Excellent point, Bolaji. It's a privilege to sit behind those closed doors once in awhile and listen to what distributors, suppliers, executives, reps and salespeople have to say. We come home tired, but we come home better informed.
I get jealous looks each time I tell friends I would be attending the Electronics Distribution Show (EDS) in Las Vegas. Then I go, get back, tell friends I was at EDS in Las Vegas and get even more jealous looks. I get asked to spill the beans. I try to sound smart: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," I say, with a worldly look. Inside, though, I am tired and can't wait to crawl away to sleep off the weariness.
What happens at EDS each year? I arrive, check in, register at the conference registration booth and head for the first interviews, meetings and race to another appointment through the conference show ground. Then back to the hotel room (through the brilliantly lit casino floor) to file stories and make more phone calls. I sleep late and get up early then repeat these activities the next day and on the fourth day, head to the airport for the trip home.
Poor me? Heck no. Those meetings have helped me better understand the market, the challenges facing businesses in the electronics industry, the opportunities companies are creating and establish long-lasting relationships with industry executives. Along the way, I have also developed huge respect for the gals and guys in the trenches. EDS may be exhausting but the knowledge treasures I haul away each year, plus the contacts made, have been worth it every single year.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
To save this item to your list of favorite EBN content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
