2003 CGT Conference

From October 14-17 nearly 200 consumer goods executives and technology vendors convened at the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, Florida to learn more about the latest trends on "Building Real-Time Business Strategies", the theme of the 2003 Consumer Goods Technology Conference. The luxurious Portofino Bay Hotel, which exudes the charm of the sunny Mediterranean seaside village of Portofino, Italy, proved to be the ideal setting to host a crop of invaluable sessions and panel discussions. Here are some of the key highlights:

Opening Keynote

Geoffrey Colvin, senior editor-at-large, Fortune magazine and co-anchor of the PBS series "Wall Street Week With Fortune," kicked off this year's conference in high gear by delivering an intense opening keynote that confronted the scandalous accounting practices of major global organizations. Colvin reiterated that the irresponsible behavior of "a few bad apples" has incited a level of public and political scrutiny that has created a new set of challenges for global manufacturers. Colvin eloquently touched upon short-terms solutions as well as long-term strategies to address changing business dynamics, such as Sarbanes-Oxley.

Supply Chain Forum

Moderator Kara Romanow, senior analyst, AMR Research, guided a distinguished panel of consumer goods supply chain executives in a informative Supply Chain Forum. This year's lineup included: Chris Moye, vice president, global supply chain, Campbell Soup Company; Bill Martin, chief operating officer, Hartz Mountain Company; Simon Ellis, supply chain futurist, Unilever and Nick Delaney, vice president supply chain and logistics, Vtech. Panelists provided a unique, inside look into their companies supply chain initiatives surrounding supply chain services, outsourcing, transportation, CPFR and more.

RFID Keynote

Last year's conference attendees listed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as their number one requested topic for this year's agenda. In response, the second day of sessions commenced with Kevin Ashton, executive director, Auto-ID Center. Ashton touched upon the latest advances in RFID as they apply to consumer goods supply chains. Ashton also highlighted the shortcomings of existing technology and revealed how an open, global network for identifying goods with RFID tags has the potential to make companies vastly more efficient.

Demand Management: The 360-Degree View

In the true value chain, demand management completes the 360-degree view. Gary Kahler, director of sales and operations planning for Sara Lee Household & Body Care, understands this view and shared his vast knowledge with attendees in a session called "Demand Management: The 360-Degree View." Kahler outlined his company's collaboration strategy between demand planning and its sales force, an effort that ultimately boosts the accuracy of demand forecasting at virtually any level.

The Future Is Now

The numerous attendees who arrived for the closing breakfast session received quite the eye-opener when Diana Mann, associate publisher for Consumer Goods Technology, introduced the guest speakers of: "Supplying the Store of the Future." Dr. Gerd Wolfram, IT strategy, IT buying and development services, Metro Group Future Store Initiative and Udo Scharr, IT Manager, global customer business development, Procter & Gamble, forged ahead with a dazzling presentation on how consumer goods firms will need to work with retail partners in order to supply the store of the future.

The colorful duo also presented remarkable results and extremely high customer acceptance of the Future Store's high-tech shopping environment, located in Rheinberg, Germany, including the success of RFID initiatives.