FMI2012: The Next Generation

SOLUTION CENTERS

Also new at FMI2012 will be designated Solution Centers on the show floor that seek to address specific operator concerns.

The centers, each sponsored by multiple vendors, are designed to provide learning opportunities for attendees, Sarasin explained.

• At the Sustainability Solution Center, “a retailer will be able to go into a sector of the show and learn more about things like food waste issues, use of energy in ways that are more efficient, identifying sustainable sourcing opportunities, and just a whole genre of sustainability issues that the industry is concerned about,” Sarasin explained.

• Another area will be designated as the Front-End Solutions Center, with information about consumer behavior at the checkout and checkout-lane merchandising.

• A third area, the Center Store Solutions Center, will include tips for increasing shopping frequency, enhancing transaction size in Center Store, and increasing shopper loyalty through social media and other means.

• Finally, the FMI Solutions Center will provide information about the programs and services offered by FMI.

“We are very focused on making sure that the industry understands all of the opportunities for learning that exist here at FMI,” Sarasin explained.

Topics available for discussion at the FMI Solution Center will include government relations; education and research; communications and information services; membership; food safety; Safe Quality Foods (SQF); Partnership for Food Quality Education (PFQE); Food For All; asset protection; and health and wellness.

“The Solution Centers are something I am very excited about because I think it is going to be a new way for the industry to learn via FMI,” Sarasin noted.