TMCnet News

JDA Brings Together World-Class Supply Chain and Retail Speakers, Content and Entertainment at FOCUS 2016 in Nashville
[April 11, 2016]

JDA Brings Together World-Class Supply Chain and Retail Speakers, Content and Entertainment at FOCUS 2016 in Nashville


JDA Software Group, Inc. has announced the speakers and the agenda for its widely anticipated annual conference, FOCUS 2016. Scheduled for May 1-4, the event will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. More than 2,000 attendees will benefit from this valuable opportunity to network, share best practices and hear how industry leaders are achieving real results from JDA's innovative solutions. The Diamond sponsor of FOCUS 2016 is reseller and retail consultancy RPE.

"This year's user conference will focus squarely on how JDA uniquely delivers a seamless supply chain, enabling our clients to deliver seamless experiences for their end customers, whether they are B2B or B2C," said Kevin Iaquinto, chief marketing officer for JDA Software. "We're looking forward to an exciting event that combines outstanding speakers, over 250 informative breakout sessions, interactive user group meetings, and valuable opportunities to network and the chance to enjoy some of Nashville's best entertainment. "Based on the fact that we will have more than 100 customers telling their real-world stories, this is arguably the best event anywhere in the world focused on the entire value chain."

The featured speakers for FOCUS 2016 will provide insight and inspiration about capturing opportunities in the digital transformation affecting the supply chain. They include:

  • Lars Gunnarsson, senior supply chain executive, IKEA. Gunnarsson leads all development and maintenance of IKEA's business solutions supporting Product Development and Supply Chain. He is also a former IKEA store manager and has managed one of IKEA's largest stores in London. Lars will share the story and vision behind IKEA's growth plans while staying true to the brand's mission of "IKEA: This is how we work."
  • TJ Higgins, president, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. As president of the Consumer Integrated Tire Division, U.S. and Canada, Higgins leads a team which includes Bridgestone Retail Operations, original equipment sales and consumer tire replacement sales, as well as the company's Credit First National Association. TJ's session will showcase Bridgestone's commitment to customer-centricity, titled "Beyond Black and Round: Translating Tire Technology to Create a Connection with Today's Consumer."
  • Kevin O'Marah, chief content officer, SCM World. O'Marah directs SCM World's practitioner-driven supply chain content and research, leveraging the combined experience and insight of over 19,000 practitioners within SCM World's membership. Kevin's informative talk on how supply chains save the world and will capture the latest real world use cases in his informative session titled "Supply Chains Save the World 2.0."
  • Candy Chang, Artist, TED Senior Fellow. Chang is best known for the Before I Die project, which began when she stenciled the words "Before I die I want to _____" on a chalkboard wall on an abandoned house in New Orleans after losing someone she loved. She is also a member of the TED Fellows program, a global network of 300 innovators from a spectrum of disciplines. Candy will speak on "Are You Ready to Change the World? Making Space for Creativity and Innovation."
  • Miles Ward, global head of solutions, Google (News - Alert) Cloud Platform. Ward is a three-time technology startup entrepreneur with a decade of experience building cloud infrastructures. He is focused on delivering next-generation solutions to challenges in big data and analytics, multi-tiered storage, high availability and cost optimization. Miles will speak on "The Big Pivot: The Digital Revolution, the Internet of Things and the Supply Chains of the Future."
  • Emmanuel "Manny" Ohonme, founder and president, Samaritan's Feet International. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Ohonme received his first pair of shoes from a "Good Samaritan." Those shoes became a symbol of hope, helping him earn a scholarship to play basketball in the U.S. and begin a career in the technology industry. In 2003, Ohonme and his wife, Tracie, founded Samaritan's Feet International, a charitable organization that has distributed more than 5.5 million pairs of shoes to needy children. A former JDA/RedPrairie associate, Manny will speak on "The Story of Samaritan's Feet: A Supply Chain That Delivers Sole Purpose."
  • Baljit (Bal) Dail, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer, JDA Software. Prior to leading JDA, Dail was an operating partner at New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm based in New York. Bal will deliver the conference keynote on how "Delivering a Seamless Customer Experience Begins with a Seamless Supply Chain."
  • Razat Gaurav, executive vice president, general manager, chief revenue officer, JDA Software. Gaurav is responsible for leading JDA Industry Solutions, Product Management and Global Sales. Razat will speak to "The Big Pivot: The Digital Revolution, the Internet of Things and the Supply Chains of the Future."

Mark Jeffries, a trusted adviser and communications consultant to some of the world's largest and most successful organizations, will again host JDA FOCUS. Mark is an entertaining keynote speaker and author of the book, "The Art of Business Seduction," which offers practical soft-skill communication advice and effective presentation skills.

FOCUS 2016 Agenda Geared to a Personalized Experience; SIG Meetings

The conference agenda includes more than 100 customer speakers who will share the results achieved and lessons learned from their use of JDA solutions. There is a new "Women in Supply Chain" content track aimed at enabling women in supply chain rolesto share insights into successful leadership approaches, explore opportunities for growth and learn how to effectively manage their career trajectories in today's business environment.



FOCUS 2016 also features JDA Special Interest Group (SIGs) meetings. These customer groups enable members to learn from other users and maximize their own company's investment in JDA solutions. At FOCUS 2016, SIG members can interact directly with software product development directors at JDA to ask questions and learn about future solution enhancements. Topics covered in the SIG meetings at FOCUS 2016 include: category management, enterprise store operations, demand, merchandise operations, order promising, replenishment and fulfillment, transportation management, warehouse management/warehouse labor management, workforce management and more.

Join JDA's Interactive Workshops


JDA is hosting several workshops at FOCUS 2016, including:

  • JDA Flowcasting / Beer Game Workshop: On Sunday, May 1 at 1:00 p.m., join JDA to play the well-known Beer Game, where attendees will contrast the game against breakthrough collaborative forecasting and planning processes known as Flowcasting. This will be a unique opportunity to gain a complete understanding behind the meaning of "Never Forecast What Can Be Calculated" and demonstrate key principles of retail supply chain management.
  • JDA Order Promising Workshop: On Monday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m., join JDA for a hands-on, interactive session to learn a smart way to increase order fulfillment performance, and how to promise customer orders much more reliably and accurately with less inventory and spending.
  • JDA Interactive Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Executive Workshop: On Tuesday, May 3 at 5:45 p.m., join JDA to experience a live simulation of a S&OP process. This interactive session will focus on how to build consensus, manage market volatility, mitigate risks and simulate what-if analysis to solve business problems.
  • Wholesale Distribution Roundtable: On Tuesday, May 2 at 9:45 a.m., join JDA to learn how to fulfill multi-channel commerce, offer value-add services to differentiate, and deliver with reliability and efficiency. This session will help wholesale distributors understand these imperatives and learn strategies for success.
  • JDA Retail.me Interactive Workshop: On Wednesday, May 3, at 9:45 a.m., explore how to get started with adopting Retail.me. Learn about the paradigm shifts that need to take place in Retail Planning to meet today's omni-channel customer expectations, take home an understanding of resource, data, technology and training requirements, and participate in an assortment planning challenge.

In keeping with the conference's venue in Nashville, a highlight of FOCUS 2016 will be a performance by award-winning country music artist Darius Rucker at the Grand Ole Opry on May 2.

Tweet this: #JDAFOCUS16 brings together #supplychain and #retail speakers, content and entertainment: http://bit.ly/1YjqGIe

Additional Resources:

About JDA Software Group (News - Alert), Inc.

At JDA, we're fearless leaders. We're the leading provider of end-to-end, integrated retail, omni-channel and supply chain planning and execution solutions for more than 4,000 customers worldwide. Our unique solutions empower our clients to reduce costs, increase profitability and improve collaboration so they can deliver on their customer promises every time. Using JDA, you can plan to deliver. www.jda.com

RSS Feeds:
JDA press releases: www.jda.com/rss.asp?a=press
JDA news: http://www.jda.com/rss.asp?a=news
JDA events: http://www.jda.com/rss.asp?a=events

Social Networks:
Web: www.jda.com
Blog: http://blog.jda.com
Twitter (News - Alert): www.twitter.com/JDASoftware
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JDASoftwareGroup
LinkedIn (News - Alert): www.linkedin.com/companies/jda-software
YouTube (News - Alert): www.youtube.com/user/JDASoftware
SlideShare: www.slideshare.net/JDASoftware

"JDA" is a trademark or registered trademark of JDA Software Group, Inc. Any trade, product or service name referenced in this document using the name "JDA" is a trademark and/or property of JDA Software Group, Inc.


[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]