Feb 28, 2013RFID Journal announced today that presenters from Bloomingdale's and Carrier Corp. will deliver keynote addresses at RFID Journal LIVE! 2013. The event will also feature presentations from BP and Vail Resorts, as well as a panel of experts from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS). LIVE! 2013 will be held from Apr. 30 to May 2, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center, located in Orlando, Fla.
In Bloomingdale's keynote session, Roger V. Blazek, the company's VP of shortage control for omnichannel, will discuss the retailer's RFID journey from concept to rollout (see Bloomingdale's Tests Item-Level RFID, Bloomingdale's Tracks Strong Results from RFID Pilot and Macy's Inc. to Begin Item-Level Tagging in 850 Stores). Blazek will explain how he first recognized RFID's potential for retailers, developed a strategy to support Bloomingdale's highly regarded brand, obtained senior management buy-in and managed an initial pilot and process change. Attendees will hear where RFID can deliver value for retailers, as well as the facts every company must know in order to deploy the technology successfully.
A second keynote session will be presented by Balaji Suresh, Carrier's materials manager for United Technologies Corp.'s UTC Climate, Controls and Security division. This presentation will explain how the firm improved its operations by implementing RFID technology. Suresh will discuss how the solution was designed and implemented, how it reduced truck-loading errors by more than 80 percent and how it boosted shipping productivity by 33 percent, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings. In addition, attendees will learn what's ahead for RFID at Carrier.
Robert Urwiler, Vail Resorts' CIO, will present the third keynote session, discussing the use of RFID and social media to engage consumers (see Vail Resorts Links RFID With Social Media and Vail Resorts Takes Pioneering Trail). Vail Resorts, a 2009 RFID Journal Award winner (see Benefits Up and Down the Ski Slope), pioneered the use of RFID and social media to allow skiers to record and share the number of vertical feet they skied during a season. Now, Vail is taking its EpicMix customer application to new levels, with automatic check-ins, photo-capture capability, a Web site with point leaders and much more. Urwiler will explain how this application has benefitted Vail and its customers, and will share best practices for engaging customers with RFID and social media.
BP will be featured in a fourth keynote address, presented by Blaine Tookey, a senior technology consultant with the chief technology office at BP Information Technology & Services (IT&S). Tookey will share how BP has utilized RFID track-and-trace technology to improve operations (see BP Uses RFID Sensors to Track Pipe Corrosion and BP Refines Maintenance Operations). The solution is providing important handling information, while enabling the firm to identify equipment that may not have been transported correctly, thereby reducing operational failures, ensuring on-time delivery, improving safety, and limiting delays in finding particular containers and equipment. Attendees will learn how the company is managing its real-time tracking data, and how value is created by exchanging information with other project partners across a complex supply chain of aggregation facilities, storage warehouses, docks, vessels and yards, until the equipment is delivered for installation.
Speakers from Airbus will participate in a panel discussion regarding how the EADS group, including Airbus, manages RFID (see Airbus Expands RFID Part Marking Across All of Its Aircraft Families and Airbus Leads the Way). Jamil Khalil, Airbus' head of sourcing and EADS coordination, and Carlo K. Nizam, the company's head of value chain visibility and RFID, will explore some of the new RFID processes being rolled out by EADS companies, how these processes are adding real business value, and the motivations and benefits of sharing synergies across the EADS group.
"This is one of the strongest lineups of speakers that we've ever had," says Mark Roberti, RFID Journal's founder and editor. "Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from end users that have deployed major RFID systems for some of the world's most respected companies."
LIVE! 2013 will also feature four industry-specific and four how-to conference tracks, as well as 10 in-depth preconference seminars and workshops, four new post-conference workshops, fast-track training and the RFID Journal Awards. In addition, the conference will offer exhibits and demonstrations conducted by the industry's leading technology firms.
