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Summit 2007 Opens With Record Attendance in Atlanta
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Networking opportunities abound during AWMA's Summit Welcome Reception at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead.
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The 2007 AWMA Summit opened at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, in Atlanta Monday, September 10, with record attendance as distributors and suppliers prepared for top-level educational sessions today, networking opportunities, and the AWMA BUSINESS EXCHANGE (ABX), scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
The Summit and ABX together are designed to help distributors improve profits, address key issues that challenge their companies within the supply chain and get business done between trading partners. In fact, the theme of building profits runs throughout this year’s conference in keeping with AWMA’s 2007 objective of "Championing Distributor Value and Building Profitability."
The 2007 AWMA Summit opened for business Monday morning with a round of committee meetings, followed by a meeting of the Board of Directors.
"We’ve got excellent attendance and we had a great day of business meetings today," said Scott Ramminger, AWMA President & CEO. "Tomorrow we have a very important distributors-only session on distributor profitability, followed by an ABX program that has a record level of participation. I think this is going to be our best Summit ever."
On Monday evening attendees gathered for the Summit’s opening reception, the first of several opportunities that they will have to connect, compare notes, and discuss common concerns.
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AWMA Chairman Jode Bunce, Eby-Brown Company, presides over his final Board meeting on Monday at the AWMA Summit and Business Exchange.
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"We've moved forward in a new direction, and I believe we are making excellent progress toward helping to build recognition of the value that distributors bring to the marketplace and making it possible to improve profits," said AWMA Chairman Jode Bunce, Executive Vice President, Cigarettes, Eby-Brown Company. "There's an increased focus on profit and awareness of the valuable services we distributors provide. Some new extremely important companies have become members, and we’re gaining momentum as we head to the future."
Tuesday's session will open with a report from Bunce on the progress that has been made toward the goal of "Championing Distributor Value and Building Profitability," and a discussion of what's ahead for the rest of the year.
His comments will be followed by the "distributors-only" session, which will include a discussion of "High Profit Industries vs. Convenience" by Dr. Albert D. Bates, Chairman of the Profit Planning Group. Then, industry consultant Kit Dietz, co-author of the AWMA "Distributor Value Equation" study, will present Part 2 of that report, "Improving Profits--What Distributors Must Do Now." He will be joined by Cortney Hunt, Corporate Director of Logistics Engineering at McLane Company.
Bates and Mark Allen, President and CEO, International Foodservice Distributors Association, will discuss "Lessons from Other Distribution Industries," designed to help attendees understand how other distribution industries are able to drive more profit than convenience distributors.
Tuesday’s program will also include:
- Lunch with Charlie Cook, a top Washington political analyst and editor of The Cook Political Report.
- "Foodservice for C-Store Distributors" with Doug Eisenhart, Convenience Channel Foodservice Manager for Dot Foods, Inc.
- "What's New in the World of C-Store Candy?", featuring Jim Corcoran, Vice President Trade Relations at the National Confectioners Association and panelists Dennis Alderson, Vice President, Convenience, Mars Snackfood US; Lynne Vandeveer, Vice President, Sales, Convenience Channel, Cadbury Adams USA; and Dave Onorato, Global Vice President, Sales, Convenience, Specialty, Foodservice and Dollar, The Hershey Company.
- "Capturing Value in the New Emerging World of Tobacco," with Lou Maiellano, President, TAZ Marketing & Consulting Group.
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