COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) recently announced the lineup for its Operations & Logistics Focus Conference, June 5-7 in Delavan, Wisc. The keynote speaker for the event is Marty Clark, who will talk to attendees about communication strategies to increase their credibility, authority and influence.

Clark, a consultant and author of three books on communication, sales, and leadership, will lay out the roadmap of how you can avoid common communication problems and behaviors that cripple your ability to communicate in high pressure situations.

In addition to Clark, HARDI members can look forward to seeing the following five speakers: Jack Ampuja, president of Supply Chain Optimizers; Howard Coleman, principal of MCA Associates; Jerry Kilty, an operations and supply chain management consultant; Jon Melchi, vice president of Government Affairs & Business Development for HARDI; and Michael Workman, president of Workman Associates. 

Ampuja will lead a session focused on fighting the sharply increasing freight costs associated with Small Package Courier and Less Than Truckload shipments. Drawing on 30 years of supply chain management experience – including various Fortune 500 firms, published works and speaking engagements around the world – Ampuja will discuss the causes behind cost increases as well as the strategies and tactics distributors can employ to hold them in check.

Coleman has provided management consulting on business process re-engineering, inventory, and supply chain management, and organizational assessment and development, among other topics. In his session, Coleman will identify the common “wastes” of major warehouse and distribution center activities and the lean thinking methods and technologies available that debunk common practices within the context of small, medium size and large wholesale distributors. Coleman will also identify the key forces driving change, the 10 most common wastes and causes of non-productive time, and functional warehouse audits.

Jerry Kilty brings a career’s worth of experience providing operations management consulting and practical process improvements to his interactive session on inventory replenishment. Kilty will discuss the latest trends in replenishment, including push vs. pull systems, planning vs. expediting and whether or not you should implement Lean systems or distribution planning software. In addition to addressing the latest trends in replenishment, he invites attendees to bring their own questions about replenishment.

Melchi will speak on the latest regulatory actions and legislative issues impacting the HVACR industry, specifically those impacting distribution and logistical operations. This session is designed to help HVACR businesses clear these hurdles.

Workman will lead a session evaluating the functions of distribution and exploring methods to more effectively manage those operations. With more than 40 years studying distribution effectiveness, he will explore effective operational structures for smaller orders, quicker decision making on pricing and leveraging inventory assets, variable costs that management must influence, changing purchasing and inventory management needs, the structure and interaction of related sales functions, and the changing roles of managers.

HARDI members can register or get more information on this event at hardinet.org.