2021 SLD Business Resource Meeting Recap

Automation & Innovation

This past November the Southern Leadership Division (SLD) group headed to the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for their annual business resource meeting. We kicked off the 3-day meeting with “Advice from the Corner Office,” with Hugh Raetzsch, President and CEO of Lyons Specialty and President of The Southern, sharing with the group what it takes to deliver industry-leading category management solutions to retail partners. Following Hugh, Spencer Taylor, with Lumen Group, walked us through how to optimize our workforces so that they lead to a substantial increase to our bottom lines.

After lunch, we headed over to RED Stamp to tour their manufacturing facility. REDStamp is the industry leader in delivering and supporting excise tax stamping systems, automated case cutting machinery, and unique material handling solutions. We also had an opportunity to learn more about long time member and supporter ProCat Technologies’ latest software solutions. Thank you to Tim Vetter, Matt Cobble and Steve Stomel for their hospitality.

On day two, we partnered with the local non-profit Kid’s Food Basket. We rolled up our sleeves and put together snack bags and wrote personal letters for those kids receiving these important packages. Immediately following, we got together in teams and competed in a Escape from Beer City game. A great time was had by all. After lunch, we headed over to Dematic, a leading supplier of integrated automated technology, software and services to optimize the supply chain to tour their testing facility, including their robotics. Thank you to Garrett Freeman and the rest of the Dematic team for an informative afternoon.

2021 SPONSORS

We ended the meeting on day three with our Round Table Discussion. Facilitated by Morgan Allain, SLD President, this popular session allows attendees to get together in an informal setting to discuss issues related to the industry or a specific business process while sharing best practices. n