Procurement Professionals Innovate, Integrate, and Inspire at the Prime Advantage Spring Conference

Chicago, Illinois, May 9, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​​​​Prime Advantage, the leading group purchasing organization for mid-market manufacturers, hosted more than 200 procurement, engineering, operations, executive, and sales professionals at its 39th Conference in Jacksonville, FL.

The semi-annual event, which took place April 18-20, brought together manufacturers from more than 30 industries, including: commercial foodservice equipment, packaging, truck and trailer equipment, material handling, food processing, HVAC, and construction, as well as endorsed suppliers for raw materials, components, services and supplies.

"Our Members and Endorsed Suppliers keep outdoing themselves every single conference."

Dan Grant, President of Prime Advantage

Highlights from the Supply Chain Conference

Prime Advantage Members and Prime Advantage Endorsed Suppliers gathered for one-on-one meetings and attended seminars to share best practices for supply chain management, growth, and profitability. The Conference  kicked off with a professional development session hosted by supply chain expert Dr. Russell Morey, followed  by a keynote address from Colonel Joe Ricciardi of Supply and Equipment Foodservice Alliance (SEFA). Colonel Ricciardi drew on his military experience of leading a team of soldiers and engineers into Afghanistan to defuse hundreds of IEDs to show the importance of love in one’s leadership style. He invited each attendee to assist in setting the moral compass at his or her organization, and be an example for fellow colleagues to help get everyone pointing in the right direction.

At this conference, Prime Advantage hosted an engineering track that addressed collaboration, design, compliance, technology, and communication issues. The engineering track meetings featured presentations entitled, "Cyber Security: Assure Security While Maximizing Functionality”; “Consider It Solved: Refrigeration in Foodservice and Food Retail Industries”; “What Changes Can We Expect from the New Administration - Regulations and Trade”; “Understanding Fasteners and Installation Methods - Dramatically Improve Reliability and Uptime”; “Maximizing Performance of Human Capital”; and “Working and Thriving in a Multi-Generational Workplace.”

The conference also featured roundtable and benchmarking sessions on supplier risk mitigation; the lack of skilled workers and the resulting impact on health and safety; auditing business agreements; innovation in sourcing; and the key metrics that drive procurement’s success.

During the closing ceremony, Prime Advantage also presented awards to members and endorsed suppliers. Endorsed suppliers Fastenal and Signature4 each won "Best Supplier Booth Presentation"; Kloeckner Metals won "Most Prepared Endorsed Supplier"; and Roll Rite landed "Most Prepared Member."

"Our Members and Endorsed Suppliers keep outdoing themselves every single conference," said Dan Grant, president of Prime Advantage. "The amount of collaboration, sharing of best practices, and sincere interest in being true partners to one another is not only inspiring, but raises the bar on what each organization in our group can achieve together.”

Prime Advantage concludes each conference by distributing rebates earned by member companies that are based on negotiated programs with endorsed suppliers. Since its founding, Prime Advantage has paid more than $210 million in rebates and discounts to its manufacturing industry Members. The success of Prime Advantage has been continuously recognized in the industry. Prime Advantage has also been a finalist and winner of the Expo EXCITE Awards Best Buyer-Seller Event.

About Prime Advantage

Founded in 1997, Prime Advantage is dedicated to bringing its clients reduced costs on raw materials, components, and supplies through leveraged sourcing agreements, and strategic services. By combining the purchasing power of more than 750 industrial manufacturers, Prime Advantage negotiates volume rebates and discounts with an exclusive group of world-class global Endorsed Suppliers. For more information, visit www.primeadvantage.com.

Source: Prime Advantage