August 1996 € Volume 6 € Number 8

APICS Report


APICS Conference Appeals to Small Businesses

Recent studies indicate that small businesses account for the largest percentage of business creation and new employment in the United States. Many of these businesses must maximize their capabilities on tight budgets.

APICS '96 offers a slew of educational sessions during the conference that have relevance to the challenges faced by small businesses. Among the sessions of particular interest to small business:

"Beyond Buyer Planner: Will You Have the Right Skills?" This session will educate attendees about understanding what to purchase and planning for those purchases, critical to bottom-line success.

"Accounting and the Theory of Constraints." This session will demonstrate to attendees how traditional accounting can undermine a process of continuous improvement and teach how any accounting system can be modified to provide management with the information needed to make good decisions.

"Applying Big Business Planning for Small Business Success." This session will demonstrate and teach attendees which big business methods are critical to the success of a smaller operation and how to apply these methods.

"Beyond Education: Winning Hearts and Minds." Attendees will learn why education can fail to deliver fundamental improvements and how to ensure successful change by motivating people to transform their emotions and thought processes.

"The ABCs of Effective Communication." Attendees of this session will gain insight into how attitude, behavior and self-concept affect communication style; how the aim, bias and climate of an interaction ensure success; and why it is important to assess, blueprint and choose the best communication style.

For more information or to receive the complete APICS '96 Conference Registration Brochure, which includes descriptions of all conference educational sessions, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and ask for item #04037 or check the appropriate box on the FaxBack form.

Dun & Bradstreet First Company to Register a Team for Conference

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Information Services Co., one of the nation's best-known business information companies, has the honor of registering the first team for APICS '96. A group of 17 D&B executives from all over the United States will attend the conference in New Orleans from Oct. 13-16.

When asked why D&B is sending such a large group to the conference, Craig Verran, assistant vice president, explained that as a consequence of changes in the business environment (i.e., downsizing and outsourcing), the company began to focus heavily on developing products and services for the purchasing profession about three years ago -- what D&B refers to as supplier evaluation and management services. As a result, the information services division grew from two people to 20, and the APICS conference gave them the perfect venue for creating awareness for the company's new direction.

"Of equal importance for D&B is to have a major presence at the APICS conference to further educate our own staff on trends and basics of the purchasing profession," Verran said. "APICS offers a one-stop shop for state-of-the art education that is critical to the company's success."

Team discounts are available for two or more people from the same company location. Additional information about team discounts is available in the complete APICS '96 Conference Registration Brochure (item #04037) or by calling APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and requesting a company team registration packet (item #04052).

APICS '96 Targeted Brochures Now Available

APICS '96 includes educational sessions geared toward professionals whose functional areas cover accounting/finance, purchasing/supply chain management and quality in addition to sessions focusing on integrated resource management topics. To alert potential attendees of the benefits of these sessions, APICS has created three targeted brochures: Accounting/Finance (item #04093); Purchasing/Supply Chain Management (item #04094); and Quality (item #04095).

Members are encouraged to request these brochures to distribute within their companies. These specialty educational sessions are also listed in the full conference brochure.

To order these brochures, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and ask for the appropriate item numbers. To order the complete APICS '96 Conference Registration Brochure, request item #04037.

APICS '96 Offers Education and Entertainment

Education is the primary purpose of APICS '96, but the conference also offers rest and relaxation opportunities to enhance the attendees' overall experience. New Orleans is one of the most culturally eclectic and interesting cities in the world. Conference attendees can enjoy APICS-sponsored activities and take a number of exciting tours. Following are some highlights:

  • APICS '96 Jambalaya Jamboree Reception -- set for Sunday, Oct. 13, from 7-9 p.m. in the New Orleans Hilton Riverside -- is the perfect way to begin the conference. Attendees will enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar while meeting fellow attendees, speakers and exhibitors. Open to all attendees, the ballroom will be filled with the sounds of authentic New Orleans jazz and Cajun music.

  • Louisiana Swamplands Tour -- This narrated tour takes people through the bayous where they can get a boatside view of cypress trees covered in Spanish moss, tropical foliage and local wildlife including herons, egrets and maybe an alligator or two.

  • Spires, Crosses and Tombstones Tour -- If boats aren't a favorite mode of transportation, there is a landlubber's tour to several famous churches, including the St. Louis Cathedral in the heart of the French Quarter. The tour also covers New Orleans' unique cemeteries which, because of the city's high water table, feature above-ground tombs and unique architecture.

  • Circle the Crescent City Tour -- This narrated tour aboard a motor coach gives an overview of the city, visiting various points of interest including the French Quarter, the New Orleans Museum of Art and Lake Pontchartrain.

  • APICS' annual banquet, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6:15-11 p.m., is a major social highlight of the conference. With a theme of "Black or White," this evening features a three-course meal, strolling musicians, a cash bar and after-dinner dancing.

    For more information about APICS-related activities, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and ask for the complete APICS '96 Conference Registration Brochure (item #04037) or check the appropriate box on the FaxBack form. To schedule one of the tours or for more information about other exciting events, attendees can contact the hotel concierge or front desk when they arrive in New Orleans.

    First Registrant Lends International Air to APICS '96

    Nigel Keating, manager of manufacturing systems for Smith Kline Beecham, in London, is the first registrant for APICS '96, the international conference and exhibition set for Oct. 13-16 in New Orleans.

    A long-time international member of APICS, Keating will be attending his second APICS conference in the last three years. When asked why he comes all the way from England for the conference, Keating answered that the global nature of his job and its emphasis on logistics makes it critical for him to keep up on the latest practices, products and technologies offered at the conference.

    "What I like best about the conference is that I can take advantage of the great number and diversity of educational sessions that go on simultaneously. We have nothing like that in Europe," Keating said. "I also am impressed by the size of the bookstore. It's the biggest one I've ever seen at a conference of this kind."

    For more information or to receive the full APICS '96 Conference Program Brochure, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and ask for item #04037 or check the appropriate box on the FaxBack form.

    Exhibit Floor Terminals Help Locate Conference Functions

    APICS '96 attendees who misplace their on-site guides or brochures and wonder how they're going to find a critically important educational session need not panic. APICS '96 offers a new service to help attendees find their way during the conference, Oct. 13-16, in New Orleans. A cluster of four computer locator terminals will be set up in the registration lobby of the convention center to help attendees take advantage of all the educational and other conference events.

    Attendees will be able to enter a key word and the computer will list all educational sessions on that subject along with the room number, instructor's name and time of the session.

    "In essence, the locator mimics the information found on the matrix in the full conference brochure and the on-site guide," said Chris Thiel, CEM, APICS director of conference and meetings. "The terminals also will help attendees find the location of exhibiting companies and other attendee information."

    The locators also will act as a message center for conference attendees. Attendees can go to the terminal and key in a message, or leave a voice message on a telephone directly connected to the computer terminal. Attendees also will be able to use the terminal to pick up their messages. In addition, the message center will list the names of all conference attendees, their company name, the hotel they are staying in and the dates they will be attending the conference.

    For more information about this system, contact Thiel at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344, ext. 230. Information about this service also will appear in the conference on-site guide.

    APICS '96 Information Available on Web Site

    One of the major features on the new APICS Web site (http://www.apics.org) is APICS '96, which offers detailed information about the conference, set for Oct. 13-16 in New Orleans.

    With information about keynote speakers, general education sessions and social activities, the conference Web area also offers users a link to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau for a wealth of information about one of North America's oldest and most charming cities.

    The APICS '96 Web site will be updated regularly. Eventually, prospective attendees will be able to register for the conference electronically.

    For more information, e-mail JoAnna Battin, APICS marketing associate, at [email protected]