CEOs from leading multi-unit restaurant companies will discuss supply chain management hot topics at the National Restaurant Association’s newly formed Supply Chain Management Executive Study Group next month in Chicago.
The two-day conference will feature several leading restaurant executives discussing the value of managing supply chain issues, including sessions focusing on emerging issues, commodity strategies, and creating a culture of food safety.
“We are thrilled to see the level of engagement in supply chain issues exhibited by executives of some of our industry’s most successful companies, and welcome their insights at our Supply Chain Management Executive Study Group conference,” says Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
“Commodity strategies, food safety and traceability, and legislative topics are areas that directly contribute to a restaurant’s profitability, making a supply chain focus of critical importance. We hope our conference will help shed more light on these issues by addressing industry-wide concerns and opportunities.”
A panel featuring top-level restaurant executives titled “Measuring Supply Performance and Communicating Value” will be the first session in the conference lineup starting at 2:15 p.m. on May 3. George Hoffman, president and chief executive officer of Restaurant Services, Inc. (RSI), will moderate the panel.
The panel will consist of Don Fox, chief executive officer of Firehouse of America, LLC; Andrew Cherng, founder/chairman of the board of Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.; and Carin Stutz, chief executive officer of Cosí, Inc.
Additional conference sessions will include supply chain executives from a range of restaurant companies (including Brinker International, ARAMARK, Au Bon Pain, and Del Taco), as well as insights from suppliers, distributors, and analysts. For a full conference agenda, visit the National Restaurant Association’s website.
As part of the Association’s Executive Study Group conference series, the Supply Chain Management group aims to facilitate dialogue and best practice exchange around issues such as increasing commodity and wholesale food prices, sourcing of ingredients, and traceability of products.
The group will address the full spectrum of the field, including purchasing, distribution, logistics, quality assurance, freight and inventory management, and provide perspective applicable to restaurant operations of all sizes.
The Supply Chain Management Executive Study Group conference will be held at Intercontinental Chicago, May 3-4, 2012, preceding the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (May 5-8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place).
