Annual conference expected to cover congestion, omni-channel and analytics.
Supply chain conferences are invariably a mix of issues both immediate and strategic, of short-term and long-term.
And in early 2015, the immediate issue pressing on nearly every retailer has been systemic operational issues at a number of U.S. ports, particularly those on the West Coast.
No surprise then that the first major panel at this year’s annual Retail Industry Leaders Association Supply Chain Conference deals with that very issue. The panel brings together directors of the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Savannah, and Oakland, moderated by industry veteran Dean Tracy, director of international transportation at Lowe’s.
The conference will be held Feb. 22-25 near Orlando, Fla.
“It’s the issue that’s most pressing,” said Lisa LaBruno, senior vice president of retail operations for RILA. “I’m really looking forward to the port panel discussion. And I’m even more curious to hear the questions and comments the retailers have for them.”
The RILA Supply Chain Conference 2015 is about much more than just port congestion, though. The event will tackle retailers’ continued efforts to meet the challenge of the evolving omni-channel environment
“The omni-channel sessions are going to be interesting,” LaBruno said. “The group continues toward figuring it all out, and the hope is that we’ll know more than last year.”
Jess Dankert, RILA’s senior director of retail operations, said attendance at the conference has not skewed towards more online-only retailers, but the focus on how omni-channel logistics keeps growing.
“A lot of the content deals with the balance between brick and mortar and online or omni-channel,” she said. “The steering committee makes an effort to examine the practical side that companies are facing.”
LaBruno pointed to another key theme at this year’s conference—supply chain analytics. The issue is so pervasive that the conference’s steering committee added a separate track for sessions focused solely on helping retailers understand and incorporate analytics in their processes.
“The decision to add the track was based upon feedback to the committee from members,” she said. “They want to know how to make it actionable.”
LaBruno said this year’s event is on course to surpass 2014 in terms of attendance. RILA has also focused more intently this year on increasing the number of companies attending, rather than overall attendees.
“The objective is to bring more companies. If a big retailer brings a big team, that’s great, we support it. But we also want the diversity that comes with a bigger group of retailers,” LaBruno explained.
Dankert, however, pointed out that the event is kept at a certain size for good reason.
“RILA is specifically designed to stay at a manageable size to do networking,” she said. “In terms of attendee makeup, it’s always skewed toward the executive level. They respond to the content and peer representation.”
The event is still big, of course, and RILA last year added a new wrinkle to its opening night reception to foster a higher level of networking.
“The opening night reception can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re having trouble knowing your real peer group,” LaBruno said. “What we tried last year was we broke down the reception into key practice areas that aligned with session tracks. So that transportation folks would congregate in one area, and so on.
“The level of folks involved in these sessions, and the variety of retailers involved, it’s a very diverse group. The attendees benefit from that broad perspective, but it’s nice to find your peers as well,” she added.
LaBruno noted the work RILA has done to promote the Women in Supply Chain program.
“I’m proud of the ‘Women in Supply Chain’ focus,” she said. “We’ve implemented Women in Supply Chain regional events around the country. We held one at JC Penney, then at Lowe’s, then at Home Depot. Each event was well attended.”
She encouraged attendees to come the annual Women in Supply Chain breakfast panel the morning of Feb. 24, which is open to both men and women.
Other highlights include keynotes from Rubbermaid Newell President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Polk on supply chain transformation, and Clarks Cos.’ Executive Vice President of Supply Chain Nick Cullen on supply chain agility.
Session highlights include panel discussions on the evolving container chassis landscape and the state of the retail market (both Feb. 23), intermodal’s impact on retail, inventory optimization, and development of the Panama Canal Free Trade Zone (all Feb. 24).
For more information about the conference, specific sessions, or venue details, go to http://www.rila.org/events/conferences/supplychain/Pages/default.aspx.
This article was published in the February 2015 issue of American Shipper.