Artificial Intelligence in Commerce
Network Meeting
14 March 2024 - 15 March 2024
Artificial Intelligence in Commerce
‘Sales, with its unstructured and people-driven approach, has been lagging when it comes to utilizing digital technologies. But now, sales is primed to quickly become a leading adopter of generative AI — the form of artificial intelligence used by OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT). AI-powered systems are on the way to becoming every salesperson’s indispensable digital assistant.’
With this statement from Harvard Business Review March 2023 in mind, Sales but also Marketing executives in food ingredients are introduced to AI. How will it change their sales and marketing practices now and in the future?
At the second day of this two-day event, we will visit Cargill in Wormer (for members only). Together with commercial executives of the hosting company we will elaborate on the insights of the previous day and put them in the perspective of our daily businesses.
Reviews
“It’s like putting on a diving mask, and seeing beneath the water surface for the first time. A new world emerges, one of vibrant colours and fish. This meeting was very worthwhile.”
– said Yvonne van Winden-Van den Berg (Key Account Manager at Limagrain Food Ingredients) after listening to the lecture of Mark Dijksman (oneUp).
“I’m already used to working with different AI applications, for work and my personal life. However, today I learned about some new interesting apps I didn’t know about. That was a nice surprise. It was also nice to get to know new people in the industry and share thoughts and ideas about working with AI.”
– Daphne Kranenburg, Customer Support Officer ENS International B.V.
“There is so much more to get out of AI than I thought. The possibilities are enormous. I feel inspired to do even more with AI.”
– Marjoleine Bartels-Arntz, Manager Technical Sales Specialist FrieslandCampina Ingredients.
Thursday, 14 March 2024
Location: Inntel Hotel Zaandam, Provincialeweg 102, 1506 MD Zaandam
13:30 – Registration
14:00 – Opening and Introduction – Halbe Vogel, IFFI
14.30 – Impact of AI on BtB business models – Mark Dijksman, Founder & CEO, oneUp
15:30 – Break
16:00 – Impact of AI on BtB sales practices – Edwill Jansen and Shridhar Acharya, Regional Vice Presidents, Salesforce
17:00 – Drinks and networking
18:30 – Dinner
Friday 15 March 2024
Location: Cargill, Eenhoornweg 12, 1531 ME in Wormer
09:00 – Welcome – Michiel van Der Bom, Commercial Director Cocoa & Chocolate
10:00 – AI implementation in practice – Borre Moolenaar, Chief Data & Analytics Officer
11:00 – Factory/facility tour
12:00 – Closure and light lunch – Halbe Vogel, IFFI
Mark Dijksman
Mark Dijksman is the founder and CEO of oneUp, a business model innovation agency based in Amsterdam. Since 2015, oneUp has helped leading companies (including Cargill, Rabobank, Unilever) find and build new growth engines – guiding clients from strategy to execution, via a structured approach emphasising data-driven validation and measurable business impact. In addition, Mark also advises C-suite clients on the impact of new technologies such as Generative AI, and guest lectures on digital innovation and transformation at Nyenrode Business University.
Edwill Jansen
Edwill Jansen is a Senior Regional Vice President at Salesforce. He leads the Travel, Transport, Hospitality & Consumer Packaged Goods team for The Netherlands. Prior to these markets, he has led the Financial & Professional Services Team for Salesforce.
Before moving to Salesforce mid 2016, Edwill worked at IBM for 26 years in both services and sales roles. With his MSc Computer Science degree specialized in Artificial Intelligence, he was involved in the first pilot projects with IBM Watson in The Netherlands and was a guest speaker on AI at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
Shridhar Acharya
Shridhar Acharya is Regional Vice President at Salesforce. He leads the Manufacturing, Automotive and Energy Enterprise Team for the Netherlands. Prior to this role, he was a Global Account Director for one of Salesforce’s strategic global accounts. His starting role at Salesforce, however, was as a Director in the Strategic Advisory Team.
Before moving to Salesforce, Acharya was a Senior Strategy Consultant at ING in the Netherlands, working on critical strategic projects for the bank. Prior to ING, he was Consultant with BCG based out of the Mumbai Office – and worked with top management on key strategic, operational and organizational issues.
Michiel van der Bom
Michiel van der Bom is Product Line Director for Cocoa and Chocolate in Europe and West Africa at Cargill. With over 19 years in the cocoa and chocolate industry, he currently leads a team of 14 and contributing to global strategy. He manages global risks, trading, and pricing strategies for cocoa assets, overseeing portfolio development and sustainability products. With a background as Commercial Director for Chocolate and Trading Manager for Tropical Oils, Michiel has a proven track record of effective leadership, strategy development, and team management in the industry.
Borre Moolenaar
Borre Moolenaar is Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Cargill. Borre joined Cargill in 2016 and has worked in a myriad of technology, business process, data & analytics and business group leadership roles through his career. At the beginning of 2020, he assumed the role in Cargill Horizons, which is set on establishing new product lines of digital business and transformation in the commercial landscape of the food industry.
This network meeting is for sales and marketing executives employed by the IFFI member companies as well as non-member manufacturers of food ingredients. They share insights and best practices within the area of sales and distribution management, marketing and business development as well as value selling and key account management.
Registration is closed.
Registration
Registration is open to IFFI members and non-members.
Fees:
- free entrance for IFFI members; including dinner
- € 450 for IFFI non-members (Thursday, 14 March 2024 only); including dinner
Registration is closed.
Venue
Inntel Hotel Zaandam
Provincialeweg 102
1506 MD Zaandam
https://www.inntelhotelsamsterdamzaandam.nl/
Dinner
JP1886
Westzijde 188
1506 EK Zaandam
https://www.jp1886.nl/
Unique restaurant; iconic location
Zaandam is famous for the Verkade factory. The workplace of many women at the time has now been turned into a hip restaurant that honors the old factory building and its environment. Located directly along the Zaan river, JP1886 – named after the opening year of the Verkade factory – is a modern restaurant inside of a national monument.
The menu includes a diverse mix of flavors and culinary styles, from Italian and Thai to Spanish and American influences. Aside from the many meat and fish options, JP offers an exquisite wine selection curated by in-house sommelier Jaap van Wageningen.
Company visit
Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate
Eenhoornweg 12
1531 ME Wormer
Hotel
Inntel Hotel Zaandam
Special IFFI price: € 138 incl breakfast, excl city tax.
A booking link will be sent out to those interested (indicate interest through the registration form).
‘It’s like putting on a diving mask and seeing beneath the water surface for the first time’. With this quote Yvonne van Winden-Van den Berg, Key Accountmanager at Limagrain Ingredients, compliments the keynote speaker Mark Dijksman, CEO at OneUp.
For many of the 40 + participants this was the first true introduction to AI and what it means to marketing, innovation and business modelling. How AI equips young sales professionals in the industry with an enormous competency to extract business intelligence from the marketplace once they know how to use the tools. It puts 20 years of sales experience in a completely new context. The next day Borre Moolenaar, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Cargill took AI to the next level implementing this tool in commercial disciplines. Together with a company visit to Cargill’s Cocoa factory in Wormer the IFFI network event proved once again what IFFI stands for: ‘Stretch people perspectives and business boundaries!’
