Supply Chain Reaction

There’s an old riddle I recall from childhood: You’re in a room with no windows or clocks. Continuously, bells go off and lights flash. Where are you?

Alien spaceship? Secret government testing lab? No. The answer: A casino. And that’s exactly where I find myself today.

The usual turbulent air above Las Vegas charged my plane into Sin City some time around noon in a most unwelcoming way. I thought nothing of the rocky landing, however, because even though I was in Vegas again – a place I’ve come to loathe visiting – I was not here for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for a change. Instead, I’m here for the Electronic Distribution Show (EDS) and I breathe a sigh of relief when I enter the baggage claim area at McCarran airport and don’t find myself walking into a sea of crazed CES attendees. 

After a few wrong turns in the casino at the Paris hotel, I found the “show floor” and I’m using that term very loosely so far. Only a handful of booths were set up this afternoon. And while I had been told by readers that EDS was a sparse event in terms of floor traffic, I expected more than what I’ve seen so far.

One-on-one meetings are seemingly the thing to do up in the suites, which works for personal attention but gives a very poor 30,000-foot view of the electronics supply chain. Clearly, this is a show for shaking hands and making connections, but in a business where reach is global and often multi-tiered, I expect more conversing on the floor between various groups. Attendees, are you only here to meet a new sales rep up in your room, or would you rather see the sales rep in action on the floor with other clients for a better sense of how they do what they do?

As for me, I’m done with my day-one meetings and am heading down to the industry reception for a bit of 30,000-foot conversing before heading to dinner. Keep an eye out and say hello.