BETHESDA, Md. – Organizers for the 2011 Virtual Aftermarket Forum say a dynamic lineup of speakers is now in place for the event, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST. The eForum, produced by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), will be conducted completely on the Web through a virtual event portal powered by ON24, a leader in Webcasting and virtual events.
Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and Gartner Fellow, Gartner Research, will kick off the presentations at 10 a.m., with "Top Technology Predictions for 2011 and Beyond." He will outline the best and most provocative technology predictions for the next few years that will drive actions for enterprises and individuals preparing current and next-generation IT strategies.
Richard Sherman, North American chapter director, Supply Chain Council (SCC), will present at 11:30 a.m., with "Optimizing Supply Chain Performance in the Vehicle Aftermarket." Sherman, one of the original authors of the Supply Chain Operational Reference Model (SCOR), will explain SCOR’s benefits and the financial impact of benchmarking and adopting best practices. He will also discuss the objectives of the Supply Chain Working Group formed by AAIA in collaboration with SCC.
Colin Masson, worldwide director of operations, Microsoft Corp., will explain what the business buzzword “cloud computing” is all about and why it deserves to be accounted for in your IT and business strategies, in "How Cloud Computing is Remaking Aftermarket Distribution" at 2 p.m.
At 3:30 p.m., Tom Marx, president and CEO, The Marx Group, will describe what content and information is wanted and needed by Web-using customers of manufacturers and auto parts stores that will facilitate their research and purchasing in "Content is King in a Web Marketing Strategy for Top Line Growth."
Rod Bayless, product director, Activant Solutions, will wrap up the day with his 5 p.m. presentation, "Turning Information into Intelligence – Data Warehousing," by explaining how data warehouses and advanced analytics are now considered a fundamental technology requirement to drive business growth.
“These presentations are just part of the complete 2011 Virtual Aftermarket eForum, which you can attend without leaving your home or office,” said Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO, AAIA. “This full-day event will include these live presentations, online discussions, networking and vendor trade show. As an added convenience, the entire program will be available on-demand for three months after the live event.”
Registration is now open at www.aftermarketeforum.com, where visitors will find the agenda, speaker profiles and other information. The cost of registration is $95 after early-bird and the AAIA membership discount, and attendees can earn continuing education units (CEUs) toward the AAP and MAAP designation from the University of the Aftermarket.
Vendors of technology products and services interested exhibiting in the eForum Virtual Trade Show should e-mail Gina Lemon at [email protected].
All proceeds of the 2011 Virtual Aftermarket eForum benefit the industry’s “Be Car Care Aware” consumer education campaign. Autologue is the exclusive gold sponsor for the 2011 eForum.
