RFID Journal has announced that Bob McDonald, COO of Procter & Gamble; Greg Johnston, executive VP of Sam’s Club; and Ray Martino, CTO of Motorola Enterprise Mobility will deliver keynote addresses at RFID Journal LIVE! 2008, RFID Journal’s sixth annual conference and exhibition. This event—the world’s largest RFID conference and exhibition—will be held April 16-18, 2008, at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
The conference program will feature more than 50 end-user case studies and how-to sessions led by experts with real-world RFID experience. And more than 200 speakers will present objective information about where RFID can benefit businesses—and where it cannot. Among the speakers already confirmed for the conference program are:
• Ken Mangold, J.B. Hunt Transport Services
• Mark Moran, John Deere
• Steve Lederer, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
• Ann Ferriter, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Zachary Thom, Unilever
• Brian Chisholm, Rexam
• David Richards, ASD Healthcare
• John Ryan, Hawaii Department of Agriculture
• Debbie Fogg, Spirit AeroSystems
• Ed Benincasa, FN Manufacturing
• Max Tejeda, Tejas Tubular
• Larry Pietrowski, Costa View Farms
• Yoshibumi Kotsuka, Mitsui & Co.
• Nicolas Bondarenco, IATA
• Drew Nathanson, Venture Development Corp.
• Sue Hutchison, EPCglobal
• Marc-Anthony Signorino, National Association of Manufacturers
The program is divided into eight tracks. Five focus on industries benefiting from RFID: Retail/Consumer Packaged Goods; Aerospace/Defense; Pharmaceuticals; Supply Chain/Logistics; and Manufacturing. Three more are designed to help attendees at every level capitalize on the benefits of RFID: Getting Started; How to Deploy RFID; and Executive Strategy.
The event will also feature 10 preconferences that will address the educational needs of specific audiences within the broader RFID community:
- RFID Journal University will offer the foundational knowledge needed to understand RFID applications and engage vendors.
- RFID in the Food Chain will show how RFID and related technologies can improve operations, reduce spoilage and save money for meat, fresh produce and other companies.
- RFID for IT Service Providers will explain how companies that provide IT services can track their assets and develop RFID applications for their customers.
- RFID for the Government Sector will explain how government agencies can use RFID to track assets, files and evidence, improve library operations and develop parking management and other applications.
- RFID in Health Care will educate health-care providers on how to use RFID to improve patient safety, automate billing and improve asset utilization and maintenance.
- RFID for Packaging and Labeling will explain how packaging manufacturers and label converters can add RFID to their products.
- RFID in the Chemical Industry will reveal how chemical companies can employ a variety of RFID technologies to improve the safety, security and efficiency of their supply chains.
- RFID in the Auto Industry will focus on how automobile companies can use RFID to improve parts management, track work in process and enhance supply chain efficiencies.
- AIM Auto-ID Channel Seminar, produced in partnership with , will help systems integrators, resellers and value-added resellers (VARs) understand how they can add RFID to their service offerings.
- RFID for Investors, produced in partnership with , will help provide venture capitalists and other investors with insights into the market.
What’s more, RFID Journal LIVE! 2008 will feature more than 200 leading technology providers exhibiting on a 100,000-square-foot trade show floor. The exhibit hall will showcase live demonstrations and, for the first time, technology companies will compete for the new Best in Show product award, to be determined by attendees.
In addition, EPCglobal will conduct a Joint Action Group meeting prior to RFID Journal LIVE! 2008, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers will hold its IEEE RFID 2008 conference in conjunction with the event. The EPCglobal meeting is a gathering of members from all action groups that contribute to the development of EPCglobal standards. The IEEE event is the second in a series of annual conferences dedicated to addressing technical and policy challenges in the areas of RFID technologies, as well as the support of large-scale distributed information systems and applications.