NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A lot has changed in the 12 years since the first NACStech, noted NACS President and CEO Hank Armour on Monday during the 2007 event's Opening General Session.

The industry has certainly grown. In 1995, total industry sales were about $150 billion. They have grown almost four-fold since then – to $569 billion in 2006.

"And credit card fees, which cost the industry $6.6 billion last year – more than our industry's pretax profits – weren't even measured back in 1995," noted Armour.

"But I think a lot of us would agree that the biggest change since that first NACStech is in technology. We, as an industry, have gone from technology laggards to leaders, whether with consumer-facing technology or back-office applications," stressed Armour.

But while technology is implied in the name of this conference, NACStech is about much more that just technology. It is about using technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness in your businesses, Armour said.

"And we use technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of NACStech for you," said Armour, citing a few examples:

• NACStech Connect, which attendees are using to intelligently mine through the NACStech community and find the knowledge, people and products that most closely match what they want to see and learn. It was first used to great success at the NACS Show 2006 and will again be used at the NACS Show 2007 in Atlanta in November. "NACStech Connect is more than just a tactical tool for you to customize this event. NACStech Connect is also an integral component of the entire NACStech experience that allows you to build and grow relationships with technology partners for weeks after the event is over," said Armour.
  
  
• The recent NACS strategic alliance with ECRM. ECRM's proprietary eFusion software will be used at NACS events to facilitate business connections between retailers and suppliers. The first application of this will be the business planning sessions at the NACS Marketing Conference this June in Dallas. The event is free to qualified retailers.
  
  
• Developing technology-related tools. In the 1990s, NACS started the NACS Technology Standards Project, which has evolved into PCATS – the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards. "PCATS and other standards organizations play a vital role in developing and maintaining technology standards necessary to support productive business process improvements. The importance of supporting and being involved in PCATS has never been greater, and I encourage you to visit their 'Open for Business' pavilion," said Armour.

Technology is a terrific tool to help build relationships in the industry, noted Armour, but said it needs to do one of three things to be useful: reduce operating costs, reduce supply-chain costs or enhance members' convenience propositions.

"We understand that at NACS, and have looked at how we can best deliver that for you," stressed Armour.