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Summit 2006 Opens With Record Attendance in Lake Las Vegas
The 2006 AWMA Summit opened here Monday, September 11, with record attendance in a stunning setting, The Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas, NV, as distributors and suppliers settled in for nearly a week of top-level educational programming, networking opportunities, and the AWMA BUSINESS EXCHANGE (ABX), scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
The annual event is designed to help distributors improve their bottom line profits, address the many issues they face in a challenging competitive environment, and via the ABX, get business done between trading partners, and problems resolved.
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Networking opportunities abound at the 2006 AWMA Summit Welcome Reception.
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"This is an incredible opportunity and a fabulous setting for this meeting," said AWMA Chairman Ricky Jones, Vice President, Operations, Andalusia Distributing Co., Inc., Andalusia, AL. "I’m looking forward to an outstanding and very productive Summit once again."
The 2006 AWMA Summit opened for business Monday morning with AWMA committee meetings, followed by a meeting of the Board of Directors Monday afternoon.
"We are already getting a lot accomplished," noted AWMA second vice chairman, Jode Bunce, Executive Vice President, Cigarettes, Eby-Brown Co., Naperville, IL. "And we are just getting started."
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Sheehan Majestic executives check out the fabulous offerings at AWMA's 2006 Silent Auction in Lake Las Vegas. Jeff Kendrick (left) and Sheldon Feist (right) join their father, Stan Feist (center).
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On Monday evening attendees gathered for the Summit’s opening reception, the first of several opportunities that they will have to connect – and reconnect – with each other, compare notes, and discuss common concerns.
"This is a great setting for members to talk with each other and exchange ideas," Scott Ramminger, AWMA President and CEO pointed out. "Then, add to that the educational programming that is on tap for tomorrow and the ABX that runs on Wednesday and Thursday, and this is a terrific opportunity for members to build business and plan for the future. Looks like we’re off to a great start."
On Tuesday, much of the program will be focused on the issue of profit, examining the current situation and factors that lead to low profit, as well as some of the steps companies and their trading partners can take to make sure this important sector of the supply chain remains strong.
Tuesday’s program will include sessions on:
- Improving the Bottom Line – The results of AWMA’s 2006 HIPA (Hershey Industry Performance Analysis) report on profitability.
- The Value of the Distributor Study
- How to Improve Profitability – Panel discussion to follow through on both earlier sessions with distributor participants.
- Building Customer Loyalty to Boost Your Business.
- Foodservice Trends and Dynamics: Critical Success Factors
- Crafting Future Scenarios in Tobacco
- Candy Trends and Merchandising in Convenience
- Winning the Value Battle: How to Sell Against a Cheaper Price
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