12 Business View - May 2015
Opening
Lines
The International Furniture and Transportation Logis-
tics Council, Inc. (IFTLC) has confirmed the full program
of its annual conference, which takes place from May
12 to 15 at Lago Mar Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In
addition, to celebrate the conference’s 55th anniver-
sary, Otis S. Sawyer, president of England Inc., senior
vice-president of La-Z-Boy’s Non-Branded Upholstery,
and president, La-Z-Boy Logistics Inc., will deliver the
keynote address on May 13.
“The
conference
serves to inform at-
tendees of the ever-
evolving world of
logistics and trans-
portation, as well
as the newest de-
velopments in the
industry,” said Russ
Matthews, Manag-
ing Director of IFTLC. “That’s why we make it a point
to invite pioneering speakers to talk about the latest
technologies and market trends that impact our bot-
tom line.”
Immediately following the keynote on May 13, City
Furniture’s Director of Operations Jon Greenberg and
Fleet Manager Dave Clevenger will talk about moving
to natural gas, and how this decision impacted their
fleet. Then, Dr. Benoit Montreuil from the Georgia In-
stitute of Technology will tackle the physical Internet
and what it means for furniture, transportation and lo-
gistics companies to be interconnected.
Following the lunch break, Jeff Spotts, Director of Lo-
gistics and DC Operations at National Business Fur-
niture, will discuss opportunities and solutions in the
multi-business channel supply chain. Bruce Tompkins,
Supply Chain and Logistics Executive at Tompkins In-
ternational, will examine moving your supply chain
beyond traditional distribution and fulfillment centers.
George Pezold, Executive Director of the Transporta-
tion and Logistics Council, will take on transportation
pitfalls, and how to avoid them. The day wraps up with
David Harlow, Ocean Trade Lane Manager at UPS, who
will address ocean contracting and operational strate-
gies.
May 14 opens with a panel on new regulations and
innovations affecting home deliveries, moderated by
Peter Ross, Manager of Transportation and Delivery at
Z Gallerie. This will be followed by a panel on importing
and ocean freight, moderated by Jeff Sears, Director
of International Logistics and General Manager at Art
Van International. There are no talks in the afternoon,
to leave room for any leisure activities participants
may want to take part in, like golf or fishing. A river
cruise is scheduled in the evening.
May 15 closes the conference with an open forum
hosted by IFTLC Managing Director Russ Matthews,
where participants can bring up any topic they choose.
IFTLC Confirms Full Program for
Upcoming Conference
