NRF Supply Chain Summit: Tompkins International CEO to Reveal Tips for Retailers to Thrive

Jim Tompkins, CEO of Tompkins International and noted supply chain expert, will reveal how retailers can tackle roadblocks and ensure successful strategies at the 2013 National Retail Federation (NRF) Global Supply Chain Summit opening keynote on May 20.

“Retailers are at their biggest crossroads in history,” notes Tompkins. “To survive, today’s supply chains must be customer-centric, demand-driven, and adaptable.”

Several tipping points have led to this critical crossroads, including online shopping, technology, and the Great Recession.

“Every aspect of retail should be customer-focused—meaning interactive, educational, engaging, and personalized.”Jim Tompkins, CEO, Tompkins International

His keynote, Retail at a Crossroads, will offer insights on how to respond to the Amazon Effect and prepare for rapidly expanding e-commerce and multichannel markets. To be successful, businesses need to determine their operations strategy and capabilities and transform their supply chains to enable these effectively.

Tompkins says the future lies in achieving multichannel operations excellence. “Every aspect of retail should be customer-focused—meaning interactive, educational, engaging, and personalized,” he explains. “It is time to move beyond the crossroads.”

Click here to view the NRF Global Supply Chain Summit agenda. To read more about retail at a crossroads, download the paper “Retail at a Crossroads: Future Hangs in the Balance as Retail Industry Passes Tipping Points” by Tompkins International.