Everything you could possibly want to know about operations fundamentals, global ecommerce, shipping and distribution strategies, omnichannel and contact center/customer care – and then some – is being covered at 50+ information-packed workshops, keynotes and breakout sessions during Operations Summit and Growing Global 2016, April 12-14 in Cincinnati.
A lineup of speakers from both the merchant and provider side – representing a vast amount of in-the-trenches experience – gathered at the Duke Energy Center to provide key insights, operational examples, lessons learned and best practices.
Here’s a sampling of some of the Ops Summit content, and the critical industry topics covered:
Rob Martinez, president and CEO of Shipware, a top industry consultant and a popular Operations Summit speaker, is once again providing valuable information on carrier negotiation strategies that can reduce overall shipping costs from 5% to 25%. The preconference workshop delivers an in-depth understanding of parcel contracts terms and how to maximize pricing agreements with carriers.
Tim Holody, COO of Seta Corp. and Palm Beach Jewelry, returned to Operations Summit this year to bring a soup-to-nuts workshop on operations and fulfillment fundamentals, focusing on maximizing service performance and operational efficiency. Holody draws from his vast industry experience to touch on all aspects of distribution and fulfillment operations, contact center functions, personnel and labor, technology and more.
Headline sponsor UPS has pulled together an omnichannel power panel that will explore what is most important to shoppers, based on findings from the UPS/comScore Pulse of the Online Shopper report, and what it means for businesses. The session covers the rapidly changing nature of what shoppers want and expect, the secret to managing channels and inventory and how business processes need to change in this new omnichannel reality.
The customer experience is such a critical area today, and Operations Summit has it covered. A panel of merchant practitioners, including Naxos of North America, Zappos and Tempur Sealy, along with data insights from StellaService, will discuss key factors in formulating a winning customer experience. These include how to create a compelling experience that leads to increased spend and loyalty, keeping it relevant and real for your audience, and being memorable and standing out from the crowd.
PayPal’s Director of Global Cross-Border Trade Initiatives, Melissa O’Malley will deliver a keynote address at the co-located Growing Global conference on “Leveraging Cross-Border Trade Insights to Increase Sales.” Her talk will tap PayPal’s own research as she covers the global cross-border market opportunity, with insights on the top markets buying from U.S. merchants, how to harness mobile commerce to tap into new international markets, and why improving your shipping strategy will help you win over global customers.
iHerb will present a case study of its Hebron, KY distribution center, highlighting its robotic goods-to-person order picking technology. The new system has resulted in three times the labor efficiency of the company’s batch-based operation, with orders being processed in one-tenth of the time, often within 15 minutes. Joining iHerb are representatives of its technology and integration partners: OPEX Material Handling, Storopack and Bastian Solutions, LLC.
Port labor disruptions have caused merchant shippers to take a closer look at contingency plans and routing strategies, and an expert panel at Operations Summit explores this topic in depth. Speakers from FULLBEAUTY Brands, Limited Stores and The Progress Group discuss the current state of inbound logistics from international sources, factors that have created the biggest challenges and how to manage supply chain risk going forward to effectively balance costs, time and service level.