LINK 2019 wraps up, looks forward to 2020

The LINK 2019 retail supply chain conference concluded this morning in Orlando. The conference, hosted by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, will reconvene in Dallas in 2020.

LINK’s final session included a presentation, “The Future of fulfillment – faster, slower, reserve, repeat,” by Tom Enright, vice president of Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT). The presentation identified three urgent priorities for the retail supply chain in meeting fulfillment challenges:

1. New forecasting capabilities to predict how customers want their orders fulfilled.

2. More customer incentives to slow down their desire for fast fulfillment.  

3. The development of a circular (more environmentally and consumer-focused) supply chain rather than a linear supply chain.

The closing keynote of LINK 2019, “Moving to Great” was presented by former NFL player Eric Boles, president and chief executive officer at The Game Changers Inc.

“Finishing well requires discipline,” said Boles.

He challenged supply chain providers to continue their innovative practices instead of achieving a performance status quo. “What was considered great a year ago may not be considered great today. The scoreboard keeps moving.”

Boles also said that a business cannot measure its performance against a competitor, since that competitor may settle for low standards.