GS1 Connect 2012 conference details announced

The annual GS1 Connect Conference for supply-chain executives and professionals will be held June 4 to 7, 2012, at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, it was announced by host GS1 US. 

The event debuted in 2000 as the U Connect Conference. Since then it has been attended by more than 10,000 people. Attendees hail from multiple industries that use GS1 standards as a foundation for sharing information and creating more-effective and efficient business processes. This will be the first gathering with the new name. 

"GS1 Connect is the premier conference in the U.S. for industry to learn about GS1 standards from industry leaders and GS1 standards experts," says Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US. "The knowledge GS1 Connect offers is increasingly important as smartphone and computer applications make the supply chain visible to consumers, and as developments in areas such as RFID and Product Data Management change the playing field for everyone in the supply chain."

Nearly 2 million companies in two dozen industries globally use GS1 standards and solutions for supply-chain efficiency, traceability and collaboration.

GS1 Connect 2012 logo

GS1 Connect 2012, with the theme, "Business Moving Forward," continues the model of a conference planned by industry, for industry. It will cover the timeliest and most important issues facing business leaders in Apparel, Consumer Packaged Goods, Foodservice, Fresh Foods, General Merchandise, Grocery, Healthcare, and other sectors.
 
The conference agenda is being developed by the GS1 Connect Community Advisory Board (CAB), a planning committee of users representing all major industries that use GS1 standards. Its members are working to deliver content for industry stakeholders such as manufacturers, brand owners, distributors, retailers and solution providers. 

"The fresh food industry is tackling the complex challenges of food traceability and safety with the help of GS1 standards," says Debra Noyes, IT change management process owner of Johnsonville Sausage LLC, and co-chair of the Fresh Foods/CPG planning group for the GS1 Connect CAB. 

"We are in a unique position to actively shape the conference agenda to meet the current needs of the fresh foods industry and relate those needs to the Consumer Packaged Goods industry," she said. "Our goal is to provide plenty of opportunities for GS1 Connect attendees to learn about standards, network with trading partners, and share best practices."

In addition to sector-specific content, GS1 Connect will present sessions that provide best practices and innovations supporting key supply-chain processes for product and location identification; inventory efficiency; traceability and safety; business-to-consumer (B2C) communication; trading-partner collaboration; and data quality/management/synchronization.

Conference sessions will take place in the Aria's in-house convention center, which is accessible directly from its guestrooms. Located in the Las Vegas City Center, just steps from the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and Bellagio, the property also offers 16 restaurants and a spa. After the hotel's opening in December 2009, an article in Popular Mechanics said it "may be the most technologically advanced hotel ever built." 

GS1 US has also announced that the online community formerly known as U Connect Online, with nearly 400 registered users, will become GS1 Connect Online immediately. More information about GS1 Connect 2012 and GS1 Connect Online is available at www.gs1connectevent.org.

Source: GS1 US 
 

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