FIA Announces Symposium on Connecting The Resources:
Authenticity, Mass Customization & Revenue
Foodservice Institute Of America Advantage Series
Register on-line for August 12th to be held at Rush University Medical Center Searle Conference Center in Chicago, IL.
Online registration via the FIA web site at: http://www.fia-us.org/news_events/Symposium.shtml
Pleasantville, NJ (June 30, 2008)
FIA's symposium will feature speakers and ideas that will set businesses apart and demonstrate how to create an experience unique to a customer. Consumers want an increased role in designing products and service they will be using or consuming. Effectively producing mass customized goods with a uniqueness for customers and flexibility is today's challenge.
Some key topics that will be covered:
- How can businesses mass customize their offerings?
- Why is Authenticity becoming a new consumer sensibility and key business imperative?
- What role can these ideas play in the foodservice industry today?
The 3rd FIA Advantage series symposium with address these questions in the one day solution oriented program.
The audience will include restaurateurs/chefs and end users as well as those that make the equipment, food products, technology, engineers, accountants and all those that support the operations and hospitality sector. This symposium will capture actionable outcomes that FIA and Rush University students will address in a 'white paper'.
The morning will have a featured speaker, Steve Dragoo, President, Service Solutions Consulting, Inc (www.fia-us.org/news_events/Symposium.shtml ) who will bring his foodservice expertise and Pine & Gilmore approach to define what mass customization is, give real life industry examples and practices, how to apply mass customization to a business or service and how capitalizing on authenticity and mass customization can help improve the bottom line.
Steve believes that "expertly staged authentic experiences are a distinct and powerful economic offering"-and a means by which savvy foodservice professionals can differentiate themselves from others in the marketplace.
The afternoon program will be lead by moderator Rudy Miick (www.miick.com). Miick and the four panelists will explore the idea of mass customization and value added experiences. Panelists include renowned Chef/Owner Luke Palladino (www.lukepalladino.com/home.html ), Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu, Associate professor of Hospitality Information Technology at the University of Delaware and eXperimental Guestroom manager at the Courtyard Hotel by Marriott(http://www.experimentalguestroom.com), Robert Bryson, Executive VP, Follett Corporation(www.follettice.com), and Dan Pecoraro, a specialist in Gastronomation and Gastronometrics(www.gastronomation.com).These individuals will share their ideas on how they created a differentiated, value-added product or service and developed a game plan to connect all the dots for success in operation, business or services.
This day will definitely 'spark' the conversation on how we can elevate our industry's performance, innovation and customer focus.
This is an event jointly hosted by the volunteer organization (Foodservice Institute of America-FIA) and Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
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ABOUT FIA
The Foodservice Institute of America (FIA) is committed to advancement and professional development of its member participants through education, research, communication and collaboration. FIA is a non-profit educational and research organization which enhances and supports ideas for the betterment of foodservice providers and people who serve it, including through collaboration among education programs of many parts of food services and product enterprises and professionals.
The organization p
Marsha Diamond ● 609.645.3131 ● marsha@fia-us.org