The future of warehousing is here...almost

Attendees of WERC's annual conference will learn how to effectively forge the future of warehousing as presenters reflect on the past and present.

By -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/1/2001

If you're interested in the future of warehousing, you won't want to miss lunch on Monday, April 23 at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside. That's where five past presidents of the Warehousing Education Research Council (WERC) will share their insights on where the industry is going based on where it's been.

This presentation is part of WERC's 24 ^th annual conference, April 22-25.

The past three decades of warehousing will be covered by panelists Bruce R. Abels, president, Saddle Creek Corp.; William R. Foltz, director of logistics, Foster Farms; Leslie Hansen Harps, writer, Leslie Harps Communications; Clifford K. Otto, senior vice president, Chep; and Thomas W. Speh, director, Warehousing Research Center.

The panelists will address topics that are presently affecting the future. These include: labor shortages, the quality of recent college graduates, e-commerce, cross-docking, warehousing equipment and automation, and the emerging role of third party logistics providers (3PL). Over 1,000 warehousing and distribution professionals will then have a chance to participate in this interactive panel discussion from 11:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m.

Thomas L. Freese, principal, Freese & Associates, Inc., and moderator of the luncheon event, offers an early look at what the e-commerce portion of the discussion might entail.

In 5 years, e-commerce is expected to reach $1.2 trillion, requiring 1 million employees. The discussion will center on how to pick, pack, and ship orders to meet such demand while maintaining and training the workforce needed to get the job done.

In addition to this presentation, a variety of topics will be covered at the conference. William (Gus) Pagonis, executive vice president of logistics, Sears, Roebuck & Co., will talk about logistics and leadership. Richard Armstrong, president of Armstrong & Associates, Inc., will discuss the new paradigm: 3PL & Logistics Web sites.

Thirteen facility tours, five more than last year, will be offered of five different warehouse operations. These are the Port of New Orleans, Glazer's Companies of Louisiana, Silocaf of New Orleans, Inc., NASA's Michoud Assembly facility, and Federal Express Airport facility.

Apart from roundtable discussions, 30 different breakout sessions have been categorized under 10 major tracks: systems, people, facilities, processes, strategies, metrics, customer satisfaction, relationships, value-added services, and e-commerce.

"The increasing demand from customers and the speed of technology have pushed all components of the supply chain to the next level and the results are exciting. We are confident that attendees will leave with the information they need to effectively forge the future," says William T. Gates, 2001 annual conference chair and president and COO, Standard Corp.

For more information, visit www.werc.org or call 630-990-0001.

WERC Annual Conference

April 22-25 Hilton Riverside New Orleans, La.

Conference Hours:

Sunday, 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Monday, 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.