CFS Reports Successful Executive Enrichment Forum

The Council of Fleet Specialists recently held its Executive Enrichment Forum at the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

“This was one of the largest and most successful winter meetings CFS has ever had,” said CFS President Frank Szabo. “We breathed new life into the format and upgraded the programs to create the most in-depth discussion of issues facing heavy-duty distributors and their suppliers that has ever been offered.”
The meeting involved intense, high level discussion among industry leaders on serious distribution issues and included truck parts distributors, manufacturers, marketing groups and media sources.
The sessions kicked off with a presentation by Marty McClellan, of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine, who explained how truck operators are crucial to the aftermarket. McClellan presented trends in the trucking industry.
Bill Wade of Wade&Partners provided insights into issues impacting the distribution supply chain through 2008. He discussed key industry demographics, major trends impacting distributors, competitive threats to distributors, latest developments in supply chain technology, conflicting sales force concepts and evolving manufacturer relations.
The keynote speaker of the event was Bruce Merrifield who spent three days presenting his “Reinventing Distributor Profitability” series. His workshop focused on identifying the historic and operative “mental models” of the distributor marketplace, the process of rethinking corporate strategies and traditional marketing plays, and focusing on how both suppliers and distributors can build better demand replenishment solutions for end users.
Craig Fry, also of Wade& Partners, guided a group study of “A Case for Ethics in the Aftermarket” which tackled some of the difficult situations that occur every day in today's tough competitive climate.
Tom Stanford, publisher of RoadStar magazine, concluded the meeting with a presentation on the growing importance of independent truck repair shops and truck stops as service providers.
For more information on the Council of Fleet Specialists, visit www.cfshq.com.