December 1996 € Volume 6 € Number 12
December 1996 € Volume 6 € Number 12
More than 6,500 industry professionals from 32 countries attended the 1996 APICS International Conference and Exhibition -- a figure that broke all recent attendance records, the society announced. These are some of the highlights:
The keynote speakers for the conference included Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret), former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Daniel Burrus, one of the nation's leading science and technology forecasters; and Fran Tarkenton, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and businessman.
The conference was held in New Orleans, Oct. 13-16, 1996. The 1997 APICS International Conference and Exhibition will be held Oct. 26-29, 1997, in Washington, D.C.
An on-site survey of 1996 APICS International Conference and Exhibition attendees -- which yielded nearly 600 responses -- showed that an overwhelming number were extremely satisfied with their conference experience. Specifically:
Nearly 200 students from three New Orleans high schools were special guests of APICS during Fran Tarkenton's keynote address at the 1996 APICS International Conference and Exhibition. The group received a personal greeting from the former NFL quarterback and businessman who came down from the stage and spoke directly to the students about career opportunities in manufacturing.
Focusing intently on the students, much as he would have on a wide receiver in his playing days, Tarkenton cited examples from his own business experiences and emphasized that manufacturing today is a high technology mecca filled with challenges and wide-ranging career paths, far beyond the antiquated image of concrete shop floors and cumbersome machines.
Tarkenton told the students that education was the critical component to success and that the foundation of success was being set at this stage of their lives. In a special message to student athletes in attendance, Tarkenton warned that the odds of becoming a professional athlete were very long and that they should simultaneously prepare for other careers.
Ron Pannesi, Ph.D., CPIM, was rated by attendees as the best of the educational sessions speakers at the 1996 APICS International Conference and Exhibition, held in New Orleans in October.
Evaluations were conducted through Foresight Survey Systems of Chicago with nearly 10,000 evaluations turned in for the more than 120 educational sessions. Pannesi received a rating of 4.67 out of a possible 5.0.
Pannesi spoke directly to the concerns and hopes of all business people with a session titled "Personal Strategies for Maximizing Your Value in an Uncertain Future." Using humor and examples from his own career in the corporate world, Pannesi repeatedly emphasized the need for lifelong learning and for upgrading and adding skills, especially in the area of information technology.
"Before you can prosper in your organization, you must inventory your skills and recognize deficits," Pannesi said. "Then you must build capabilities, skills and knowledge to fill in those deficits so that you can grow in the changing and more demanding environment of the future. In essense, you must restructure yourself."
Pannesi is an associate professor of operations management at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Before becoming a full-time professor, he spent more than 20 years in a business environment in a variety of positions.
The 1996 APICS International Conference and Exhibition attracted more news coverage than any other conference in recent history. During the conference, APICS was highlighted by three separate mentions in the New Orleans major daily newspaper, the Times-Picayune. Two of the articles featured captioned pictures with information about the conference -- one of Gen. Colin Powell's keynote address, with the APICS podium banner prominently displayed, and the other of the exhibit floor. In addition, all four local network affiliates (CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox) ran news broadcasts that featured various aspects of the conference. The CBS affiliate ran a 3.5-minute segment on its early morning news show featuring APICS President Andrew D. Nicoll, CFPIM, CIRM, C.P.M., and APICS Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Jeffry W. Raynes, CAE. Fox, NBC and ABC affiliates also featured some of the more colorful aspects of the APICS exhibition. In addition, 33 members of the trade media that follow APICS registered for the conference -- a record number for the society. Trade publications that covered the conference included Industry Week, Managing Automation, Manufacturing Systems, IOMA and Industrial News.
Companies thinking about exhibiting at a future APICS International Conference and Exhibition should note that demographic information compiled from more than 3,000 pre-registered attendees of the 1996 conference and exhibition bodes well for business prospects. Some of the results are:
The survey also documented that conference attendees represent all areas of integrated resource management including operations, materials management, information systems, finance and accounting, and training and education.
For more information about exhibiting at the APICS conference, contact Dee Willett, APICS exhibits associate, at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344, or by e-mail, [email protected]Over the next two years the CIRM program will be realigned to incorporate these five areas (see Table 1): Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals; I