2012 Schedule

Napa Valley Marriott

Day 1: Tuesday - July 10, 2012 

1:00 – 2:30pm        DAY 1 REGISTRATION

1:00 – 2:30pm       TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE OPENS (tradeshow)\

2:30 – 3:45pm       WORKSHOP SESSION #1
Note: Workshops A, B & C will be presented twice depending on attendance.

A. "Field of Dreams?" How Your CRM  Requirements & Strategy Affecct Your Company

Many tout CRM or data capture as the end game - build (or buy) a database, fill it with customer data and sales will result.  Learn from those who built CRM systems what requirements you need to look for and how your strategy (Sales?  Retention? Growth?), channels (On Site? Web? Social Media?) and implementation can affect your overall company. 
Moderator:  Steve Tamburelli, General Manager, Chappellet Winery
Panelists:  Chris Cutler, Director of Consumer Sales and Marketing, Swanson Vineyards & Winery
                    Scott Moss,  Ecommerce Manager, Constellation Wines US
                    Susan DeMatei, CS, CSW, Marketing Consultant, Owner, Vinalytic
 

B. Free and Low Cost Technologies of Wineries

Is it really possible to run your business or winery without endless software licenses fees and support agreements? It can be. We’ll take a look at some of the options for office productivity, graphics, building websites, project management, social media and even e-commerce. We’ll also talk about what you can’t afford to use for free.
Panelists:  James Marshall Berry, Owner, JMB Web Consulting
                    Geni Whitehouse, CPA, Countess of Communications, Brotemarkle Davis Co. LLP
 

C. Social Media:  Communications Governance

Learn how to utilize technologies to manage conversation, brand integrity and how to establish and monitor per business guidelines. The panel will discuss Social Media: Communications Governance in a “round table” style drawing on their personal and professional experiences and will highlight examples of best, and worst, practice!
Moderator:  Andrew Healy, Chief Social Officer, 3 Rock Marketing
Panelists:    Ed Thralls, Social Media Marketing Manager, Vintage Wine Estates
                       Mark Vogler, Social Media Maniac, Online Marketer & Founder of Out in The Vineyard
                       Ashley Pengilly, Social Media/Consumer Engagement Coordinator, Foley Family Wines
 

D.  Managing Your Transportation Network (First Session Only)

This panel will discuss how to help wineries manage their incoming supply chain and manage the flow of products into the operations. Speakers will show how to properly manage the flow of products to your distribution and distributor network.
Panelists:      Tony Minock, Executive Business Development, Blue Horseshoe Solutions
                         Nick Biagi, CTO, Biagi Brothers
 

4:00 – 5:15pm      WORKSHOP SESSION # 2  ( repeat sessions)
 
A. CRM – “Field of Dreams”
B.  Free and Low Cost Technologies for Wineries                            
C.  Social Media: Communications Governance
 
 
5:15 – 6:30pm     WELCOME WINE RECEPTION & TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE 
                                      (WineTwits Virtual Wine Tasting & Demonstration)
 
6:30 – 8:30pm     VIP CIO NETWORKING DINNER - Napa Marriott
                                     (Wines Sponsored by Aged Cabernet Trust)
 
8:30 – 10:00pm     PORT & DESSERT BAR NETWORKING EVENT

 

Day 2: Wednesday - July 11, 2012 

7:30  – 8:00am        REGISTRATION & NETWORKING CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

 
7:30  – 8:00am       TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
 
8:00  – 11:30am     GENERAL SESSION
 
Welcoming Remarks -  J. Smoke Wallin, WITS Co-Chair; CEO, Napa Smith Brewery
 
“A Painful, Powerful Revolution”
We’re experiencing a painful, powerful, Internet-driven economic revolution.  It's changing the way we make a living and how our entire economy works.”     
David Maney, Founder, Economany
 
“At the Intersection of Local, Social and Mobile”
Changing the way consumers interact with businesses; Helping people discover new experiences in their own neighborhood. 
Jennifer Carroll, National Sales Director, Groupon
 
“Wine Community Process and Technology Innovations from the Ground Up”
Through our Sustainable Winegrowing Program (SWP), the California wine community has been at the forefront of process and technology innovation.  We are now embarking on another world-class initiative – embedding key quantitative performance metrics into SWP’s industry-wide business processes and technology platform.  We’ll explore the transformative financial and public policy implications of these innovations to individual businesses and the wine sector as a whole.|
Jeff Dlott, Ph.D., CEO, Sureharvest
 
“Technology's Role in Changing Industry Strategy"
How can businesses make sure IT is at the table when making strategic decisions? 
Jeff Tinker, SVP, Treasury Management National Sales Manager California, Wells Fargo Bank
 
“Spread Like Wildfire… From a Brand Perspective”
Sean Moffitt, Founder and Chief Evangelist, Agent Wildfire, Wikibrands Consultancy
 
Transition Remarks - Lesley Berglund, WITS Co-Chair; Chairman, WISE Academy
 
11:45 – 1:00pm      NETWORKING SEATED LUNCH   
 
1:00 – 2:00pm        TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
 
2:00 – 3:15pm        BREAKOUT SESSION #1
 

Technology Leadership (Track A):  Business Intelligence

How to get your organization to truly understand all of its capabilities.
Moderator:   Tony Minock, Executive Business Development, Blue Horseshoe Solutions
Panelists:      Michael Shoemaker, Director, Industry Market Development for Distribution, Microsoft
                         Tom Phillips, Deloitte Consulting LLP
 
 

Consumer Direct Sales (Track B): CRM at the Front Line

CRM at the Front Line. Advice from Hospitality on capturing quality data for your CRM efforts.  Hear from those who know best about capturing customer data.  Small or large tasting rooms with various events or offerings, these employees are tasked with the quality of your database. Think of their requirements before you build your                                       database, and see true conversion happen.
Moderator:    Susan DeMatei, CS, CSW, Marketing Consultant, Owner, Vinalytic
Panelists:      Colleen Dray, Director of Hospitality, Round Pond
                         Vida Dion, VP of Consumer Sales, Crimson Wine Group                                                                      
                         Kristin Wastell, Visitor Center Manager, Ravenswood Winery
 
 

Trade Sales & Marketing (Track C): Winery Value Analysis

A review of how an “outside-in” winery-value analysis would be structured to measure the possible impact of the combination of improved ERP/Back Office/Procurement, Sales and CRM, Trade Promotion, Farming Operations, Blend Management, and Bottling Systems could affect the winery’s top line and bottom line.  Using a 500,000 case winery as the base point, this presentation walks through the key elements of the financial and operational analysis, leading to a set of “conservative”, “pragmatic”, and “aggressive” estimates can be developed and related to a savings in “cost dollars per case.”  We will help separate basic system components from more advanced or “add-on” components so that the listener can see how this analysis can lead to a strategic systems roadmap.
Moderator:  Leanne Harper, Senior Sales Consultant, Oracle
 
 

Operations (Track D): New Techonologies for the Vineyard

Continuous Soil Moisture Monitoring, Vine Sap Flow Monitoring, Advances in High Quality Mechanical Harvesting and Optical Berry Sorting
Moderator:    Towle Merritt, General Manager, Walsh Vineyard Management
Panelists:      Mark Greenspan, Ph.D., CCA, CPAg, President and Viticulturist, Advanced Viticulture, Inc.
                         Thibaut Scholasch, PhD, Founder and VP of Research and Development, Fruition Sciences
 
3:15 – 3:30pm        NETWORKING BREAK
 
3:30 – 4:45pm        BREAKOUT SESSION #2
 

Technology Leadership (Track A): Cloud Payment Technologies

The panel will discuss the pros and cons of using cloud payments technologies along with security concerns.  How do you evaluate the true costs (merchant fees) of use  and a comparison of old and new methods? What are the integration options for tasting rooms?
Moderator:    Geni Whitehouse, CPA, Countess of Communications, Brotemarkle Davis Co.LLP
Panelists:      Rick Bakas, VP Marketing, PressPay
                         Aaron Zamost, Director Corporate Communications, Square
 
 

Consumer Direct Sales (Track B): Measuring DTC Success

A holistic view of how to measure what really matters.  From Net Promoter Score to mystery shopping, from executive dashboards to DTC channel specifics, this panel of DTC data experts will take both a broad and deep look at how the most successful wineries are measuring customer satisfaction and DTC success by channel.
Moderator:    Lesley Berglund, Chairman, WISE Academy
Panelists:      Jean Arnold, President, Hanzell Vineyards
                         Lesley Russell, VP Marketing & Direct Sales, St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery\\
 
 

Trade Sales & Marketing (Track C): Mobility Progress, Perceptions and Technology Implications

How tablets/iPads and are changing the way the wine industry does business:  Whether it be an app that does back-end management with inventory, iPad wine lists for on premise, researching, rating, locating or buying wine, or using them for reporting and analysis/business intelligence on any segment of your business.  
Panelists:      Josh Hermsmeyer, CEO/Alpha Lab, Labrador OmniMedia
                         Joshua Cairns, Marketing Manager, Hahn Family Wines
                         Nancy Berkowitz, VP Supply Chain, Dimensional Insight
 
 

Operations (Track D): When to Upgrade Existing Software

An overview of a methodology to understand and quantify the business case for determining when a system has reached “end of life”, whether that means time to upgrade with the existing software vendor, or to change vendors and go to a  completely new system.  This is based upon ascertaining a number of factors  contributing to the cost to maintain the old system together with the lost opportunity cost of using important functions/features only available from a new system. 
Moderator:  Joel Schipper, Master Principal Sales Consultant, Oracle
 
4:45 – 6:30pm        WINE RECEPTION & TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE