BITS, BYTES AND BEERS

BAL HARBOUR, Fla. -- They may have been close to trendy South Beach, but attendees of the I/T Leadership Forum were content to hobnob at a reception at at the Sheraton Bal-Harbour Beach Resort here, site of the conference sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute, Washington. IT executives from a cross-section of food retailers and wholesalers heard two days of presentations on supermarket technology trends from such speakers as William Crenshaw, president of Publix Super Markets; Marc van Gelder, president of Peapod; and Anant Ahluwalia, director of replenishment systems for Hannaford Bros.