Consumer Goods Fall Conference

12/1/2007

The ninth annual Consumer Goods Fall Conference brought more than 180 consumer goods business and IT executives to The Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Fla., on October 21-24. There, they explored how to elevate business performance through retail partnerships via abundant networking opportunities and insightful presentations from their peers. Here is snapshot of some of the event's many highlights:

In an opening keynote presentation, John Rand, director of retail insights for Management Ventures Inc., explained how consumer goods companies can adapt to a retail market that is increasingly fragmented, segmented and ever-changing."The only thing we know with 100 percent certainty about the consumer landscape is that the sum total of what your customers will ask for is more than you can provide," Rand said.

Stephen Marosi, IT manager, Global Merchandising Solutions,The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), highlighted key challenges and opportunities for consumer goods manufacturers in the store -- saying the shelf has the greatest influence -- and proposed proven ways of thinking about store conditions in terms of value creation.

In a panel discussion based on findings from the 2007 Tech Trends Study,AMR Research's Lora Cecere quizzed Tony Costa, CIO, Bumble Bee Foods; Doug Rammel,VP of IS, Tech & Integration Operations, Sports Licensed Division, adidas Group; and Mansour Zadeh, Global CIO, Smithfield Foods, on industry trends in technology direction and governance, and how business priorities are shaping the IT direction in their respective companies.

Reaching the consumer begins with getting them into the store. In a presentation titled "The Retail Perspective: The Consumer Experience," David Hoodis, VP Store Innovation and Operations Development,Wal-Mart Stores Inc., revealed details of Wal-Mart's continuous improvement cycle to better meet consumer expectations.

Based on findings from a GMA research study, a panel of consumer goods executives from Kraft Foods,Motorola Inc., Pepsico Inc. and Lance Inc. discussed how to best leverage direct store delivery to drive growth and better serve consumers.

In a truly inspirational fashion, The Geek Squad Founder and Chief Inspector Robert Stephens told the tale of how he integrated marketing into every aspect of his then startup business -- from choosing a memorable and scalable company name to having the Geek Squad logo molded into the soles of employee shoes. "If we can glamorize computer support, anything is possible," he asserted.

Attendees also heard from Tony Bender,VP & CIO,Alberto Culver Company, on trade promotion management; Lisa Klauser, VP Brand Building & Marketing Excellence, Unilever, on insights to action; and Dick Clark, associate director, Demand Planning,P&G,on demand-driven planning; just to name a few. For more information about the event, visit www.consumergoods.com. CG