B2B Online Chicago 2025
April 28 - 30, 2025
Chicago Marriott Downtown
Day Three: Prepping for the Future of Digital
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Digital is evolving at such a rapid pace, don’t miss this opportunity to hear how your peers are preparing for the future to set your strategy for the year ahead.
8:15 am - 8:45 am
Continental Breakfast & Registration
8:45 am - 8:50 am
Welcome Remarks
Marissa Alvord -
Program Director,
B2B Online
8:50 am - 9:05 am
Chairperson’s Opening Address
Ed Kennedy -
Senior Commerce Director,
Episerver
Interested in showcasing thought leadership as Chairperson?
Contact Alicia Upchurch 646.200.7452 or alicia.upchurch@wbresearch.com
9:05 am - 9:30 am
Keynote Fireside Chat and AMA (Ask me Anything): From Supply Chain to eCommerce, Blockchain Explained
Nishant Nishant -
VP, Digital Strategy & IoT,
Avnet
Jeff Denton -
Senior Director, Global Secure Supply Chain,
AmerisourceBergen
Blockchain has been one of the biggest technology buzzwords over the last few years and it continues to be a mystery to most. Blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin, and it’s not just for the finance industry and payments! Beyond the finance industry, Blockchain is being used in supply chain to track inventory management and drive efficiencies. Matt Sample, Vice President, Manufacturer Operations for AmerisourceBergen, one of the leading healthcare distributors is an early adopter of Blockchain. In this interactive fireside chat, Matt will shed light on how Blockchain is influencing business models in manufacturing and distribution, and take audience questions in this all new Ask Me Anything style session. Questions will be submitted digitally and kept anonymous, there are no silly questions here!
• Knowing Bitcoin misconceptions and what Blockchain is not
• Understanding current use cases for Blockchain in manufacturing and distribution
• Assessing future opportunities in eCommerce payments, including decentralized marketplaces and lower costs
9:30 am - 9:55 am
Keynote Stand-Up Set: Proactive Strategies to Prepare for the Future of eCommerce
Darren Taylor -
CMO,
MORSCO - an Advent International Investment
Digital transformations are picking up steam, but market changes are happening even more rapidly. From transparency of data, to the impacts of marketplaces and Amazon, there many things keeping CMOs up at night. In this all new format, Darren Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer, MORSCO and part-time stand-up comic will share what’s on his mind. Bringing the spirit of Second City, expect laughs, commiseration and how-tos! Darren will explore how to get ahead of non-traditional competitors coming after your market share, including:
• Mapping out where your business is now and where you see the future going with the rise of personalization, automation, disruptions in delivery and more
• Examining global growth opportunities as you scale your digital business
• Devising a growth strategy that evaluates trends without being reactive
9:55 am - 10:25 am
Keynote Panel Discussion Remix: Talking Tech for Today and Tomorrow, What Should You Be Considering?
Gilbert Moreno -
Director of Information Technology, eBusiness Applications (ni.com),
National Instruments
William Uppington -
Chief Product Officer,
BloomReach
Abhishek Shastry -
Director,Product Strategy,
Dell.com
Ed Kennedy -
Senior Commerce Director,
Episerver
Technology is evolving at such a rapid pace that it can be challenging to keep up with the latest innovations in the marketplace. How can you determine the latest fad versus the true market disruptor? When should you invest and when should you wait? How can you get the most bang for you buck? Tech savvy digital evangelists will cut through the hype and answer all your burning tech questions, including:
• What are the current and future technologies that will fuel eCommerce?
• How do you prioritize the future and learn from missteps?
• How do you vet IoT, AI, machine learning, automation and more?
• What tech will drive the future of B2B eCommerce?
Gilbert Moreno
Director of Information Technology, eBusiness Applications (ni.com)National Instruments
10:25 am - 10:55 am
Morning Pick-me-up Refreshment & Networking Break
It’s day three of the event so ensure you are refreshed to soak up every last bit of information!
10:55 am - 11:20 am
Keynote: Partnering Across the Supplier Ecosystem to Drive Joint Marketing
Marcio Moerbeck -
Director, Worldwide Partner Marketing,
Citrix
When Marcio Moerbeck joined Citrix three years ago, he made it a top priority to drive digital marketing through distribution partners to help grow the business. He and his team revamped the department and invested in building content and programs that drive digital marketing through the Citrix KickStart program to amplify reach and grow revenues.
Hear lessons learned, including:
• Designing a content strategy to syndicate to partners in the ecosystem
• Becoming a better partner in a multichannel environment
• Revamping the program to focus on partners driving additional marketing activities
11:20 am - 11:55 am
Panel Discussion: What Can be Automated Now to Increase Efficiency and Drive Growth?
Miriam Metcalfe -
Marketing Manager,
Dormer Pramet
Abhishek Shastry -
Director,Product Strategy,
Dell.com
Ed Kennedy -
Senior Commerce Director,
Episerver
Eric Rehl -
Director, Digital Business,
Rockwell Automation
B2B eCommerce growth is booming! Businesses are quickly looking to scale operations to deliver on this growth and automation opportunities are a marketer’s new best friend. What automation opportunities are available to drive efficiency and create cost savings opportunities for customers? How can automation shift lower dollar orders to the online channel? Find out how to capitalize on automation, including:
• Exploring algorithms for pricing automation to reduce manual work
• Evolution of supply chain integration, logistics and payment gateways
• Using AI to automate content, including chatbots
• Opportunities to use AI for segmentation and targeted campaigns
• Utilizing machine learning to automate customer care
11:55 am - 12:25 pm
Panel Discussion Remix: Overcoming the Challenges of Omni-Channel Pricing Enforcement
Mitch Lee -
Profit Evangelist,
Vendavo
Conor Woulfe -
Vice President, Ecommerce,
Performance Health
Ajay Kamble -
CIO,
Turtle & Hughes, Inc.
Ed Kennedy -
Senior Commerce Director,
Episerver
The internet is so vast, its incredibly difficult to monitor, especially when it comes to price. How do you manage pricing and product complexity in a multi-channel environment? What should you know about showing price online? Panelists will share top tips to manage price in omni-channel, including:
• Monitoring pricing across a broad distribution and marketplace landscape
• Revising outdated pricing models to meet eCommmerce expectations without disrupting the market
• Reviewing best practices for handling pricing competition in marketplaces
• Leveraging pricing automation to reducing manual processes
12:25 pm - 12:45 pm
Interactive Tabletop Discussions: Your Amazon Battleplan: Inspiration and Lessons Learned
“Resource.” “Threat.” “Partner.” No matter who you are, you cannot ignore Amazon. After two and a half days of content packed sessions, this is your opportunity to have an intimate conversation about the industry’s biggest disruptor.
• How can your company best position itself to leverage Amazon’s example while also protecting its market share?
• Amazon is winning through data and logistics, how is your company investing to compete?
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
Lunch for All Attendees
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm
Fireside Chat: IoT, AI, Automation and Beyond, Demystifying Disruptions in Data
Michael Ali -
Chief Technology Officer,
Omega Engineering
Nishant Nishant -
VP, Digital Strategy & IoT,
Avnet
IoT, AI, automation, Blockchain and machine learning are some of the biggest buzzwords in tech and each capability relies on high quality data. Data is exploding at rapid rates, especially as marketers access new kinds of data sets, from spend data to geolocation data to further grow the business. What do each of these capabilities mean and what opportunities can they open up? Michael Ali will debunk data myths to help you better leverage data to deliver business value. Find out:
• What’s required to clean up your data to harness new opportunities
• The differences between the roles of data, AI, automation and IoT
• How to leverage data driven opportunities to drive long-term operational efficiency
2:15 pm - 2:40 pm
CASE STUDY: Leveraging CPQ Solutions Across the Enterprise to Optimize Experiences
Gurpreet Singh -
Director, eCommerce and CRM Systems,
Omega Engineering Inc.
When it comes to technical products in a B2B environment, manufacturers and distributors are often helping customers to build solutions in a consultative manner, frequently over the phone. Gurpreet Singh, Director, eCommerce and CRM Systems for Omega Engineering Inc. has taken the experience of phone consultations with engineers to the digital realm, offering a visual way for customers to better interact with the product and customize solutions to meet their needs.
Find out lessons learned, including:
• Mapping out pricing across all channels to implement CPQ
• Managing configurators and integration within the ERP system
• Empowering channel partners and the sales force with tools for swift complex configurations
• Enabling guided selling to improve customer experience
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm
Wrap-Up Roundtables – Lessons Learned and Takeaways
Saying goodbye is hard, especially after an inspirational three days at B2B Online with old and new friends and colleagues alike. We’re hoping this wrap-up will give you the closure needed to package all of your takeaways with a neat little bow to take back to work tomorrow morning.
These interactive targeted discussions will be your chance to take a deep dive into the specific takeaways from the conference and unveil what the future of B2B eCommerce looks like to you. Topics to be discussed include:
• Share your biggest “A-ha!” moment from the conference
• What are two things you heard this week that scare you?
• What two things will you try and implement immediately, and why?
• I wish…