APICS International Conferences always offer a variety of educational sessions designed to give attendees valuable information that can be readily implemented in the workplace. Below and in the September issue, APICS—The Performance Advantage highlights some of the "can't-be-missed" educational opportunities.

•Strategic Business Partnerships: Customers and Suppliers

A senior-level manager from Texas Instruments' Semiconductor Group will give an overall approach to strategic business partnering, highlighting examples of such partnerships with both customers and suppliers. The instructor will stress that the ties between overall corporate strategy and a business partnership strategy are critical in evaluating the potential of all partnerships.

 

•Large-Scale Strategic Change: The Experiences of American Woodmark

Presented by the chairman of American Woodmark, a furniture manufacturer, this case study examines a restructuring initiated even though the company's financial performance was at record levels. Discover how the company concluded that radical change was necessary, the actions taken to convince others of this need, the difficult journey to implement this change, and the quantum improvements that made this transformation worthwhile.

 

•Strategic Cost Management

Providing an overseas perspective, a professor from the University of Manchester School of Business in England will discuss how, in today's highly competitive environment, many firms find themselves under intense pressure to reduce costs. It is no longer good enough to just "slash and burn," it is now necessary to reduce costs in ways that simultaneously strengthen the organization's competitive position. This presentation integrates the very best of Japanese and American cost management practices, exploring how to strategically manage costs from the conception of a product or service until it is taken off the market.

With more than 170 educational sessions, it can be difficult for one person to fully benefit from the vast learning opportunities at APICS '97. But two or more people from one company can better take advantage of the conference's educational benefits and compare notes later. Teresa Gregory and Roy Cooper, who have the honor of being the first APICS '97 registrants, will attend the conference as a team for the second consecutive year. Gregory, who is in the information systems area, and Cooper, a resale and materials purchasing agent, work at the Williamsport, Md., plant of the Certainteed Corp., a manufacturer of vinyl siding and window materials.

"I find the conference informative and interesting, but it can get frustrating because there's so much you want to do and don't have the time," said Gregory. "We go as a team to cover as many bases as possible, and it's especially useful as Roy and I are both working on CPIM."

When asked to choose one aspect of the conference that's of most value to her at work, Gregory selected the networking opportunities.

"Information sharing and finding out how others handle different situations is great," she said. "I work in different areas in information systems and accounting, and the exhibits, for example, give me a chance to bring back things that we can use internally and share with managers in the plant."

Cooper said he draws inspiration from the general session speakers, and specifically mentioned Gen. Colin Powell, (USA-Ret.), a 1996 general session speaker.

"Last year was both Teresa's and my first conference, and Powell's address energized me for the whole week," Cooper said. "We work closely together on various projects and it's good that we attended the conference as a team because we covered a lot of bases as far as the educational sessions and expanded upon what we learned individually."

Cooper added that he also attended the Constraints Management Symposium in Denver in May and is sold on APICS education as a means of staying current in his field.

Richard Jeni, who has brought his talent for comedy to film, television and live performances, will provide the entertainment at the APICS '97 Banquet on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Jeni is best known for his roles as Jim Carrey's sidekick, Charlie, in the hit film The Mask, and as the star of his own television situation comedy, Platypus Man.

Jeni has received numerous honors as both a performer and a writer. He was named 1993 "Best Male Stand-Up Comic" by the American Comedy Awards and won two CableAce Awards for shows he wrote and hosted on HBO and the Arts and Entertainment Network.

The APICS '97 educational sessions and exhibits offer great learning opportunities for attendees, but the learning doesn't end at the classroom or exhibit hall exits. The APICS SIG Roundtable Sessions will provide an interactive learning forum. Each SIG will sponsor a roundtable session featuring different discussion topics between attendees and experts from the eight APICS specific industries or interest areas.

Following are the themes for each SIG Roundtable Session:

Complex Industries — The Next Generation of Manufacturing
Constraints Management — Practicing Common Sense
Process Industries — Managing the Supply Chain
Remanufacturing — Dollars & Sense
Repetitive Manufacturing — The Repetitive Advantage
Small Manufacturing — Gaining the Competitive Edge
Service — The New Frontier
Textile & Apparel — Strategies & Solutions

For more detailed information about the SIG Roundtable Sessions, contact APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and request the APICS Conference Registration Brochure (item #04066). Information also is available on the APICS site on the World Wide Web, http://www.apics.org

For more information about APICS '97, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and request a copy of 1997 Conference Program Brochure (item #04066).

APICS '98 Arvil Sexton Named 1998 APICS Conference Committee Chair Arvil Sexton, CPIM, whose APICS involvement spans more than three decades, has been named chair of the 1998 APICS International Conference and Exhibition, which will be held in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 1-4, 1998. A retired manufacturing manager, Sexton resides in Erlanger, Ky., and has held several society positions, including two terms as a regional vice president and as a member of the 1995 APICS International Conference and Exhibition committee. He also has been active in the APICS Educational and Research (E&R) Foundation for many years, serving as foundation president in 1991. Call for Presentations for 1998 APICS International Conference and Exhibition People interested in submitting a topic for an educational session at the 1998 APICS International Conference and Exhibition, set for Nov. 1-4, 1998, in Nashville, Tenn., should request a Call for Presentations application. To order an application form, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and request item #04004. The deadline for submitting the application is Nov. 21, 1997.

 

Copyright © 2020 by APICS — The Educational Society for Resource Management. All rights reserved.

Web Site © Copyright 2020 by Lionheart Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Lionheart Publishing, Inc.
2555 Cumberland Parkway, Suite 299, Atlanta, GA 30339 USA
Phone: +44 23 8110 3411 | br> E-mail:
Web: www.lionheartpub.com


Web Design by Premier Web Designs
E-mail: [email protected]