An industry meeting of the minds wrapped up this week in sunny Florida.

PromoStandards, a nonprofit organization committed to improving supply chain and transactional efficiencies in the promo industry, held its inaugural Technology Summit & Hack-a-Thon from Feb. 19 through 21.

A panel of industry experts covered how to solve promo industry pain points with technology solutions.

The event, which featured two full days of presentations and panels facilitated by tech professionals in the promo industry, welcomed more than 100 attendees from over 60 companies – including ASI’s Chief Technology Officer Kevin Jiang and Chief Product Officer Matt Barry – along with a number of sponsors, including ASI.

Among the sessions on Day 1 were a keynote address from Dr. Tom Stablein, director of the Global Online Business Analytics and Information Systems programs for the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida; roundtable discussions facilitated by Beki Ellis, assistant general manager at Top 40 supplier SanMar (asi/84863); PromoStandards case studies from Amy Rabideau, vice president of product at Facilisgroup; and best practices on using tech to support remote and hybrid workforces, with David Jackson, vice president of IT at Spector & Co. (asi/88660).

Day 1 of our Technology Summit was jam-packed with learning and networking with industry peers! With the panels and breakout sessions, it was a blast getting to pick the brains of other industry experts. A huge thank you to all of our Day 1 speakers! #PSTechSummit pic.twitter.com/D9N80hxX7e

— PromoStandards (@Promo_Standards) February 21, 2023

“The keynote from Dr. Stablein, on setting up a data science practice, was so insightful,” says Rabideau. “He had key tactical steps for our attendees. I’m looking forward to seeing how our members take advantage of his experience and suggestions to improve their ability to make better business decisions.”

Also on Day 1, Jon Norris, chief operating officer at Top 40 Starline (asi/89320; Canada, 89213), a member of the Counselor Power 50 list of the industry’s most influential people, and Counselor’s 2019 Technology Executive of the Year, facilitated a roundtable with tips on navigating an ERP implementation. The panelists included Mike Knapick, chief information officer at SanMar; Patrick Elliott, director of IT for Top 40 supplier SnugZ USA (asi/88060); Dino Bangiorno, managing director at eXtendtech, part of NetSuite; and Irwin Goldstein, vice president of Enterprise and Solution Architecture at Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000).

“PromoStandards is a collaborative network of industry experts working together to solve industry pain points,” says Norris. “The roundtables in particular fostered intimate discussions with the promo market in mind.”

Day 2 began with a welcome from Philip Gergen, senior vice president of technology at Top 40 supplier Koozie Group (asi/40480), followed by Mike Pfeiffer, vice president of technology at Top 40 distributor American Solutions for Business (ASB, asi/120075) and Counselor’s 2021 Technology Executive of the Year, who walked attendees through a cyberattack simulation, sharing tips on response strategies.

“The biggest takeaway for me was the impressive depth of the PromoStandards community,” says Eric Shonebarger, president of Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) and Counselor’s 2017 Technology Executive of the Year. “The unwavering commitment to advancing open standards and promoting best practices is poised to fuel growth and drive innovation in the industry.”

Attendee Rob Watson, vice president of Zing Manufacturing (asi/99025), says he was encouraged by the enthusiasm among speakers and attendees to transform the industry into a “data-driven” one. “During the networking discussions, there wasn’t a moment when colleagues weren’t engaged in new ideas, problem-solving and information-sharing,” he says. “It was transparent and thoughtful, and I look forward to continuing these dialogues through the rest of 2023.”

An awards ceremony during the event recognized Hack-a-Thon winners as well as individual achievements within the industry – including Top 40 distributor Proforma’s (asi/300094) CTO Brian Carothers, who was named the 2023 Distributor Person of the Year; ZOOMcatalog’s co-founder Bryony Zasman, named Service Provider Person of the Year; and Hit Promotional Products’ CIO Raj Mukherjee, named Supplier Person of the Year.

Bryony Zasman, Brian Carothers and Raj Mukherjee with their PromoStandards awards.

The second-annual PromoStandards Tech Summit will take place from Feb. 4 through 6, 2024, at the Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach, FL.