HARDI Announces Speakers, Content for Operations and Logistics Conference

COLUMBUS, Ohio — This week, HARDI announced the lineup for its Operations & Logistics Focus Conference, June 5-7 in Delavan, Wisconsin. The keynote speaker for this event is Marty Clark, who will talk to attendees about communication strategies to increase their credibility, authority and influence.

HARDI members can look forward to seeing the following six speakers:

MARTY CLARK (KEYNOTE)
Communicating Well When the Heat is On!
Marty Clark, consultant and author of three books on communication, sales and leadership, will lay out the road map of how you can avoid common communication problems and behaviors that cripple your ability to communicate well in high-pressure situations. Clark will help you set yourself apart in the most powerful ways possible by providing practical tips and real-world strategies for making material and immediate improvements in communication, leading to a dramatic increase in your ability to present yourself with credibility and authority.

JACK AMPUJA
What Can You Do to Combat Rising Freight Costs?
Jack Ampuja, president of Supply Chain Optimizers, leads this 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.

HOWARD COLEMAN
Lean Warehousing: From Cost Center to Profit Center — A Strategy for Speed & Future Cost Avoidance
Howard Coleman is the principal of MCA Associates, which, for 30 years, 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 and large wholesale distributors. Coleman will also identify the key forces driving change, the 10 most common wastes and causes of nonproductive time, and functional warehouse audits.

JERRY KILTY
Current Trends in Replenishment
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-versus-pull systems, planning versus 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 questions.

JON MELCHI
HARDI Government Affairs Briefing
Jon 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.

MICHAEL WORKMAN
Operations Effectiveness for the Short Term
Michael Workman leads this session evaluating the functions of distribution and exploring methods to manage more effectively 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.