Advance Conference Brochure Now Available

The 1997 APICS International Conference and Exhibition Advance Conference Brochure is now available. The 12-page brochure includes information on special events, registration, biographies of featured speakers and exhibit hall highlights, plus a list of confirmed exhibitors.

To receive a copy of the Advance Conference Brochure (item #04066) or call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344.

Conference Educational Session Features Service Industry Case Study

The great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded." This seems to be the case with many health clubs where membership seems to have outgrown capacity. Could the APICS body of knowledge help a health club deal with its success and better serve its customers? At APICS '97, Oct. 26-29, in Washington, D.C., a hypothetical case study titled "Integrated Resource Management: A Case Study in the Service Industry" will explore how concepts and principles — many of which are incorporated into the Certified in Production and Inventory Management and Certified in Integrated Resource Management programs — can help a full-service health, fitness and sports club operate more efficiently and enhance customer satisfaction.

Attendees will learn:

• How should the capacity of the club be measured?
• What kind of "capacity cushion" should be maintained to address the issue of average versus peak demand?
• What timing, sizing and location decisions must be made as part of capacity decisions?

The session also will look at the competitive priorities of the club and ways its competitive position in its industry is tied to the capacity expansion decision.

"Allocation of limited resources is critical to the success of any company, and capacity planning, facility location, scheduling and even inventory management are concepts not widely acknowledged as relevant to service industries. But they are as important, if not more important, to service industries than to manufacturing," said Brooke A. Saladin, Ph.D., CFPIM, who will present this session. "The session is designed to be interactive, and the problems and solutions we will explore are relevant to such diverse service industries as hotels, restaurants, hospitals and airlines."

This session is a highlight of the service industry educational sessions being offered at APICS '97 in conjunction with the debut of the new APICS Service SIG.

APICS '97 Exhibit Hall Nearly at Capacity

Sales of exhibit booth space for APICS '97 have been so brisk that the Exhibit Hall has almost sold out. To date, APICS has sold a total of 450 booth units comprising more than 45,000 square feet of space in the Washington Convention Center. The convention center's exhibit floor capacity is 50,000 square feet. The Exhibit Hall will be open Monday, Oct. 27, and Tuesday, Oct. 28, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information about exhibiting at APICS '97, contact Dee Willett, APICS program manager, exhibits sales, by calling (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344, ext. 2269, or by e-mail at [email protected]