Site Visits for the Conference
Tuesday, 8/30, 7:00 – 10:00pm
(participants may CHOOSE ONE site visit in this session)
- McKesson Distribution Center (no employees of direct competitor companies please). This tour includes a visit to the McKesson Distribution Center in Duluth, GA, which features a variety of storage equipment from A-Frames to static racks and a conveyor network connecting storage to shipping (the action (picking) happens at night so that trucks are out for delivery by early morning hours). The tour will be led by the senior operational leaders at the facility. McKesson is a pharmaceutical distributor and health care information technology company. Provides electronic health records systems for medical supply management. "As the oldest and largest healthcare company in the nation, McKesson plays an integral role in healthcare and has a unique vision for its future. We serve more than 50% of American hospitals, 20% of U.S. physicians and 96% of the top 25 health plans, and we deliver one-third of all medications used every day in North America. Our distribution software, automation technology and business services help address the challenges healthcare organizations face today — and shape how they’ll overcome the new challenges of tomorrow. We connect people and organizations, are committed to higher quality and improved clinical outcomes, and help healthcare businesses run better. And that drives better patient health." http://www.mckesson.com/
- UPS Sorting Center. UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a leader in supply chain management. The global logistics company is headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, which is part of the Greater Atlanta metropolitan area. UPS delivers more than 15 million packages per day to more than 7.9 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the world. The UPS air network runs similarly to the ground network through a hub-and-spoke system, though air hubs are typically located at airports so airplanes can quickly be unloaded, the packages sorted, and the aircraft loaded again. Centers feed packages to facilities at airports (called gateways), which in turn send them to an air hub to be sorted and put on another airplane to a final destination gateway, and then from there to a center. For instance, a Next Day Air package traveling from Seattle, Washington to Atlanta, Georgia, would be loaded onto an air container at Boeing Field just south of Seattle and flown to the Worldport (UPS air hub) in Louisville, Kentucky. From there it would be sorted to a container heading to Atlanta to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and taken by truck from the airport to the delivery center. https://pressroom.ups.com/pressroom
Wednesday, 8/31, 9:00 – 12:00pm
(participants may CHOOSE ONE site visit in this session)
- Americold Tradewater Site (temperature controlled warehousing and logistics facility). This visit would include a tour of the facility and an overview of the operations with the VP of Supply Chain solutions. Americold is the global leader in temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics to the food industry, offering the most comprehensive warehousing, transportation, and logistics solutions in the world. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Americold owns and operates +175 temperature-controlled warehouses in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, Argentina, and Canada. Americold possesses the largest cold storage network with a total capacity of over 1 billion cubic feet of storage. Americold’s warehouses are an integral part of the supply chain connecting food producers, processors, distributors, and retailers to the end consumer. http://www.americold.com/
- Global Growers Farm. This includes a visit to Bamboo Creek Farm, a15-acre incubator farm located in Stone Mountain for commercial crop production. It hosts ten beginning farmers and serves as the Global Growers base of operations and features include two hoophouses, wash station, packing shed, walk-in cooler, bamboo forest, microirrigation system, barn storage, farm office, and composting toilet. The mission of Global Growers Network (GG) is to create opportunities in sustainable agriculture in Georgia, by growing good food, training farmers, and providing economic opportunity. Global Growers is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, GA. Global Growers grew out of the tremendous demand among international farmers, many who came to Atlanta as refugees of war, to reconnect to their agricultural heritage in their new home. Recognizing this exceptional talent, Global Growers connects local families to land, education, and markets in order to build healthier communities and strengthen our local economy. We are committed to cultivating diverse farmers who are traditionally under served by mainstream agricultural service providers. http://www.globalgrowers.org
- Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (25 participants max; pre-registration required). This site visit includes a tour of the three main air cargo complexes- North, Midfield and South- and a USDA Propagated Plant Inspection Station. The tour will review what is done with perishable items throughout the airport and Delta will open its perishables storage to the group to see as the airport perishables section is currently closed for renovations. The total on-airport air cargo warehouse space measures 29.8 acres (12.1 hectares) or 1.3 million square feet. http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Airport/ATL/ATL_FactSheet.aspx.
- MedShare International Headquarters tour (50 participants max) This includes a presentation and tour of the headquarters facility in Atlanta. MedShare is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving healthcare and the environment through the efficient recovery and redistribution of the surplus of medical supplies and equipment to those most in need. We collect surplus medical supplies and equipment from hospitals, distributors and manufacturers, and then redistribute it to qualified healthcare facilities in the developing world. We also outfit medical missions and safety net clinics in both the U.S. and abroad. See: http://www.medshare.org/.
