Your Guide to Surviving MODEX 2020

Before you know it, MODEX 2020 will be here! Do you know what you’re doing yet? If not, we’ve compiled the best tips for you to survive the week during the conference.

MODEX 2020 allows attendees to see what’s next for the supply chain industry. You’ll gain insights from experts in educational seminars and preview upcoming technology in exhibits.

It’s all in one conference, so you can learn how to stay ahead of the game and your competitors equipped with new solutions, trends, and technology. And the best part? It’s FREE!

Join your industry peers from the U.S. and around the world at the premier expo for manufacturing providers and supply chain solutions.

Hot Topic Education Seminars

With more than 100 sessions, there’s no way for you to make it to all of them. So, it’s important to take the time to plan out the sessions you attend. Pick and choose according to the topics you’re interested in and what you can gain the most value from. The sessions offered at MODEX 2020 are divided by six overall themes:

• Automation & Robotics
• Data Capture, Analytics & Information Management
• Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing
• Internet of Things
• Workforce & Labor
• Manufacturing, Planning & Sourcing
• Sustainability & Risk Management

Look at the event’s brochure for the comprehensive list of seminars available. A convenient feature to note is that each session is ranked by level of difficulty: beginner, intermediate or advanced. This will help you plan out which sessions and its topic will make the most out of your limited time at the conference. 

In the meantime, check out what we think are the sessions that you should attend.

Highlights for Each Day at MODEX 2020

Day 1: Monday, March 9

• How Dick’s Sporting Goods Wins with Omni-Channel Automation
• Benchmarking Order Fulfillment Operations: How Do You Stack Up?
• Forever Faster – How Puma Centralized its European Distribution Network

Day 2: Tuesday, March 10

• Automation: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
• Calculating the True Cost of Your Operation (And Using It to Justify Change)
• Getting Ahead of the Game: What Happens When You Deploy Robotic Piece-Picking

Day 3: Wednesday, March 11

• True Cloud WMS: A Strategic Tool for Digital Transformation
• Creating the ROI for a Multi-Carrier Parcel Shipping Solution
• Internet Eats: E-Comm Nom... Nom... Healthy Foods, Mobile Ordering, and Their Effects on Material Handling

Day 4: Thursday, March 12

• Making the Most of Your Small Parcel Contract: Expert Strategies to Cut Costs 5-25%
• How the Largest Automatic Manufacturing Facility in North America is Getting Ahead with AMRs
• Warehouse Automation and Robotics: Expectations vs Reality

What are you looking forward to?

What to Pack for MODEX 2020

As you’re walking back and forth to education sessions and exhibits all day for four days, you want to be as comfortable as possible. This means traveling light during the conference itself (of course, that doesn’t apply for the entirety of the trip).

The Essentials for the Supply Chain Professional

• Comfortable (but professional) shoes
• Portable charger (fully charged!) – You’ll likely be on your phone very often to navigate yourself and connect with others, so lessen your stress by having a portable charger on you.
• Business cards – It takes time for these to be printed and shipped to you, so make sure to have them ordered at least a week in advance for them to arrive on time. For the conference itself, you can never have too many. Bring at least 100 cards.
• Professional clothing – Keep in mind that early March of Atlanta is chilly, so bring a jacket or sweater just in case! There’s also the potential of spring showers, so a raincoat or umbrella might be a good idea.
• Business padfolio – It's a multifunctional piece of stationery that can hold your documents and business cards, while providing paper for any notetaking if needed.
• Carrying bag – You'll be grateful for having this when you’re overwhelmed with documents and other goodies in your hands while you’re walking around the conference all day.

Useful Tip: There is a coat/luggage check at the conference venue itself if you’re arriving just on time or even a little late.

Networking Opportunities Within the Conference

Enhance your conference experience with networking events offered during the week. Take advantage of these opportunities to meet with other like-minded peers and build lasting relationships. You never know what will happen in the future!

• MHI Industry Night (Wed., March 11): Tickets are $50 and include beer, wine, and food with live music and entertainment by comedian Hasan Minhaj. You can potentially win a luxury package vacation to a destination of your choice!
• Women in Supply Chain Forum (Mon., March 9): Register for a program that will provide you with tools and ideas to be an effective leader in your organization. Keep in mind that this is a long event that would take up a chunk of your day. However, registration for this forum includes lunch, keynote with Mary Kelly, workshop, networking happy hour, and a reserved seat for Tuesday’s keynote by Tan Le.
• MHI Young Professionals Networking Event (Mon., March 9): Unwind in the evening with other young professionals in the material handling and supply chain industry. All you need is your badge!
• Atlanta Supply Chain Awards (Tue., March 10): This event spotlights outstanding individuals and organizations in the Atlanta supply chain community. Proceeds from this event will go to community service programming.

Not only do you have these networking events, MODEX also offers keynote speaker sessions on the morning of each day. It’s not often you can hear from this set of people, so take this chance to do so!

• Monday, March 9 (8:45 a.m.): Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2017-19)
• Tuesday, March 10 (8:45 a.m.): Tan Le, CEO of EMOTIV
• Wednesday, March 11 (8:45 a.m.): George W. Prest, CEO of MHI
• Thursday, March 11 (1 p.m.): Payton Manning, two-time Super Bowl Champion and five-time NFL MVP; and Archie Manning, former NFL quarterback and patriarch of the famous Manning family

Dining and Fun Outside the Conference

Are you arriving early? And/or staying past the conference?

Well, there’s plenty to do in Atlanta when you have some time on your hands. Spend some time at the second largest aquarium in the world or at one of the many museums in the city. 

Atlanta also offers a myriad of fine dining experiences. Enjoy a nice evening at Bacchanalia, Canoe, or Prime Meridian with beautiful views.

On a more affordable side, you have fried chicken at Mary Mac’s, pizza at Antico, vegetarian platter at Desta Ethiopian Kitchen, and so much more!

Join Us at MODEX 2020

There will be many exhibitors at the conference, and we’re one of them! We’ll be at Booth #6270 by the Transportation & Logistics Theatre at MODEX 2020.

We provide ShipERP, a fully integrated SAP multi-carrier shipping solution, for all your eCommerce fulfillment needs. ShipERP provides businesses with efficiencies that come with a strong return on investment.

Check out our demo at the booth. We hope to see you there!