With the rapid growth of online grocery shopping, retailers are challenged to meet the demands and expectations of their customers through click and collect, delivery and shipping in a timely manner. Discover how leveraging machine learning, digital shelf tags, route optimization and real-time communication with guests contributes to online grocery success.

Your opportunity to sit face-to-face with your technology partners is here! Schedule direct meetings with technology partners to explore how you can best enhance your technology strategy. An excellent approach to meeting a wide variety of partners very efficiently. Each appointment will last 25 minutes.

Questions? Contact Doug Baker at dbaker@fmi.org

Explore the latest innovations with Tech Talks, 8-minute presentations with your technology partners.

Messages and promotions delivered at point-of-sale can be very effective marketing tools. Until recently, however, POS marketing technology was encumbered by patents, posed a high IT burden and meant a loss of control over data for retailers. Discover the array of technical options for cost-effective POS marketing that today’s retailers have at their disposal. Case studies will demonstrate the efficacy of POS marketing and show how today’s options entail a low IT burden and allow retailers to retain full control over their data while still enjoying brand support through harmonization of personalization goals.

Consumer expectations are changing, and technology is playing a bigger role in everyone’s shopping experience. We are moving towards a world dominated by AI. Every day we learn from data and those learnings are used to drive efficiencies and achieve specific goals. In this interactive session, discover how Facebook can help you leverage the power of artificial intelligence to create — not diminish or replace — connections with your most valuable customers. Edlynne Laryea will break down how machine learning-driven systems maximize efficiency and outcomes and help you uncover fresh insights that you can apply immediately to your marketing program.

Your opportunity to sit face-to-face with your technology partners is here! Schedule direct meetings with technology partners to explore how you can best enhance your technology strategy. An excellent approach to meeting a wide variety of partners very efficiently. Each appointment will last 25 minutes.

Questions? Contact Doug Baker at dbaker@fmi.org

The following awardees will be honored at this event:

Kevin Davis, Bristol Farms
Sidney R. Rabb Award 
for Statesmanship

Al Carey, PepsiCo
(retired)
William H. Albers for
Industry Relations Award

Mark Skogen,
Festival Foods
Robert B. Wegman Award for
Entrepreneurial Excellence

Henry Johnson, W. Lee Flowers
(retired)
Herbert Hoover Award for
Humanitarian Service

Craig Boyan, H-E-B
Glen P. Woodard Jr., Award
for Public Affairs

Natalie Menza-Crowe, MS, RD
Wakefern Food Corp.
Esther Peterson Award for
Consumer Service

Enjoy a light lunch as thought leaders present  20-minute perspectives on current and future issues impacting the  food retail industry. See individual listings for a description of the presentation content.

• 12:00 pm – 12:20 pm
  Digital E-Commerce: The Digital Journey Continues
• 12:25 pm – 12.45 pm
  Health & Well-Being: Healthy Shoppers, Healthy Profits. How Retailers Can Improve Consumer Health and Maximize Profitability
• 12:50 pm – 1:10 pm
  Artificial Intelligence: Leveraging AI for Profitability and Waste Reduction
• 1:10 pm – 1:30 pm
  Workforce: Winning the War for Talent: Workforce Management Strategies for Lower Costs and Higher Retention

Soup, Sandwich & Speakers Lunch

Soup, Sandwich & Speakers Lunch

Soup, Sandwich & Speakers Lunch

Soup, Sandwich & Speakers Lunch

Foodservice is a key differentiator and growth generator for grocery retailers, but meeting the varying needs of consumers with a financially successful model continues to be a challenge. Based on findings published in a recent whitepaper co-authored by FMI and A.T. Kearney, this session will discuss how the foodservice opportunity remains uncaptured and share the secrets to successful foodservice at retail. Gain insight from the perspective of suppliers, retailers and third party providers on what choices retailers need to make to ensure a winning top and bottom line in retail foodservice.

While employees in the workforce may feel they can be themselves at work and that their organization is inclusive, many report experiencing bias frequently, often in subtle and indirect ways. This discussion, based on recent research from the 2019 state of inclusion survey, will outline the perceived biases the workforce is experiencing and describe six inclusive leadership traits that can empower people with actionable steps to personalize, identify, model and advance inclusion.  Discover the power of ALLYSHIP – what this means in the context of an organization’s values and how it encourages curiosity about and awareness of others. Learn how organizations can harness its power to advance their inclusive efforts and impact the daily behaviors and experiences of their people.

The world and the consumer are changing exponentially, and retailers and CPG companies must adapt accordingly. To be successful, companies both large and small must grasp how to read, anticipate and adapt to changing consumer needs. This session will examine key priorities that are driving the smart consumer and offer a pragmatic “how-to” guide to respond accordingly. A panel of industry experts will share their perspectives and discuss concrete steps to build and execute on the transformation blueprint needed to react, adapt and prosper.

Your opportunity to sit face-to-face with your technology partners is here! Schedule direct meetings with technology partners to explore how you can best enhance your technology strategy. An excellent approach to meeting a wide variety of partners very efficiently. Each appointment will last 25 minutes.

Questions? Contact Doug Baker at dbaker@fmi.org

The new consumerism is precipitating the breakneck speed of change both in the physical and digital marketplace. The ability of the marketplace to adapt and react to unprecedented change will be a key differentiator in the competition for consumer spend in the immediate future. Hear specific actions that retailers and CPG companies need to take in the next 5-10 years in the area of data collection, customer experience, delivery and operations to ensure they can adapt and provide solutions to the consumer of the future and remain competitive.

The issue of plastic and packaging waste in the environment is complex and multi-faceted, and it is clear that action is needed across industries. Hear how leaders in our industry are making and acting on significant global commitments to address this growing problem and meet consumer demands for change. Whether your company has set packaging waste reduction targets, is developing a strategy or is well on the road towards addressing this issue, you’ll hear how frameworks, vision and collaboration beyond your four walls and supply chains can help reshape your thinking. Innovators in the circular economy will provide actionable steps that companies can take to close the loop on the materials in our systems, so that, together, we can imagine a cleaner future, envision solutions and deliver on commitments to consumers and to the environment in which we live.

Consumer interest in cannabis and hemp products as well as alternative proteins is rapidly growing. What does this mean for retailers and CPG companies and where do the opportunities and challenges lie?  Get an overview of perceptions and realities of cannabis adoption and use in the U.S. and the opportunities and potential risks involved. Gain insights into the current market for alternative proteins, the core brands winning in plant-based foods and the innovation that is contributing to growth.

• 5:00pm -- 5:15pm: Midwinter Chairman’s Remarks
• 5:15pm -- 5:45pm: Keynote: Invent and Simplify: Using Technology and Innovation to Drive Results in the Era of Consumerism
• 5:45pm -- 6:15pm: Panel Discussion: The Investment, Capital and Strategic Consequences of the Current Industry Environment

Join a panel of financial experts to get an overview of the key competitive sector challenges and opportunities, along with the financial and the strategic developments being discussed in food retail boardrooms across the country. Panelists will cover a number of key topics including macro dynamics and competitive trends, key investment opportunities both old and new, access to and cost of capital and sector strategic implications.

Breakfast will be served beginning at 7:00am with keynote presentations beginning at 7:30am . Please see individual keynote listings for a description of the presentation content.

• 7:30am – 7:45am: Awakening to a New Day; the FMI 2020 Annual Meeting
• 7:45am – 8:15am: When the Future Ain’t What It Used to Be: The New Food Marketplace
• 8:15am – 8:40am: Delivering on the Needs of Hispanic Shoppers
• 8:40am – 9:00am: Leading and Bridging the Technology Innovation Gap
   

As the food industry adjusts to a new normal, FMI is adapting to better help its members address the emerging realities of the Information-driven marketplace. In his chairman’s report at the FMI Annual Meeting, Wakefern President and COO Joe Sheridan serves as a human GPS, taking us on a talking tour of where FMI has been and where it is going.  In his straight-talking style, Sheridan will address the new paths FMI is blazing and introduce the new FMI Board leadership that will guiding it into the new decade. 

All-Star Yankee catcher Yogi Berra once quipped that “the future ain’t what it used to be” and as is the case with many Yogisms, its nonsensical perspective possesses a charming nugget of Zen wisdom.  Culturally, we are riding the wave of the information age into a new day, that invites, influences and sometimes forces us to look at how we conduct business, our families and ourselves in some new ways. In her annual state of the industry address, FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin, addresses how the food industry is reinventing itself, embracing a future that is not what it used to be by engaging the new possibilities it holds.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the one of the fastest growing populations in the country over the next forty years will be Hispanic. Food and beverage manufacturers and retailers are already seeing the impact of these shoppers. Hispanic shoppers are proud of their heritage and can be loyal to retailers who help their families celebrate Hispanic traditions. From a growth perspective this population bears additional attention. At the same time the food retail community will need to serve these consumers with authenticity. Today’s panel offers a deep dive into their unique demands and ways to win their business.

To thrive in a world of accelerating change, there are two imperatives: understanding where you’re going and having an organizational culture open to innovation and taking unprecedented risks. Robots, AI and countless emerging technologies of the 4th industrial revolution are transforming the retail industry and creating obstacles to overcome and opportunities to realize. Learn about the dynamic shift in leading the culture of experimentation and how you can champion and lead your organization to achieve breakthrough performance amidst unprecedented change. In this session, you will hear firsthand about the opportunity to close the innovation gap in a discussion with Randy Edeker, Chairman of the Board,  CEO & President of Hy-Vee and Joe Sheridan, President & COO Wakefern Food Corp., moderated by Sterling Hawkins, CART Center for Advancing Retail Technology. Draw from their perspectives, strategy and tactics to realize the potential in your own company.

Today’s shopper expects a personalized experience at every touchpoint of their shopping journey. We’ll discuss the various ways in which retailers can leverage AI, technology and shopper data to personalize the shopping experience from digital coupons to rewards across all of the various touchpoints.

Participate in this fast-paced interactive workshop exploring technology trends transforming and disrupting the retail industry. Gain inspiring ideas on how to use these new tools and more importantly, how to open up innovation thinking within your business. Join your peers to discuss, debate, and ponder platforms, current and emerging in-store technologies, and more to identify the ten technologies destined to change the game in grocery retail. You’ll walk away with first access to the list, and the debates benefiting your tech strategy.

You’ll discuss everything from retail customization enabled by tech, the role of voice, VR & AR, virtual assistants, AI, drones, robots, fulfillment, auto-replenishment, smart sensors, real time analytics, search, and other fast-moving omni-shopper and channel solutions.

Fireside Chats, which are new to the Midwinter Program this year, are 45-minute informal discussions with your peers on a particular industry topic.  They will take place outside around a firepit on the ballroom lawn. In the event of inclement weather they will be moved  to an indoor location.

See individual listings for a description of the presentation content.

• 1:00pm -1:40pm How to Bring Speed and Accuracy to Item Onboarding
• 1:50pm - 2:30pm Optimizing Retail Performance with Artificial Intelligence
• 2:35pm - 3:15pm How to Effectively Harness the Power of Innovation for Your Organization
• 3:20pm - 4:00pm The Role of Technology in the Future of Fresh

Your opportunity to sit face-to-face with your technology partners is here! Schedule direct meetings with technology partners to explore how you can best enhance your technology strategy. An excellent approach to meeting a wide variety of partners very efficiently. Each appointment will last 25 minutes.

Questions? Contact Doug Baker at dbaker@fmi.org

As retail margins shrink and e-commerce grows, retailers must embrace new technologies like artificial intelligence in order to stay ahead in a competitive and challenging business environment. Join your peers to share your thoughts on how AI is impacting the retail industry, how to successfully embrace this technology and what opportunities it brings to optimize your merchandise planning and maximize profit.

As retail margins shrink and e-commerce grows, retailers must embrace new technologies like artificial intelligence in order to stay ahead in a competitive and challenging business environment. Join your peers to share your thoughts on how AI is impacting the retail industry, how to successfully embrace this technology and what opportunities it brings to optimize your merchandise planning and maximize profit.

What is “innovation” and what does it means for an organization in practice? What does an innovative, experimentation-led mindset look like and what inherent benefits does it offer in the pursuit of long-term growth? Discuss these and other thought-provoking questions in this informal chat. Share your thoughts on what a successful innovation implementation might look like, the organizational change that might be required and how to adopt an innovative mindset.

Fresh perimeter departments provide critical differentiation from online competitors, yet technology investment has, until now, been more focused on non-perishables. Join us to discuss how technology can be successfully adapted into fresh departments to add value to consumers, increase profitability, and fundamentally differentiate brick & mortar grocers from the competition. Gaze into the future and debate how technology might shape fresh departments throughout the 21st century.