"FS/TEC is the place to be if you're a foodservice technology executive exploring options and looking for solutions," said Alan Gould, publisher of Nation's Restaurant News, which co-manages and co-produces the conference.

Robert N. Grimes, the exposition's other co-producer and co-chairman, added, "Many operators' questions about the role online tools and services could play in their future will be answered by FS/TEC educational sessions and exhibitor representatives." Grimes is chairman and chief executive of technology consulting and services company CynterCorp. of Rockville, Md.

New to FS/TEC this year is an E-Commerce/Supply Chain track that reflects the growing importance and use of e-business applications in the $391 billion foodservice industry. In keeping with that trend, the show will kick off Nov. 5 with a first-ever E-Business Think Tank program. From 8 a.m. to 12 noon, interactive roundtable discussions and panels will focus on hot button topics, such as e-marketing, e-procurement, e-equipment, e-services, e-transactions and e-education.

While there is a unique e-world flavor to FS/TEC 2000, the 40-session educational program also is rich in operational, technical and case-study information. The expo's exhibitor roster numbers 200 and features a full range of suppliers of products and services to the foodservice and hospitality industries.

"This show is a terrific way to remain current in foodservice technology," said frequent attendee Ron Hardin, director of technology for the Davidson Hotel Co.

Some of that cutting-edge information will come from the event's keynote speakers. Thomas Giordano, senior vice president and chief information officer of Burger King, will address showgoers Nov. 6. The following day will feature an address by Jack Vinchesi, vice president of information technology and chief information officer of Allied Domecq Retailing QSR, as well as a presentation by Arthur Esch, noted technology futurist, on "E-Commerce: The Buyer Is King."

Another general session will be the Nov. 7 morning panel on "The Future of Foodservice Technology" featuring representatives from leading vendor companies. Panelists will include Paul Armstrong, vice president, new technologies for MICROS Systems; Greg Cortese, president and chief executive, ParTech; Rebecca Kaske, director of product industries, business solutions group, Microsoft; and Scott Kingsfield, vice president, business development, Radiant Systems. The other panelists will be Gary Lachey, director, hospitality solutions, NCR Corp.; Barry Logan, president and chief executive, Squirrel Systems; Manny Negreiro, president and chief executive, Aloha by Ibertech; Bud Weist, director, system device group, Epson America; and Christopher Wong, worldwide business manager and retail store solutions, IBM.

Case Studies:

Case studies, with their slant toward operator experiences, are traditionally popular with FS/TEC attendees. The Nov. 5 highlights will include executives from Shari's Restaurants discussing integration of a back-office system with a MICROS 3700 system: "Integrating Custom Back Office With POS." Among the participants will be Ron McCauley, vice president and chief information officer of the 99-unit Pacific Northwest chain and a 20-year veteran of management information systems work.

Also on Nov. 5, Terry Anderson, information systems project manager for Walt Disney World, will offer an inside look at the way food and beverage technology delivers service that helps keep guests happy: "Service, Disney Style." A 10-year Disney employee, Anderson is responsible for food and beverage point-of-sale, food-cost management, wireless technology applications and time-clock support.

Another Nov. 5 session will feature Susan Benham, information systems manager for the 347-store White Castle quick-serve sandwich chain. She will focus on requirements for developing a help desk, including the support and standards needed for dealing with response and problem resolution: "Help Desk ­ Tailoring a Support Structure to Meet Your Business Needs."

Case studies on Nov. 6 will include a look at Whataburger, a 600-unit quick-serve chain based in Corpus Christi, Texas, which built and deployed its own back-office system: "Building and Deploying Back-Office Systems." The session leader is Tom Jaggard, Whataburger's group director, information systems, a 19-year technology professional who joined the chain in 1991 as director of personal computer support.

During a third Nov. 6 session, attendees interested in wireless applications will check in with Rick Sender, owner and operator of nine Subway stores. He will discuss the results of a wireless marketing test involving more than 500 Subway franchisees in Southern California: "The One-on-One Marketing Revolution and its Impact on the Foodservice Industry."

Continuing the case-study theme, a Nov. 7 session will examine how Taco Bell is using Internet-based mobile technology to improve service and keep field employees in the loop: "How Taco Bell Uses Mobile Technology." Presiding over this session will be Dan Tew, manager of consumer insights for the worldwide chain. Tew directs Taco Bell's mystery-shopper program and oversees all data collection, processing and reporting.

E-COMMERCE

On the subject of e-commerce, showgoers will hear from a number of high-level foodservice executives during FS/TEC 2000.

On Nov. 5, Patti Reilly, vice president of restaurant systems for Darden Restaurants, will lead a session on "Supply Chain: New Commerce Dynamics." A 12-year Darden veteran, Reilly is responsible for all corporate systems at Darden's Restaurant Support Center. During the past year she has focused on implementing the chain's restaurant level intranet, known internally as the "Darden Super Information Highway."

Tony Ambrose, chef and owner of Ambrosia restaurant of Boston, and Dominique Maquet, chef and owner of Dominique's in New Orleans, will share their experiences with online reservations in a Nov. 5 session titled "Food Fight in Cyberspace."

Later that day Molly Fine, vice president of information technology for Delaware North, whose background includes 14 years with Marriott Corp., will share her experiences on the selection of automatic purchase tracking systems in "Evaluating E-Commerce Purchasing Systems."

The e-commerce track will pick up on Nov. 6 with Arjun Sen, vice president of marketing and operations services for Papa John's, hosting a session on "Online Ordering and POS Integration." Formerly with Einstein Brothers Bagels, Boston Chicken and Pizza Hut, Sen is responsible for Papa John's e-strategy, e-marketing and e-creative strategies.

"E-Purchasing ­ How the Internet and EFR Will Lower Your Food Cost" is the name of a session headed by Martha Spezia, vice president of purchasing and product development for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. The presentation will examine the impact of e-commerce opportunities on the supply chain. Spezia will share her experiences as supervisor of product selection, negotiations and distribution for more than 40 restaurants in four states.

Developing a common infrastructure among multiple platforms will be the theme of an e-commerce panel discussion on Nov. 7: "Developing and Managing an E-Business Infrastructure for Remote Business Units." The featured speakers will be chain executives with extensive experience in remote operations for the world's largest quick-serve chains: Reuben Heim Sr., senior manager of global infrastructure for Tricon Global Restaurants, and Rohan Phillips, senior director of technical engineering for McDonald's Corp.

On Nov. 8 Quinn McKenna, director of operations for the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, will lead a discussion on the impact the Internet and technology is having on multiunit management. The 8:15 a.m. session is titled, "The Networked Hospitality Enterprise: How Internet Innovation Will Make Your Business More Efficient and More Profitable."

Key Operator Presenters:

Other key operator presenters during the FS/TEC 2000 educational program will include Michael Furlow, chief information officer of Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp., who will address "Menu Engineering," during a Nov. 5 operational track. Formerly with Metromedia Restaurant Group, Southland Corp. and T.G.I. Friday's, Furlow has more than 17 years of information technology experience in restaurant operations.

A pair of top foodservice professionals will anchor a Nov. 5 operational panel, "CIO Panel ­ Setting Expectations." One of the presenters, Howard Jenkins, is vice president of management information systems for the 133-unit Red Robin International chain. He has more than 26 years' experience in material control, purchasing, manufacturing and information technology, including a total technology upgrade at Red Robin.

Joining Jenkins on the CIO panel will be Glenn West, vice president of information technology for Yorkshire Global Restaurants, operator of nearly 1,200 quick-serve seafood stores in 37 states, Singapore and Thailand. West started with Yorkshire in 1979 and is responsible for computer software management, development and maintenance, including point-of-sale equipment and support of franchisees.

David Oden, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Texas Land & Cattle Steak House, will be a presenter during a Nov. 5 Operational Track on "Benefits of the Internet as a Base for Enterprise Solutions." His session is aimed at helping operators learn to use real-time information from the Web to make better decisions and control costs. Before Texas Land, Oden worked at Silver Diner and also Pancho's Mexican Buffet, where he was responsible for all aspects of store and corporate information systems.

Other speakers will include Mike Plunkett, vice president of kitchen operations, Dave & Buster's, who will present "Technologies to Watch," a Nov. 5 technical track session.

The panel "Complexing and Application Hosting," a Nov. 6 technical track, will feature Neil Aldridge, director of field systems, Compass Group USA; Glenn Bonner, vice president of information systems, Mirage Resorts; and Gebhard Rainer, vice president of hotel finance and systems, Hyatt International.

"Innovation in Restaurant Kitchen Technology" is a Nov. 6 technical track session. It will include Michael Harlamert, manager of equipment, control systems for KFC Corp., and Glen Helton, director of operating systems, Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits.

Also on Nov. 6, a team from Fazoli's will discuss the 175-unit Italian chain's successful implementation of a new back office system in a session called "Fazoli's Back Office Rollout: The Selection, The Rollout, The Expectations." Presenters will include chief financial officer David Smith, along with manager of special projects Todd Stewart and systems and programming manager Bryan Wall.

On Nov. 7 attendees will have access to the operational track panel "The CEO and CFO View of Technology," which will explore why executives looking for cost controls in marketing strategies increasingly are turning to technology. Operators on this panel will include Ron DiNella, senior vice president of finance, Morton's of Chicago; Jim McCloskey, chief financial officer, Red Robin International; and Texas Land & Cattle's Oden.

Several sessions on Nov. 8 will headline restaurant operators, including Scott Dever, director of information systems for Logan's Roadhouse. He will discuss how Logan's maximized its investment in a legacy POS system while moving toward an enterprise solution. That technical track program is titled "Planning Financially Compatible Enterprise Solutions."

Vendor Tutorials:

Vendor tutorials are another aspect of FS/TEC 2000. The 30-minute sessions will take place on the show floor on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7. Suppliers conducting tutorials will include Chase Merchant Services, Hughes Network Systems, Instill Corp., MICROS Systems, MIRUS, NPC, ParTech, Radiant Systems, Spacenet, Tecmark, Thinque Systems, Visa and XcelleNet.

Award Presentation:

Presentation of industry awards is yet another feature of FS/TEC 2000. The Nation's Restaurant News Technology Innovation Awards will be presented Nov. 6 morning. They honor innovation in the quick-serve, full-serve and on-site restaurant categories. The 1999 winners, respectively, were Taco Bell, Eat 'n Park Restaurants and ARAMARK Global Food Division.

The FS/TEC Foodservice Technology Awards will be handed out on Nov. 7 during an awards luncheon. They honor team and project excellence in technology implementation. Last year's winners, respectively, were Mirage Resorts and Red Robin International.

Also during lunch, Distinguished Achievement awards will be presented for career achievement and dedication to technology advancements in foodservice. Dr. John Sammon, founder and chief executive of ParTech, and Professor Kathleen Brewer Pearl of the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration in Las Vegas, were the 1999 recipients.

An Advisory Board consisting of 25 foodservice technology executives guides the FS/TEC 2000 program. The show has been supported from its inception in 1996 by these founding sponsors: IBM, MICROS Systems, Microsoft and NCR Corp. Corporate sponsors are Aloha by Ibertech, Epson America, ParTech, Radiant Systems and Squirrel Systems. Affiliate Sponsors are Discover Financial Services, ResourceLink sponsored by Hewlett Packard, Hospitality Solutions International, Progressive Software, RetailDNA and Visa.