Keynotes from Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson & Whirlpool execs highlight NextGen conference agenda

If you are looking to hear from top-notch speakers, the NextGen Supply Chain Conference is the place to be this October.

In addition to previously announced keynote addresses from executives at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Whirlpool, the lineup now includes leaders from a diverse group of organizations, including U.S. Cellular, Carhartt, Hai Robotics, Leidos, Corning, Agility Robotics and NewCold among others.

Keynote speakers this year include Amy Rardin, global senior director at Procter & Gamble; Luis Roman, vice president of MedTech Supply Chain at Johnson & Johnson; and Jennifer Springer, senior director of customer fulfillment at Whirlpool.

This year’s NextGen Supply Chain Conference, presented by Supply Chain Management Review and Peerless Media, will be held on Oct. 21-23 at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel in downtown Chicago. The event starts with an opening reception on the evening of Monday, Oct. 21, at the famous Chicago hotel, with full days of content following on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The full agenda was released this morning and can be viewed here.

The NextGen Supply Chain Conference’s theme this year is “Digitization is here, what’s next?” More information, including registration information, is available on the NextGen website.

Sponsors for this year’s NextGen Supply Chain Conference include Diamond Sponsor Honeywell Intelligrated. Platinum Sponsors are Korber, Addverb and Zion Solutions Group. Gold Sponsor is Hai Robotics. Silver Sponsor is Dematic. Bronze Sponsor are Aptean and Gather AI and Associate Sponsors are TGW, Made4Net and Peak Technologies.

Tuesday’s highlights

Rardin’s morning keynote, titled “How Procter & Gamble Partners to Maximize On-Shelf Availability,” will kick off the event Tuesday morning.

She will be followed by Jennifer Springer, senior director, fulfillment, for Whirlpool Corporation. Springer will detail how Whirlpool tackled sustainability in a presentation titled, “How Whirlpool Achieved the Trifecta with Lithium Ion MHE Fleets: Environmental Sustainability, Productivity Gains and Cost Savings in Warehouse Operations.”

Amy Augustine, senior director of network supply chain at U.S. Cellular, will present on Change Leadership in the Digital Age.

Tuesday will also see a panel discussion on the Future of Transportation and how electric and autonomous vehicles will change supply chain operations. Additionally, there will be small group breakout sessions (registration is required for these) on Tuesday afternoon, including one led by Craig Moss, director of data and change management at the Digital Supply Chain Institute. Moss will lead an interactive discussion on what leaders can learn from video games in successfully navigating digital supply chain transformations. The second breakout session is a Women in Supply Chain panel discussion with some of the top women executive leaders in the space.

Gather AI will be joined by Taylor Logistics on stage for a presentation on how Taylor has incorporated warehouse drones successfully.

Also on Tuesday, the NextGen Conference will present its 2024 End User Awards and presentations, sponsored by Zion Solutions Group. Schneider Electric will be honored with the Digital Transformation award and Estee Lauder will be presented with the End User Artificial Intelligence award.

Award winners include Walmart, which will receive the Visionary Award on Tuesday afternoon. Karisa Sprague, senior vice president of fulfillment and reverse operations, Walmart U.S. Supply Chain, will accept and present. Squint will be honored with the NextGen Start-Up award.

Wednesday highlights

The second day of the conference will kick off with a keynote address from Luis Roman of Johnson & Johnson. Diageo and Corning will also host presentations on Wednesday morning followed by the day’s breakout sessions.

A panel discussion, “Warehouse and Distribution: The Automation Revolution” will kick off this block. Panelists include executives from GXO Logistics, Carhartt, UPS Healthcare and Hai Robotics.

Jonas Swarttouw, EVP commercial and chairman North America for NewCold will then come on stage for a fireside chat on automation in the supply chain, presenting the keys to successful technology deployment including understanding your requirements, building a business case and the site and supplier selection process.

Moss will again host a second small group breakout session. Prior registration is required for this session. A second breakout session featuring Douglas Kent, executive VP, corporate and strategic alliances for the Association of Supply Chain Management, titled “Charting the Course for Supply Chain Resilience,” will focus on how to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of disruptions.

Following a lunch break, the afternoon sessions will see a case study, “Purchasing and Supply Management Capabilities: Aligning for the Future of Business.” This session will be led by Dan Pellathy, faculty at the University of Tennessee, and include an executive from Leidos.

The afternoon will also see the announcement of the NextGen Solution Provider awards, sponsored by Zion Solutions Group. Solution Provider Award winners will each give a short presentation followed by a panel discussion with all the winners. Solution Provider Award winners are:

Robotics category: Agility Robotics

Digital Transformation: Westfalia Technologies

Artificial Intelligence: AutoScheduler.AI

Predictive Analytics: Waites Sensor Technologies

Speaker lineup

Speakers scheduled to appear include:

• Amy T. Augustine, senior director of network supply chain at U.S. Cellular
• Craig Moss, director of data and change management at the Digital Supply Chain Institute
• Sankalp Arora, CEO & co-founder of Gather AI
• Devin Bhushan, founder & CEO of Squint
• Drew Eubank, EVP and co-founder, Zion Solutions Group
• Tony Gariety, VP distribution operations, Carhartt
• Jade Jolene Johnston, director, procurement, strategic sourcing, Leidos
• Matthew Kelly, director of strategic partnerships and commercial development, Hai Robotics
• Keith Moore, CEO, Autoscheduler.AI
• Craig Moss, director of data and change management, Digital Supply Chain Institute
• Mike Packer, director of healthcare automation and implementation, UPS Healthcare
• Dan Pellathy, faculty, University of Tennessee
• AJ Raaker, director of warehouse development, Taylor Logistics
• Rob Ratterman, CEO and co-founder Waites Sensor Technologies
• Rochelle M. Savel, manufacturing and supply chain management director, Emerging Innovations Group, Corning
• Ryan Smith, VP of automation, Westfalia Technologies
• Jonas Swarttouw, executive VP commercial and chairman North America, NewCold
• Pras Velagapudi, chief technology officer, Agility Robotics
• Adrian Stoch, chief automation officer, GXO Logistics
• Douglas Kent, executive VP, corporate and strategic alliances, Association of Supply Chain Management

More speakers will be announced soon.

Discounted hotel rates are available until Oct. 4. More information on the hotel, including links to secure rooms at the discounted rate, is available here: https://www.nextgensupplychainconference.com/venue/.

There is still time to be a sponsor or exhibitor as well. Information on available sponsorships or if you are interested in exhibiting, can be found here: https://www.nextgensupplychainconference.com/sponsors-exhibitors/.

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