'Iron Man' to Anda attendees: Think outside the box
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Anda again hosted a stellar two-day event on the eve of NACDS Annual Meeting, featuring several notable sports celebrities along with an industry overview from IMS Health’s Doug Long.
The more than 350 attendees of Anda’s 8th Annual Supply Chain Symposium, including a record 28 retailers this year, on Thursday afternoon participated in a series of Business Exchange Meetings hosted by ECRM and later that night heard from “Iron Man” Cal Ripken, Jr., who told the manufacturers and suppliers “don’t be afraid to think differently.” Out-of-the-box thinking served the two-time Golden Glove Baltimore Orioles shortstop well, he said, noting that during some games he was tasked with calling the pitches into the catcher because of his knowledge of opposing batters.
The following day, Anda participants had an option to go deep-sea fishing or golf at the PGA National course in West Palm Beach, Fla. For the golfers, 2008 Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger shared anecdotes at a brunch prior to providing golf lessons. Friday evening, Urban Meyer, the head football coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the 2015 NCAA National Champions, closed out the event with a dinnertime keynote address.
Anda's annual two-day event has evolved into a unique opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to network around some memorable events. “It’s a great environment to build business relationships, continue long-term strategic partnerships and to make new ones,” said Tony Michelich, Anda VP purchasing. There’s a nice cross-section of retailers who participate, he said.
“The market works better and is more efficient the closer that a manufacturer and retailer can work together,” said Bill Versosky, Anda VP sales and marketing. “By bringing everyone together in this casual format, there are a large amount of networking opportunities. We’re trying to do what we do everyday with the Anda business, and that is bring our manufacturers closer to our retail partners.”
“Anda has built a brand awareness of over 20-plus years of doing what we do,” Michelich said. “Both customers on the retail side and the manufacturers look to us to solve problems and to look at things differently. How can we help both sides come together?”