January 16, 2001

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is sponsoring the dairy industry's first e-commerce conference on March 6-7 in Dallas. The conference will examine the Internet as a business-to-business (B2B) sales and marketing tool, and will help dairy professionals determine their role within the expanding Internet marketplace and provide information on how to use the web to sell more product, maximize exposure, more effectively buy ingredients and services, and increase competitiveness.

Practical exhibits of the latest B2B Internet technologies will enable attendees to see and ask questions about web-based applications and how they can be used to maximize business operations during special exhibit hours both days, and during a live demonstration at the meeting's "innovation breakfast" March 7.

The meeting's general sessions include "e-Commerce 101," a review of the current dairy e-commerce trend and what kinds of services are available; "The Economic State of the B2B Industry," a look at what retail and food industry companies are doing on the Internet; "How to Organize Your Company for Internet Purchasing," a review of how organizations can smoothly transition to an e-business culture; and "Manufacturers Using the Internet to Buy Ingredients & Supplies," which examines the strategies and benefits of online purchasing. Leading retail, foodservice and industrial customers of dairy products will also be on-hand to discuss ways dairy professionals can better market their products to them via the web.

Keynote speaker is Professor Mohanbir Singh Sawhney, director of the Center for Research Technology, Innovation and e-Commerce at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Sawhney, recently recognized by Business Week as one of the 25 most influential e-business authorities, is a globally recognized e-commerce expert specializing in B2B Internet strategy. Sawhney will focus on how the rapidly evolving Internet can benefit the dairy industry.

For general meeting information, or information on how to exhibit, please contact Ellen Brophy at (202) 220-3527 or ebrophy@idfa.org. To register, contact Beverly Posey at (202) 220-3557 or bposey@idfa.org, or visit the IDFA events website.