This audio summary of Jody and Sara's IT Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

Join Jody McDonough and Sara Gilbertson Ley as they share the compelling story of Sub-Zero’s IT transformation. This session will delve into how the IT department evolved from a traditional back-office function to a strategic partner driving business value. Discover how Jody and Sara fostered a shared vision that aligned IT initiatives with business goals. They will discuss the development of a department-sponsored cost model, a value delivery system, and a comprehensive success measurement framework. Attendees will gain insights into the practical steps and strategies they employed to achieve this transformation.

Learn about the challenges they faced on their journey, the milestones they achieved, and their plans for future innovation. This presentation is a testament to the power of collaboration, strategic vision, and relentless pursuit of excellence in IT and customer service. Whether you are an IT professional, business leader, or interested in digital transformation, this session will provide valuable lessons and actionable insights to help you drive similar change within your organization.

Transforming IT from Back Office to Strategic Partner: A Journey of Innovation and Collaboration

This audio summary of John Thompson's IT Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

AI has been used in commercial settings with great success for at least 20 years. GenAI exploded onto the scene about 2 years ago and shows no signs of slowing in innovation, adoption, and value realization. What does the next few years hold for us in relation to GenAI? What is next after GenAI? What does Causal AI look like and bring? And, finally what will composite AI applications composed of Traditional AI, GenAI, and Causal AI look like and bring to us? Come to this session, bring your questions and we will discuss these ideas and more. Your views and ideas are welcome. Let’s talk!

AI – What’s next? – GenAI and Beyond

This audio summary of Isabelle Zdatny's Customer Service Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

Customer experience is about more than just gathering and sharing data. It is a critical strategic asset for the organization, empowering it to sense, interpret, and respond to its ever-evolving business landscape. However, most CX programs aren’t yet set up to play this transformative role inside their organizations. Isabelle will explore how to build a “Modern” CX program capable of infusing a deep understanding of customers into every decision and activity. Through practical advice and examples from best-in-class organizations, you’ll discover how to build a program capable of helping your organization thrive in the era of disruption.

The Future of Customer Experience

This audio summary of Michael Hinshaw's Customer Service Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

Every business lives—or eventually dies—by how well it serves its customers. But most companies don’t embed this imperative into their operational DNA, especially as they get bigger and more complicated. Drawing on the concepts introduced in his and Diane Magers’ book Experience Rules! The Experience Operating System (XOS) and 8 Keys to Enable It (Manuscripts Press, 2024), Michael will help you learn the basics that enable a more structured approach to the science and art of customer-centricity in ways that will help you match fast-changing customer and employee expectations, market dynamics, and innovation.

Introducing the Experience Operating System (XOS)

This audio summary of Aaron Schroeder's Customer Service Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

The customer service industry is going through unprecedented change, and what this means to different industries remains to be seen. The current economic climate made the promise of AI’s impact take center stage, but many companies still struggle to realize tangible benefits. Aaron Schroeder, Director of AI Solutions at TTEC Digital, takes on the facts and fiction of this new paradigm in the age of AI. In this presentation, you will learn more about helpful frameworks for approaching solutions and the impact that real companies are beginning to make today. Human-based, empathetic customer experiences are more important than ever, and the story of AI in CX isn’t the “replacement” or even “augmentation” of that process but rather an “evolution.”

Practical AI for Customer-worthy Experiences

This audio summary of Dr. Vivian Phillips Husband's Customer Service Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

Join Vivian Phillips Husband, Ph.D., as she discusses the importance of understanding leverage points and reaction styles your team members and your organization have toward change. Hear how you can assess your organization’s readiness for change through the lens of structure, relationship, and purpose. Dr. Phillips Husband will also highlight the various reaction styles that can promote and hinder your critical customer-centric change efforts. She will also underscore some of the dynamics at play within relationships in the organization, such as silos, hierarchy, and social dynamics like race and gender, and share some insight that can be leveraged to help employees understand their orientation and relationships to parts of the organization.

Engaging your Team to Influence Customer-Centric Change

This audio summary of Carol Ptak's Supply Chain Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

As a leader of the global “demand-driven movement” – and a supply chain leader before the term “supply chain” even existed – Carol Ptak has spent her career helping teams understand the bullwhip effect, the root cause of why inventory levels fluctuate, and the influence the teams to develop new ways of thinking about demand planning. In this presentation, Carol will share lessons learned from a career in supply chain and how she influences global teams to change the way they plan, operate, think, and adapt to the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.

Adaptive Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP): Allowing Teams to Win

This audio summary of Steve Hunt's Supply Chain Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

The pandemic reminded companies how critical a stable workforce is for supply chain operations. People can be amazingly productive, depressingly counterproductive (or not show up at all), and can quickly switch from one to another based on how they are treated. Dr. Steve Hunt will discuss how employee expectations are being reshaped by demographic shifts in the labor market, the impact of digitalization on work, and what companies must do to adapt their supply chains to a world of chronic skill shortages and accelerating business change.

People: The Most Critical and Volatile Part of Your Supply Chain

This audio summary of Polly Mitchell-Guthrie's Supply Chain Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

As UW–Madison statistics professor George Box once said: ” All models are wrong, some are useful.” Contrary to the hype, AI isn’t useful for everything, but how do you incorporate it to actually make an impact in your supply chain? Polly Mitchell-Guthrie will be showcasing some examples of what it is NOT good at as well as the keys to maximizing its use in supply chains.

AI in Supply Chain: Separating Hype from Reality

This audio summary of Rebecca Wlazlo's Supply Chain Track presentation at our UWEBC Annual Conference on October 1 was auto-generated using Google's Notebook LM tool.

Have you ever been told you have to change who you are to lead your team more effectively? Wrong! Rebecca Wlazlo, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at Crate & Barrel, will share stories of when she was given this advice, why she ignored it, and how staying true to her authentic self has built trust – and driven results – in the teams she leads.

This inspiring session is a great way to kick off our supply chain track! Rebecca will share how one of her signature strengths – optimism – has helped her teams stay focused and motivated in the fast-paced world of retail supply chain.

Authentic Leadership: Leverage Your Strengths to Bring Out the Best in your Team

The UWEBC brings together executives, managers and senior practitioners from leading companies to learn from each other in the areas of marketing, human resources, technology, supply chain, and customer service.

New tracks tagged #Annual Conference