Sunday, June 29, 2008

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Meet the Retailer/How to Do Business With…
This is an unprecedented opportunity…don’t miss it!
On Sunday morning, 12 major retail companies will explain who they are, how they come to market, and what they are looking for from the manufacturers who supply them. You will hear firsthand from a senior management team from each retailer, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions. These presentations will be presented in three flights of three or four retailers at a time, each in a separate room. You will need to split your team if you intend to hear each of them. The retailers include: CVS, Costco, Chain Drug Consortium, Cardinal Health, Longs, Meijer, SUPERVALU, Sears Holdings, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart. If you want to know what’s going on in one of these companies or what it takes to do business with them, or you want to meet their management and ask them a question, you can’t afford to miss this program

Monday, June 30, 2008

8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Bringing Products to Market in Drug, Food, & Mass
Bringing products to market is probably the most exciting and fulfilling experience you can have. Doing it successfully for mass retailing can be challenging… but it’s not impossible. It’s about understanding our industry and its business practices. This presentation coupled with the white paper “Products to Market” will cover all the basics you need to develop a successful “Go to Market Strategy.” Even if you have been doing it for years, this program is a great refresher on the basics. If you are just beginning to enter the market, this is a must-attend session.

Engaging Brokers and Other 3rd Party Sales & Marketing Assistance
When you are new to the industry, when you don’t have a dedicated sales force, when you’d value some outside guidance, or need a team that has the relationship you want to eventually develop, a Broker or Sales & Marketing Company may be your most effective resource. This presentation will help you understand the important role these entities can provide to help you develop and implement you most effective introduction strategy. You’ll learn what they can and can’t do for your organization, a decision process by which to engage them, and a means to establishing mutual goals and expectations to insure a successful partnership. When your business is emerging and developing, these entities can provide the industry specific knowledge, the account relationships, and the efficiency you need to successfully introduce your products to the market.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
New Ways of Working Together
How should companies collaborate over the next few years? Are our people trained with the proper skill sets to meet the changing dynamics of the new ways of working together? Are we adequately focused on our mutual consumer? Are we sharing our supply chain? And are we using the data that we collect in our trading relationship most effectively? These are the questions that a group of trading partners sought to find answers to when they initiated a pilot to look at the future of collaboration. In this session you will hear how these strategic issues may change the way trading partners collaborate in the future. 

Hoops and Hurdles – What to Anticipate When you Sell to Drug, Food, & Mass
After the Category Manager says your product is in, there are many business practices and conditions that need to be negotiated, mutually agreed upon, and recorded. Things like terms, free goods, pay on scan, guaranteed sale, promotional support, reverse logistics, and exit strategies are just a few of the many things that define the business relationship and impact your profitability. This session and the accompanying white paper “Hoops and Hurdles” are designed to help you successfully traverse this part of the buying and selling process.