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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 the current problem is constrained (limited) symbology we use today and 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 around the corner. The message? Get your FIM implementation in now - and get ready 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 – A founding partner of Policy Solutions Motley - Scher - Truitt, LLC, and the former SVP for Government and Publicy Policy for FMI, weighed in on the current food safety legislation working its way through Congress and on the food safety regulatory climate in the Obama Administration. John's presentation "The Outlook for Food Safety Reform" shared with ReFresh attendees his sobering perspective about a new activism by the government in food safety issues. Motley told the group that from 1994 to 2006 food safety issues were in the "political wilderness" because the GOP majority in Congress and the Bush Administration had other priorities. In 2006, with the election of a Democrat Congress, food safety advocates and consumer groups found a more receptive audience for their lobbying and ideas. Food Safety issues camen out of the "political wilderness" with the introduction of HR 759, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2007. Today, two versions of major food safety reform legislation HR 2740, the Waxman-Dingell Food Safety Enhancement Act, and S 510, the bipartisian Durbin-Burr Food Safety Modernization Act, are wending their way through Congress. HR 2740 passed the House earlier this year, while the Senate could act early next year, with the President signing the new law in 2010. The next phase will be the implementation of the new law by the FDA, an exercise that could be fraught with risks. In addition, John shared with the group his belief that both the FDA and USDA will be more activist during the Obama Administration, using their considerable regulatory power to pursue food safety issues favored by comsumer activists. He suggested that the industry actively become involved in issues like traceability to show both Washington and the consumer that it is an active partner in protecting the safety of the food it sells. His presentation reinforced that a food safety initiative is right for what Art Turock earlier described as "trading up" to increase your fresh value proposition.
For more information call Jan Dragotta (VP of
Sales) at +1.904.509.0486 or email:
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