The Future Starts This Week At E&S Industry Summit

Members from three of the industry’s leading associations, representing the manufacturing, distribution and service levels, convene this week for a much-anticipated all-industry conference.

The Future Starts Here: E&S Industry Summit, March 21-25 in Palm Desert, Calif., brings together FEDA members with those from CFESA and NAFEM for educational and networking opportunities, problem solving, and issue sharing while providing each organization time to conduct necessary annual business.

On Wednesday, each association will host individual committee/board/specialty meetings before the conference officially kicks off that evening with a networking reception and dinner. All three groups will hold their annual business meetings Thursday morning. FEDA’s gathering will include the group’s membership meeting and a tribute to longtime executive director Ray Herrick. Afterward, FEDA members will join with their counterparts from CFESA and NAFEM for keynote presentations, panel discussions and facilitated, interactive roundtables. The future of foodservice is a topic of special focus, with discussion zeroing in on overall business trends, equipment and supplies, and customer business trends that will shape the industry over the next decades.

Thursday’s keynote speaker is Jeremy Gutsche, who will go over his Better & Faster Innovation Assessment, sent to and completed by registrants earlier in the week. Gutsche will help industry members discover their innovation archetype and provide specific tactics to realize their potential. Friday focuses on how industries with complicated distribution channels can evolve and change—through technology, innovation, service, product development, and more—to meet the growing demands of their marketplace. Saturday includes another series of roundtable discussions as well as golf and tennis tournaments before the evening wrap-up celebration.

A networking lounge will be open throughout the conference, and tabletop exhibitors will be displaying their products in the foyer outside of the general sessions area. All the information about the conference and agenda are available to registrants on a mobile app.