Chef Jeff Henderson Cooks Up Inspiration for U Connect LIVE Conference

Chef Jeff Henderson, the author of three best-selling books and a veteran of the Food Network, will deliver the motivational keynote at this year’s U Connect LIVE conference, in Orlando, Fla., on June 2.

The event is hosted by GS1 US in partnership with the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Association (VICS), and will take place at the Orlando World Center Marriott from May 31 through June 3.

Famed for his transformation from a convicted drug dealer to a celebrated chef, Henderson will speak on "From the Streets to the Stove: the Power of Change." He joins Steven Levitt, author of the hugely popular books "Freakonomics" and "SuperFreakonomics," as conference keynoters.

Henderson’s newest project, the “America I AM Pass It Down Cookbook,” contains over 130 recipes and essays in a celebration of African-American food history and culture. The cookbook is a companion to “America I AM: The African American Imprint,” a traveling exhibit on display at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C.

GS1 US also said it has launched a new U Connect Community Web site. It extends the conference’s networking and educational benefits to a wider audience and features ongoing conference updates, a forum for virtual conversations, and a Twitter feed.

“This new site will help anyone who uses GS1 standards or connects with GS1 US to network with their peers at other companies, and quickly link with potential partners on related initiatives,” said Katy Theroux, senior vice president, solutions and customer engagement, GS1 US. “Standards users thrive on community involvement, and this new site provides a great platform for them to expand the breadth and frequency of their interactions.”

Companies attend U Connect LIVE to share insights and best practices for supply-chain operations and related business processes. Manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, foodservice operators, and healthcare entities learn how to strengthen their value-chain management operations to meet the increasingly complex needs of consumers.

The theme of U Connect LIVE is “Consumers Demand. Visibility Delivers.” More than 1,200 professionals from industries including apparel and footwear, consumer packaged goods/grocery, fresh foods, foodservice, general merchandise, and healthcare will converge to learn how to use new and existing standards to address emerging and evolving issues. These include data quality for mobile shopping, consumer safety, traceability, sustainability, and brand integrity.

Over 20 retailers and distributors will host “Trading Partner Roundtables,” where suppliers will have the opportunity to meet with their customers in small groups and discuss opportunities to improve their value-chain processes. Confirmed participants so far include Ace Hardware Corporation; Acosta Sales & Marketing; Advantage Sales and Marketing; Amerinet; Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES); Best Buy; Costco; Dillards; Dot Foods; Lord & Taylor; Lowe's; McLane; Performance Foodservice; SUPERVALU; Target; Wakefern Food Corporation; and Wegmans.

Other U Connect LIVE 2011 sessions and workshops include: case studies shared by retailers, manufacturers and other value-chain participants; workshops, in which trading partners can raise issues and gain insights from peers; and educational sessions led by GS1 standards experts. To register or to get more information, visit www.uconnectevent.org.

About GS1 US

GS1 US brings industry communities together to solve supply-chain problems through adoption and implementation of GS1 standards. More than 200,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US, a not-for-profit organization, for benefits based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification, barcodes, Electronic Product Code-based RFID, data synchronization, and electronic data interchange. www.GS1US.org.

About VICS

The Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions (VICS) Association helps retailers and consumer-focused suppliers create voluntary guidelines and best practices for reducing costs and improving availability of products. www.vics.org.