Additionally, with the three streams working alongside each other, delegates were able to customise which stream they attended and when. Delegates were encouraged to create their own conference and be where they wanted to be when they wanted to be there. This not only ensured delegates got the most out of the presentations, but afforded them the chance to network across streams throughout the course of the event. 

The Consumer Goods Forum Welcomes Almost 300 Executives from 30 Countries to Discuss Marketing, IT and Supply Chain Challenges 
 
LONDON, 9th November 2013 – The global marketing, IT and supply chain conference successfully closed yesterday evening following three days of presentations and activities. Organised by The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), the event brought together close to 300 executives from 30 countries to discuss the challenges facing the consumer goods industry and to share knowledge and best practices. 
 
With its unique programme and focus on marketing, IT and supply chain, attending delegates were offered the opportunity to harness innovative ideas from more than 60 world-class speakers covering topics such as the role of standards in solving retail’s “search and discovery” challenge, unlocking the value of big data to make better strategic decisions, linked data and open data, click & collect, the role of the supply chain within a changing retail environment, and the seamless omni-channel approach to the customer experience. 
 
 
Tony Vendrig, Senior Vice President Supply Chain at Albert Heijn, The Netherlands, and Co-Chair of the CGF Supply Chain Committee, said, “This year’s event has been an enormous success, and initial feedback from attending delegates suggests they agree, and this is what’s important. This event was founded on the desire to bring about wider industry collaboration and to find new ways of working together, and it relies on the continued support and contributions of the wider CGF membership. Through the plenary sessions, workstreams and workshops, there has been a genuine effort to share knowledge and best practices to help ensure a sustainable future for our industry by putting the customer first.” 
 
August Harder, CIO of Coop, Switzerland, and Co-Chair of the CGF IT Committee, said, “I’ve been attending this event for several years and this edition was right up there with the best. This year was all about the speaker line-up, and it was great to hear real-life examples of how companies within our industry are overcoming today’s global challenges. I always find it inspiring that our industry can come together in this manner with the sole purpose of collaborating and sharing ideas, and with London home to some of the world’s most dynamic retailers, it was the perfect host city”. 
 
Designed by members of the CGF specifically for their industry peers, this annual event is a global forum for top-level executives from the consumer goods industry. It begins each year with a specially designed store tour programme where delegates have the chance to view the leading retail outlets in their host city. 
 
The CGF would also like to extend special thanks to this year’s speakers and sponsors. Their commitment and support is what helps ensure the event’s continued success.  
 
— Ends — 
 
View Presentation Highlights from Day 1 and Day 2
 
About The Consumer Goods Forum
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is a global, parity-based industry network, driven by its members. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of over 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers and other stakeholders across 70 countries and reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Forum member companies have combined sales of EUR 2.5 trillion. Their retailer and manufacturer members directly employ nearly 10 million people with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain.
 
The Forum, through its vision “Better lives through better business”, has been given a mandate by its members to develop common positions on key strategic and operational issues affecting the consumer goods business, with a strong focus on non-competitively sensitive process improvement. The Forum’s success is driven by the active participation of the key players in the sector, who together develop and lead the implementation of best practices along the value chain.
 
For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com
 
For further information, please contact:
 
Sharon Jeske 
Director, Operational Excellence 
The Consumer Goods Forum 
 
For media enquiries, please contact: 
 
Lee Green 
Communications Manager 
The Consumer Goods Forum