|
Speakers with significant industry expertise offered
their keen insights and participated with conference attendees. The speakers
focused on specific industry needs in a changing supermarket environment
to help retailers see how FIM can provide solutions to the challenges ahead.
Des Martin of Actionable Intelligence Group started the
conference off with a rousing presentation on industry trends today and
in the future. This presentation set the foundation in thought leadership
for changing how we view the consumer in terms of the changing world we
live in. His message pointed out that we all live in this current landscape
and there are significant things we should know and investigate about today's
shopper, what they face in this economy and in what they want for their
family.
Alan Williams of Ahold USA presented a detailed understanding
of GS1-Databar and other technologies emerging today to help the retailer
meet some of the challenges presented by Des Martin and John Motley. Alan’s
presentation stated that a current constraint is the limited bar-code symbology
we use today. Alan then focused on what we can achieve with the new GS1-Databar
in the future. Many of the benefits are directly related to serialization
of fresh production items where FIM infrastructure would quickly enable
advanced utility of the new information resident in an expanded GS1-Databar
label. The message?: FIM implementation now for an exciting future!
Art Turock the Keynote Speaker deliberately “disturbed”
the attendees with a message to avoid “hunkering down” by cutting training,
planning and most of all innovation costs—instead of “stretching
to be great!” Art’s message is that the recession is an opportunity
to leap ahead while others trim, save and maintain the status quo that shrinks
market penetration and preludes withdrawal. His impactful energetic style
engaged ReFresh2009 attendees in exploring new thinking to find new opportunities
in FIM. Art’s presentation called “Staging your finest hour
in a money-is- tight future” drew a parallel to King Kullen opening
the first supermarket in a depression in 1933. The key to serving the shopper
is to understand and resolve trading down compromises with new product and
service innovations to trade up into your unique value proposition. Art's
messaging fit in well with ADC’s ReFresh theme of achieving “More for
Less.” Art likened the “conversation with every consumer” as learning
to draw a line in the sand to abandon tired “hunker down” behavior and
boldly step across that line to innovate for a better future.
Randy Evins – SAP Grocery Industry Principal, who grew
up in grocery meat operations from journeyman meat cutter to meat executive,
delivered a “Then, Now and How” presentation. Building a foundation
of historical and cultural processes, Randy provided a new look at “compliant
fresh processes” historically, today and where we need to take them tomorrow.
He drew a corollary between eras of activity in fresh item management and
then showed how modern FIM technology is instrumental in being compliant
in a new fresh era in everything from an enhanced consumer experience to
food safety and traceability. Randy presented a business process model for
end-to-end accountability (and hence traceability) using very current web-services
technology—to engineer the shopper experience differently than in the
past and enable the store team member to better perform and more easily
comply and deliver increased customer service at lower costs. His summary
of the “Connected Enterprise” described an enabled and seamless supply
chain to drive home his point that WITH FIM TOMORROW IS HERE TODAY.
Mike Griswold – VP of Research, AMR described how “macro
business trends” in our industry are driving “micro business challenges”
to grocers faced with changes in consumer behavior. With multi-channel maturity
and shopper loyalty diminishing, the grocer needs to focus on three things—increasing
customer intimacy, process improvement and cost containment. Mike then described
Fresh Item Management systems as the way to execute on all three to improve
your fresh operations. He went on to elaborate how FIM can increase food
safety while improving profitability via an expected shrink benefit of $99,800
in a typical $200-Million in sales grocery store—based on AMR research.
John Motley – One of three founding Partners of Policy
Solutions LLC, John weighed in on the goings-on in Washington DC with respect
to food safety legislation and regulatory trends for grocers in 2010 and
beyond. John’s presentation on “The outlook for food safety
reform,” treated ReFresh attendees to a somewhat sobering perspective
of a former “Political Wilderness” in food safety. More recently and
since 1994 the climate in Washington has been changing. John suggested we
are now “Out of the Wilderness” with the introduction of HR 759 –
the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009. Today, two versions
of Food Safety legislation are in process with the House passing the Waxman-Dingell
Food Safety Enhancement Act – HR 2740 and the Senate beginning work on
a bipartisan Durbin-Burr Food Safety Modernization Act S 510. John went
on to say that the working of multiple bills through Congress is intriguing
and there is risk on the final food safety legislation. However, he warned
that the FDA is serious about getting involved and suggested grocers actively
pursue food safety and traceability initiatives to foster a belief in Washington
and the consumer that our industry is performing in food safety and can
effectively protect the consumer without costly regulatory administration
that would pass cost on to the shopper. His presentation reinforced that
a food safety initiative is right in line with what Art Turock earlier described
as “trading up” to increase your fresh shopper value proposition.
For more information call Jan Dragotta (VP of
Sales) at +1.904.509.0486 or email:
|
