PMI Hosts "The Dynamics Of Change and Emerging Technologies" Forum
For Immediate Release
February 23, 2006
Contact: Barbara C. Higgens, Executive Director (847) 884-9764
Schaumburg, IL – The Plumbing Manufacturers Institute’s all new expanded forum designed for Marketing, Sales, Operations, Engineering and I.T. professionals kicked off on the afternoon of August 9, 2005. The forum was set up to begin and end on two half days to allow for travel, with one full day in the middle. Attendees had the flexibility to select the segments they wished to attend.
Following a welcome by Barbara Higgens, PMI’s Executive Director, and introductions of PMI Committee co-chairs and forum moderators Darold Vredberg, Manager of Business Process Sales and Marketing for Elkay Manufacturing Company, and Joseph Dodd, Manager of Design, Development and Marketing Systems for Moen Incorporated, John Kabbes opened the forum with a discussion of Change Management. Mr. Kabbes, of John Kabbes and Associates, is a frequent and well-received PMI presenter/creator and host of two previous PMI forums, "Demand Forecasting" and "Managing Inventory Across the Entire Supply Chain." To improve the effectiveness of transition, Mr. Kabbes encouraged attendees to fully understand the problem and agree on the need for change before implementing a solution to make the transition go more smoothly.
The Wednesday full day session began with Chuck Poirier, Partner, CSC Consulting discussing "Demand Chain Meets Supply Chain: Through a Contemporary Business Model.” Mr. Poirier urged attendees to recognize the uniqueness of each customer. The morning progressed with a presentation on Digital Asset Management by Matthew Gonnering, Director of Sales and Marketing, Widen Enterprises who explained the ins and outs of handling digital assets, also known as product images, by giving a real time demonstration. Mr. Gonnering made it all look easy! Wednesday morning wrapped up with a presentation by Jim Kinney, National Account Representative, World Commerce Services, LLC who offered sage advice on the topic of Supply Chain Issues and Solutions. Mr. Kinney examined the increase in import flow into the United States vs. export flow, and identified the issues of container movement, availability and peak season issues. Woven into the presentation were photos of shipping mishaps that made attendees want to laugh and cry at the same time.
After lunch at the Hilton Garden Inn Hoffman Estates, the site of the forum, the afternoon began with a presentation on Trends in Warehousing Systems by Steve Caulkins, Senior Partner, CSC Consulting. Mr. Caulkins encouraged attendees to investigate systems that tie all warehouse processes together, from appointment scheduling to yard and dock management to labor management staffing optimization. The afternoon continued with a presentation on Knowledge Management by Sherry Budziak, President and Creative Director, .orgSource and Kevin Ordonez, Executive Vice President, Avectra. Giving the example of golf caddies sharing strategies with each other, in order to pass them on to the golfers in the hopes of better tips, Ms. Budziak drove home the point that a good Knowledge Management system will reinforce organizational culture to encourage sharing and learning, reduce duplication of efforts and enable better information to be more widely available as members come and go from an organization. Mr. Ordonez discussed the implementation of Avectra’s Client Relation Management (CRM) system in house to streamline data and encourage customer service to keep information centralized and move away from each person creating their own client spreadsheets and hoarding information. Mr. Ordonez stressed the three C’s: current, correct and complete.
Starting off the second half of the afternoon, Pat Yanahan, President, USA-Strategies Inc., hosted a demonstration of Radio Frequency Identification currently being used in a German super market during his presentation "Move Over UPC, Here Comes RFID!” Even for those familiar with RFID, the presentation was something right out of the futuristic cartoon, "The Jetsons”. While the demonstration focused on consumer product goods and not plumbing products, it was an enjoyable and ‘light’ way to begin the discussion of RFID. Wednesday afternoon wrapped up with a discussion on "How to Stay Connected” by Fred Ettinger, University Relations Manager, Motorola Corporate Staffing. Fred discussed the history of the cell phone noting that the original "brick” phone weighed in at one pound, while the newest versions are as light as 3.4 oz. Mr. Ettinger then discussed the convergence of multiple devices like PDA’s, cameras and pagers into one device that fits on a belt clip. With a nod to the safe landing of the space shuttle, Mr. Ettinger showcased one of four transponder devices created for the Apollo 15 mission. Attendees then enjoyed a networking reception and dinner at Millrose Restaurant.
Thursday morning, Chuck Davis, Principal, CSC Consulting took Wednesday’s RFID demonstration a step further and examined the promise and pitfalls of RFID in Supply Chain. Dan Feely, Founding Partner, Transforming Solutions Inc. (TSI) followed up with real world advice on software vendor evaluations, and the morning closed with an update on the UCC net initiative. Mr. Vredberg introduced the topic and gave some background on member company involvement. Nate Perryman, Merchandising Operations Supervisor, The Home Depot, joined the group via conference call and gave an update on the Global Data Synch Network which is the data pool from which all vendors, including UCC net can pull data.
PMI will use information gathered from a post forum survey to identify areas of interest for the next forum.
PMI will hold its 2005 Fall Meeting October 16-19 at the Capital Hilton in Washington D.C.
PMI Mission Statement
- To Promote the water efficiency, health, safety and quality of plumbing products while maximizing consumer choice and value in a fair and open marketplace.
- To provide a forum for the exchange of information and industry education.
- To represent the members' interests in the regulatory/legislative processes.
- To enhance the plumbing industry's growth and expansion.
The Plumbing Manufacturers Institute is the voluntary, not-for-profit national trade association of manufacturers of plumbing products serving as the Voice of the Plumbing Industry. Member companies of PMI produce a substantial quantity of the nation’s plumbing products. For more information on PMI or its semi-annual meetings, contact the Institute at 1340 Remington Road, Suite A, Schaumburg, Ill., 60173; or via phone (847) 884-9PMI (9764), facsimile (847) 884-9775, or website www.pmihome.org.
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NOTE: PHOTOGRAPHS AND THE PMI LOGO CAN BE PROVIDED VIA E-MAIL, UPON REQUEST. Please contact PMI for more information.