled with everything your business is doing, you want to hear about it. Let them know that it’s okay to give a negative review and how much it will help your business improve if they take the time to be critical.

Survey timing

Switch up your survey timing to ensure your customers don’t feel like their feedback is connected with a specific agent.

As long as they are happy enough, people don’t want someone they work with to get in trouble with their account. Quarterly NPS surveys will help customers feel like the feedback they give is not centred around one person but the company as a whole.

Increase the rating scale

An increased rating scale will allow your customers to rate your services more freely. If you only have a one-three scale, a two might seem too harsh. With a one-five scale, the three and four-star ratings don’t seem too bad to the customer while still providing your business with valuable insight. 

Forced ordering

Ordering your services or best attributes from top to bottom forces the customer to decide what you do best and what you need to improve. Make the customer rank their favourite parts of your service, so you always end up with something toward the bottom of the list.

This will help you see what you can do better without making the customer feel awkward if they’re uncomfortable criticizing your business.

“One thing to improve”

Ask the user what the one thing your business could do to improve. This works well, sandwiched among other questions, as it reduces friction. Ask for one good thing, one bad thing, and one thing to improve.

Follow up

Forgetting to follow up could push your customers away from leaving criticism again in the future.

If a customer leaves critical feedback that nobody addresses, they could feel like nobody is listening. What’s the point of providing feedback if no one is doing anything about it?

Always follow up to show your customers you care and how much you appreciate them taking the time to give you feedback. If you can, tell them what you are doing with their feedback and if there are any changes your business will be making.

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The ShopBack Group, which runs a shopping and rewards platform across Asia Pacific, has raised US$30 million in strategic investment from Australia’s Westpac Banking Corporation to close the Series F round at US$200 million.

This follows the Singapore-based group’s earlier announcement of its US$160 million Series F tranche from Asia Partners and Temasek-owned 65 Equity Partners, together with commitments from other new and existing investors.

The raise will support ShopBack’s growth efforts across the Asia Pacific as it gears up for the public markets. The group will use the fresh capital to launch new shopping products for users, develop growth and payments solutions for merchant partners, extend its services to more markets, and build capabilities for public market readiness.

As part of the equity investment, ShopBack will enable Westpac customers to access exclusive offers and deals when they shop via ShopBack.

Also Read: ShopBack banks US$80M Series F funding to deepen its presence in Asia Pacific

“With more customers choosing to shop online, we’ll also be exploring new ways to expand on this offering within Westpac’s digital channels,” said Steve Rubenstein, MD (Consumer Finance) at Westpac.

ShopBack, founded in 2014, offers shopping deals, rewards and payment methods at the users’ fingertips. The group claims it serves over 35 million shoppers across ten markets and powers over US$3.5 billion in annual sales for over 10,000 online and in-store merchant partners.

In 2022, ShopBack launched ShopBack Pay and PayLater.

The group has made significant advances in product innovation and regional expansion this year. In January, it launched ShopBack Pay, allowing two million users in Singapore and Australia to check out conveniently at more than 5,000 merchant outlets.

Last December, ShopBack acquired hoolah, a leading buy-now-pay-later player in Southeast Asia. In August, it launched its cashback service in Hong Kong.

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Due to the tremendous surge in online orders in recent years, the logistics of enabling last-mile delivery has become a very important differentiation factor for e-commerce retailers. Defined as the movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final delivery location (usually a personal residence or office), the focus on delivering items to the end user as fast as possible has led to a significant evolution in  the way retailers approach last-mile delivery.

Consumers today expect affordable and fast delivery, forcing companies to improve logistical efficiency to  enable the quickest last-mile delivery at the most competitive price point. Last-mile delivery costs comprise 53% of total delivery costs and play a major role in customer satisfaction and loyalty. But it’s not always easy to meet customer requirements. Standard last-mile delivery services for large-volume retailers usually take around three days. Conversely, most last-mile delivery services that offer same-day delivery are unable to service large volumes of deliveries or offer fast processing turnaround.

Today, e-commerce companies need a service that can offer on-demand same-day delivery in a customisable model that can support large volumes of parcels whilst also accommodating changing business needs and traffic fluctuations. That’s where a service like Lalamove’s new Customised Solutions can help merchants: by taking advantage of solutions tailored to their operational needs, vendors can now deliver volumes on-demand with shortened turnaround time. 

A game changer in logistics

Lalamove, known for specialising in on-demand same-day delivery service, is a logistics platform that enables users to conveniently source for drivers and vehicles to meet their delivery needs within minutes.

The company has 61,000 driver-partners ready for activation across Singapore, enabled by technical innovations like API integrations and e-commerce plug-ins that allow Lalamove to offer business owners services that can help them automate delivery workflows and simplify ordering processes. Despite being a leader in the on-demand delivery service space, Lalamove recognises that this is not always suitable for businesses that need to make large-volume deliveries daily.

Also read: Gamifiying education: Soqqle takes schooling to the metaverse

Ms Zarifah Zulkifli, Business Development Manager at Lalamove Singapore, discussed their new offering: Customised Solutions allows merchants to design and tailor according to their business delivery needs. “We have always been known for our on-demand delivery service. To remain relevant and thrive in the post-pandemic market, we have ventured into customising our product to meet our merchants’ needs,” she explained.

The perks of Lalamove’s new offering

“Lalamove’s new Customised Solutions give merchants the added advantage of fixed contract pricing, a trained driver fleet, flexible delivery procedures, and dedicated operation and account management support,” explained Zulkifli.

Lalamove’s Customised Solutions also present a seamless user journey experience beginning in the onboarding phase. Upon qualifying for the service, the Lalamove team will propose a tailor-made pricing and operation model and grant access to the Customised Solutions Portal.

Creating orders is even easier. After submitting an order through the Customised Solutions Portal, Lalamove’s ops team will generate planned routes and assignments for drivers, and a routing list to be shared to the client. From there, drivers will pick up orders from the client’s assigned pick up location and deliver directly to the recipients following the operations flow. Delivery statuses can also be accessed through the same Portal where users can generate an EOD report at any time.

With this new offering, business owners can focus on more lucrative tasks, like engaging with customers and developing new products, whilst Lalamove oversees their last-mile delivery processes as an affordable personalised service.

Also read: Safeguarding digital assets through cybersecurity innovations

Lalamove’s new solution is best suited to businesses with high order density and delivery volume that also require flexible same-day or scheduled deliveries. “This is especially beneficial for e-commerce businesses without storage facilities and in need of same-day deliveries to reduce costs and increase productivity,” elaborated Zulkifli. “Furthermore, if you have specific requirements and processes, this solution is most suitable for you as it is based on the fundamental concept of being customisable to one’s own business needs,” Zulkifli added. 

Compared to the average 3PL logistics provider, same-day delivery is a game changer for the logistics industry because traditional 3PL models typically take around one to three business days for the items to be sorted and delivered. ”With Lalamove’s Customised Solutions , your customers can expect the items to be delivered within the same day upon order placement,” said Zulkifli.

Lalamove’s custom offering enables a faster and more personalised delivery solution for businesses while handling large volumes of delivery. The new solution ensures parcel-level tracking, alongside several other personalised services such as flexible payment plans, which allow both big and small players to compete in the new digital retail environment.

Meeting the demand of the e-commerce age

Alex Lin, Managing Director of Lalamove Singapore, explained how the new service reflects a new trend in the logistics industry. “The last-mile delivery process helps merchants to enhance the overall customer experience. With the ability to aggregate demand with flexible and personalised same-day delivery at a fixed contract pricing, we can expect a shorter turnaround time for consumers when it comes to delivery,” Lin explained 

“We foresee higher sales revenue from the clients as they can now close the gap when it comes to expectation between what the customer wants when it comes to delivery and what they can provide,” she remarked. “With the new launch, we will further understand the pain points of both our merchants and their end customers. This will allow us to further improve our product which will in turn elevate the customer experience,” he continued.

Also read: RareSkills to help Web3 engineers harness their potential

Lalamove recognises that most retailers have specific requirements and processes unique to their business. By combining Lalamove’s technology-driven logistics service with the added flexibility of custom pricing, parcel-level tracking, and account management support, Lalamove hopes its new service sets a new standard for the whole last-mile delivery services industry. 

If you want to explore this new offering further, visit Lalamove.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Mindshare

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