The Association of Suppliers to the Paper Industry (ASPI) held its 2015 Fall Customer Alignment Meeting on October 12-14, 2015.  Georgia-Pacific hosted the event at their Atlanta headquarters and shared their vision for growth with ASPI members, outlining how they can align their capabilities with GP’s strategic direction. 

Over 138 executives representing 75 suppliers to the pulp and paper industry attended this key event which kicked off with a dinner in downtown Atlanta.  This meeting set a new attendance record for ASPI’s fall and spring meetings indicating the high value members put on the opportunity to meet with senior executives in the paper industry in a small, more interactive setting.

“ASPI members welcomed the opportunity to meet with Georgia-Pacific’s senior leadership team,” stated Mike Gray, ASPI President and Area Senior Vice President Sales and Paper Business NA for Valmet.  “Georgia-Pacific is a very important customer to our members and the opportunity for them to interact with GP’s top executives and learn about their Market-Based Management philosophy was invaluable.”

ASPI is the only industry association that provides a forum for suppliers to network at the executive level.  These customer forums allow suppliers to interact in a non-competitive environment to promote open innovation and collaboration and collectively address and advance actions on issues of importance to the supplier community in a noncompetitive environment.

The Customer Alignment Initiative gives ASPI member company executives the opportunity to interact with executive teams from primary producer companies and explore how they are developing their strategic direction. Customer Alignment sessions are held on site or near the corporate headquarters of a selected host customer. The majority of the meeting’s program features presentations by the host company’s manufacturing team. This is an excellent opportunity for suppliers to hear insight, discuss opportunities and meet members from the executive teams of major industry producers.

In addition to its Fall Customer Alignment meeting, ASPI holds a spring meeting each year. Speakers include key industry customer executives, industry analysts, and professional speakers that teach and motivate on management techniques that stimulate change.  The 2016 spring meeting will be held February 24-26, 2016 in Miami, FL.