AED Summit 2024 Recap: Growth in the Equipment Industry
Every industry has its unique set of goals and challenges, which makes participating in industry events essential for discovering these matters first-hand. Above The Fray has been attending AED Summit, one of the nation’s largest gatherings for the equipment and manufacturing industry, since 2018 for this exact reason. The event includes both the Summit and Condex, the latter being a show where manufacturers can exhibit their products, providing a friendly environment for members of the equipment industry to talk shop.
Since much of the equipment industry has been slow to embrace selling online, AED Summit offers a great opportunity to meet directly with the decision makers, learn more about their businesses, and uncover the pain points they are feeling in their day to day roles. Plus, it is an excellent place to listen to and learn from experts on issues that are pertinent to the equipment industry. The event featured many great presentations and speeches, and our team was particularly excited to catch the keynote speaker, General James Mattis. Here are some of ATF’s main takeaways from this year’s show.
How Tech Influences the Equipment Industry
With the growing trend of digital transformation, AED Summit offers the chance to discover what equipment companies need to keep advancing in today’s increasingly digital landscape. By meeting with members of the industry, our team pinpointed an increasing need for tech and ecommerce in the equipment industry. There are a lot of opportunities for businesses in this sector to expand into ecommerce solutions. We were thrilled to see that so many in this industry were eager to learn more about how they can modernize their operations.
A Deep Dive on Infrastructure
Alongside catching up with ATF’s connections in the equipment industry, our team’s trip to Las Vegas had another important goal, which was supporting our Manager of Global Engineering & Delivery, Thayer Luscian, in his presentation at AED Summit. In his presentation on Infrastructure Essentials Building a Strong Technology Foundation for Equipment Dealerships, Thayer highlighted the basics of infrastructure, common models, and how to select the right infrastructure for an organization. Infrastructure can greatly affect a company’s day-to-day business in terms of both investment and efficiency.
For those who missed the presentation, some of the main takeaways were that it is vital to:
- evaluate the lifespan of your infrastructure
- determine how often it will need to be upgraded or patched
- be realistic about the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
These steps can help businesses plan accordingly for their application, and also take into account the long-term costs, which can benefit all companies in the equipment industry. It was a huge honor to be able to share this knowledge with the attendees of AED Summit, as well as to be able to learn about pertinent issues and trends from the other presentations. We’ll be sharing the full talk on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so be sure to follow us to catch it in its entirety!
The AED Foundation: Helping Tomorrow’s Workforce
We can’t discuss the impact that AED Summit has as an industry event and forget to mention The AED Foundation’s contributions towards today’s workforce. Since 1991, The AED Foundation has been working to address the shortage of skilled workers in the equipment distribution industry through community and educational programs.
During the Summit, the Foundation puts on the AED Gala to raise funds for their charitable efforts as well as share how they are helping tradespeople advance their careers. Our team at Above The Fray truly admires all the work they are doing to help the youth of tomorrow train in vocational schools and find careers in occupations our country depends on.
A Bright Future for the Equipment Industry
All in all, AED Summit 2024 was a huge success, giving professionals the space to network, exchange ideas, and provoke growth. ATF is incredibly proud that our very own Thayer Luscian added his own grain of salt to the wealth of knowledge presented at the event this year.
Attending AED Summit is always an enriching experience for our team and we take great pride in supporting The AED Foundation’s endeavors to encourage workforce development through fundraising events like the AED Gala. We look forward to attending the event next year and seeing all of our friends in the manufacturing and equipment industries again soon!
