Program
The FMI 2014 Midwinter Executive Conference will explore what it takes to successfully conduct business in today's technology-rich world and will address an array of related topics such as handling big data, assessing cyber-security, using technology to assist customer-centricity, managing and marketing across generations and tackling future trends. Read session highlights.
MIDWINTER 2014
DRAFT AGENDA
(subject to change)
September 30, 2013
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014
10:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration
12:00 pm – 4:45 pm Strategic Executive Exchanges
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Midwinter First Timers Welcome Cocktail Reception
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Celebrating Our Industry - A Dinner Hosted by the
FMI Industry Collaboration Council
Presentation of FMI Awards: Herbert Hoover Award,
Sidney R. Rabb Award, William H. Albers Industry Relations
Award and Glen P. Woodard Jr., Public Affairs Award
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2014
8:00 am – 10:45 am Strategic Executive Exchanges
11:00 am – 7:00 pm Registration
11:30 am – 4:30 pm Tennis Round Robin
11:30 am – 5:00 pm FMI Food Industry Golf Tournament
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm FMI Midwinter Kick-Off Event With Dinner and Entertainment
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014
6:30 am – 7:45 am Breakfast
7:00 am – 3:30 pm Registration
8:00 am – 12:30 pm Midwinter Business Sessions
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Spouse/Guest Event and Luncheon
12:45 pm – 3:45 pm Independent Operator Program
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm Independent Operator Luncheon (with speaker)
1:45 pm – 2:45 pm Independent Operator Business Session
2:45 pm – 3:45 pm Independent Operator Business Session
3:45 pm – 5:15 pm FMI Independent Operator Committee Meeting
1:00 pm – 5:45 pm Strategic Executive Exchanges
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Midwinter Reception
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm FMI Foundation Dinner
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014
7:00 am – 8:00 am Breakfast
7:00 am – 10:15 am Registration
8:00 am – 10:30 am Business Sessions
10:45 am – 3:30 pm Strategic Executive Exchanges
Contact Amanda Bond-Thorley, abondthorley@fmi.org, 202.220.0606 for more information.
Midwinter Session Highlights
Big Data: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff
Charles Wheelan, Author of "Naked Statistics: Stripping The Dread From the Data"
The food retail industry has been collecting data since before the advent of the bar code. Retailers know firsthand the power that information can have to shape improvements in distribution and logistics, merchandise planning and store operations. The industry is seeing initial returns on investments in consumer data mining that help predict the desires and directions of customer values. And like the rest of the world, industry leaders hear all the hype about the potential of big data, but also know what it is to already be awash in information. On top of all that, the investments in big data technologies and analytics sound expensive. So, how does one sift through the hype and find the important kernels that will feed successful strategies for the future? Charles Wheelan, statistician and author of “Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data” suggests that the focus should not be on data, but rather on statistics. Data is like a resource—a raw fuel that is abundant, but formless. Statistics are what allow us to turn data into intelligence and pragmatic action. Wheelan turns data on its head, makes it comprehensible, and—with humor and real world examples—shows how to make this suddenly “sexy” concept into something actually useful.
Reaching Across Generations
Jason Dorsey, The Gen Y Guy®
The fact that we react to the world differently than those of our parents’, children’s, or grandchildren’s generations is a truism in today’s retail world. Never before have one generation’s selling hot buttons been another generation’s instant deal breakers. But few of us feel we’ve gotten a handle on how to consistently engage, market to and sell to all four generations at the same time. Jason Dorsey, acclaimed Gen Y expert, exposes new generational truths that will change how you think about selling to each generation. Gain specific strategies to transform generational disconnects into profitable selling points.
Cyber Security: What We All Need to Know
If the promise of Big Data is knowing your customer and your business more intimately, the potential peril is a risk of unintentionally exposing those intimate details to cyber criminals. The statistics are scary. Security experts agree that nearly every industry and every type of data have been involved in a breach in the last 12-18 months. But the news isn’t all bad. Retailers can take measures to protect themselves and their customers. More than 80 percent of current breaches could have been avoided if reasonable security controls had been implemented. This session will address the impact of issues of defense and cyber security on our nation, our business community, and our citizens and the strategies we can employ to protect ourselves. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion of cyber-security issues specific to the food retail industry.
It’s All About You: Mass Marketing in An Era of Customization
Dina Howell, Worldwide Chief Executive Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi X Worldwide
The power of Big Data and today’s information technologies provide retailers with the capability of zeroing in on the needs and desires of individual consumers and personalizing the marketing message. Tomorrow’s target market is likely to be less a representative lifestyle or “type” of shopper, and more of a conglomerate of individuals, each with his or her own wants, wishes, backgrounds and buying patterns. Engaging with an individual may require new approaches to consumer-facing activities like marketing, merchandising and pricing, as well as requiring adjustments to back-end operations such as supply chains, multi-channel offerings and approaches to technology infrastructures. In this session Dina Howell, Worldwide Chief Executive Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi X, the world’s most-awarded shopper marketing network, will describe the “lovemarks” that resonate with consumers as individuals, how these are built and the implications and opportunities for your business as our society comes to increasingly expect attention to personal needs and preferences.