FreightWaves hosting national supply chain event in NWA

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based FreightWaves, a provider of transportation and logistics data and content, will host its first supply chain event in Northwest Arkansas in May.

The Future of Supply Chain will be the first in-person event for the company since the onset of the pandemic. It will take place May 9-10 at Rogers Convention Center.

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller said the company has hosted supply chain and freight technology events since 2017. They’ve attracted between 1,500 and 2,000 attendees and are typically hosted in larger cities, such as Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.

“We decided to move it to places that are more central to where the activity and decisions are happening,” Fuller said. “We feel like Northwest Arkansas is the epicenter of North America’s supply chains, and we wanted to be there.”

The event is geared for C-level supply chain executives, especially those who are involved in technology investments in the industry, he said. He explained that attendees would include executives of companies that invest more than $10 million annually in technology, that ensure store shelves are stocked with goods and are looking for technology to help with this. He also expects venture capital and industry investors to attend the event. Its headline sponsor is the technology platform of Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., J.B. Hunt 360.

The event will include fireside chats, product demos, a J.B. Hunt party and multiple keynote speakers, such as Gov. Asa Hutchinson; Billy Beane, Oakland A’s executive and subject of “Moneyball;” and former Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. Other speakers include Tyson Foods executive Ildefsonso Silva; Matt Waller, dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas; and Steuart Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton and co-founder of Runway Group.

Regular admission is $2,495, but a $1,295 ticket price was available as of mid-March. Fuller said more than 500 people have registered, and he expects between 1,500 and 2,000 attendees. Depending on the turnout and community support, Fuller said he would hope it to become an annual event in Northwest Arkansas.