IRCE 2014: 4 Reasons Your Company Should Attend the World’s Leading eCommerce Conference

IRCE 2014 Conference

As IRCE celebrates their 10^th year as the world’s largest eCommerce conference and exhibition, an anticipated 10,000 attendees have the opportunity to network and learn from industry leaders of all sizes. This notorious conference is co-developed by the eCommerce experts at Internet Retailer magazine. This year’s event takes place at Chicago’s McCormick Place on June 11th and 12th. As an eCommerce solution leader, nChannel doesn’t want you to miss out on this chance to experience the latest industry news and technology. If you have not already registered, here are 4 reasons to convince your team to purchase flights this afternoon.

1. IRCE Pre-Show and After-Show Workshops

Turn this two-day event into a four-day extravaganza for your team by attending additional focused day-long workshops on June 10and 13. Workshop tracks include: Amazon and Me, Mobile, Social, Technology, Video, and Search. Consider these 3 workshops to better understand eCommerce integration possibilities:

Get Smart: A Roadmap for Sound Technology Investments, eCommerce Technology Track, Tuesday, June 10th – Pre-Show Workshop, 8:45am – 9:45am

This opening session will set the stage for the daylong technology workshop by illuminating the critical considerations of a sound technology investment. Participants will learn about the technology ecosystem to support effective digital commerce, including core platforms and integrations to third-party solutions. Learn how to craft your own technology roadmap, complete with phased system implementations and methods to measure success in terms of key performance indicators and profits.

• Bernardine Wu, CEO, FitForCommerce
• Charles Hunsinger – SVP, Chief Information Officer – Harry & David
• Michael Arking – President – Frenchtoast.com

Conquer the Pain Points and Capture the ROI of Product Information Management Systems, eCommerce Technology Track, Tuesday, June 10 – Pre-Show Workshop, 9:45am – 10:30am

Product information management systems (PIM) automate and orchestrate tasks and data associated with creating and maintaining a retailer’s assortment; this data is then published to a variety of channels in various formats. PIM is becoming more critical as multichannel selling, complex assortments, customer requirements and other challenges oblige eRetailers to adopt greater discipline to manage data. This session will examine pain points product information management systems can relieve, ways to implement such systems to drive community engagement and how to calculate ROI for your investments.

• Cynthia Rodgers Maignan, Director eCommerce Content Strategy, Management, Office Depot
• Ryan Lee, Technology Manager, Gorjana Griffin

Navigating Choice: Platform Selection and Implementation, eCommerce Technology Track, Tuesday June 10 – Pre-Show Workshop, 10:45am – 12:15pm

This session will provide a practical guide to ensure success with a platform selection, including choosing the right technology and implementation partner. Speakers will explore how to align the platform with a sound growth strategy, identify key user requirements and how the platform must effectively support the company’s technology ecosystem by integrating effectively with other vital systems. This session will also review how to ensure your organization has the internal capabilities and change management perspective to optimize your technology investment.

• Kim Hansen, Senior VP, Marketing, E-Commerce, Winston Brands
• Nicole Tolbert- E-Commerce Manager – HUE.com
• Kerry Martin- VP, Senior Consultant – FitForCommerce
• Joe Warfield- Technology Director – Mardel

2. Expert Speakers

A diverse group of 200+ experts, representing all segments of the eCommerce industry, will discuss and educate companies on all that goes into creating and cementing the customer relationship. Notable speakers include:

• Kurt Peters – Executive Editor, Internet Retailer
• Niraj Shah – CEO & Co-Founder, Wayfair.com
• Jimmy Wales – CEO & Founder, Wikipedia
• John Donahoe – CEO & President, eBay Inc.
• Sukhinder Singh Cassidy – Chairman & Founder, Joyus

3. IRCE 2014 Agenda

IRCE’s agenda features 130 conferences with 10 tracks tailored to each attendee’s needs. Keep your business up-to-date with current information and news about eCommerce solutions. Key topics explored include:

• Strategies for top executives
• Retail chains
• Global eTailing
• Small retailers
• eMarketing
• Fulfillment, customer service and operations,
• Social
• Technology
• B2B
• Design and Merchandising

Schedule these sessions to learn more about optimizing your multichannel operations:

Master B2B to Reach New B2C Shoppers and Markets, B2B Track, Thursday, June 12^th – Main Day 2, 2:45pm to 3:15pm

Catering to b2b customers’ needs with simplified, streamlined online processes and real-time inventory yields sometimes-unexpected results: new customers in new markets. When Tacoma Screw Products, a distributor of nuts, bolts and MRO supplies, enhanced its site to accommodate b2b customers’ operational demands, it drew more online orders from the b2c space and from geographic markets beyond its traditional regional reach. Our speaker will detail next steps to keep this momentum going to build both b2b and b2c sales.

•  Eric McGregor – Manager, E-Commerce, Operations Support – Tacoma Screw Products

Lessons from the Internet Retailer Second 500, Small Retailers Track, Wednesday, June 11^th – Main Day 1, 2:15pm – 2:45pm

The Internet Retailer Second 500 aren’t yet filling the big shoes of the Top 500 retailers, but this competitive set has its own stars. And there are some distinguishing features that unite the Second 500’s leaders. The Second 500 can offer guidance and inspiration to all small e-retailers looking to push their business to the next level. Courting repeat customers vs. spending to attract new, the pros and cons of in-house development vs. outsourcing: these are a few of the issues near the top of the list for smaller merchants in particular. This session highlights how the Second 500’s leaders have resolved them. It will dive into data to uncover the trends and practices among the Second 500 retailers that support success. Learn what smaller merchants are doing to fast-track their way to the Top 500.

• Stefany Zaroban Moore, Associate Director, Research, Internet Retailer

The complete IRCE 2014 Agenda can be found here.

4. IRCE 2014 Attendees and Vendors

Small, midsize and enterprise companies across industries attend IRCE to grow their online sales and profits. Throughout the event, you have the chance to meet with industry colleagues you wouldn’t meet at any other event. After participating in the conferences, attendees have the opportunity to inspect the ground-breaking technologies that are changing the format of retail economy. In the Exhibit Hall, 600+ companies will fill the floor, making it the largest display of services and technology in the eCommerce industry.

92% of attendees rate the conference as excellent or very good.

Make your experience even better by stopping by nChannel’s booth #2055 in the Exhibit Hall. (View the floor plan here) If you have any questions, want to share ideas, or would like to hear more about how to grow your business and simplify multichannel, stop in and chat or send us a tweet! You can follow nChannel on Twitter throughout the conference @nChannelCloud and the Twitter hashtags #IRCE and #IRCE2014. We’ll see you at IRCE 2014!

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