Day 2: Wednesday, September 30th

Registration

7:00 am - 5:15 pm

Breakfast

7:00 am - 8:00 am

Innovation Hub & Ask the IDEA Experts Corner

7:30 am - 8:00 am

11:45 am - 5:15 pm

Welcome & IDEA Update

8:00 am - 9:00 am 

Patrick Knight, IDEA

ProjectNexus Unveiled: A Cross-Channel Conversation on Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility

9:00 am - 9:45 am

Scott Wagner, NAED, Julia Pollock, Cooper Lighting Solutions, Tyler Rauber, CT Lighting & Controls, Elizabeth Wolford, QED

Lack of clear, reliable order visibility continues to disrupt planning and execution across the electrical supply chain. This session will bring ProjectNexus to life through a dynamic, cross-functional panel featuring a manufacturer, distributor, manufacturer’s representative, and contractor. Together, they’ll explore how this industry-led, co-invested middleware solution, developed by NAED, IDEA, and Pull Logic, will reshape how supply chain partners share and access critical order and shipment data.

Through diverse perspectives, the panel will highlight tangible benefits, early learnings, and what it takes to drive adoption across the ecosystem. This session offers a unique opportunity to hear directly from each link in the supply chain and understand how greater transparency can improve coordination, reduce uncertainty, and strengthen project outcomes.

Break 

9:45 am - 10:00 am

Keynote Address: How to Use AI to Innovate and Disrupt Ourselves

10:00 am - 11:00 am

Shawn Kanungo, Disruption Strategist, Bestselling Author, Former Deloitte Innovation Leader

Make It American^TM in Action: Data-Driven Perspectives from Policy, Production, and the Jobsite

11:00 am - 11:45 am

Alexa Burr, NEMA, Ana Franco, Siemens, Ramsay Stevens, IBEW-NECA of Greater Boston & California

As reshoring, supply chain resilience, and domestic manufacturing take center stage, the electrical industry is increasingly expected to “prove” what it means to Make It American. This panel explores the NEMA Make It American program through three distinct but connected lenses—policy and program leadership, manufacturing, and contracting—using data as the common language that aligns incentives, validates claims, and drives decision-making.

Panelists will share how data underpins credibility, compliance, and confidence across the value chain: from certification data and market insights, to manufacturer documentation and contractor procurement decisions. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how Make It American data creates transparency, reduces risk, and supports smarter business outcomes.

Networking Lunch

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Breakout Sessions

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm (choose one)

• Navigating the IDEA Connector

Denver Thrash, Jesse Lessinger, and Edwin Lopez, IDEA

At eBiz 2025, IDEA unveiled a vision for new and improved IDEA Connector User Interface (UI). Now, see it in action. This is your chance to get a guided walkthrough of the new layout, navigation improvements, and key features designed to enhance efficiency and usability. Join us to understand how to quickly access critical tools, streamline data interactions, and take full advantage of the updated experience to improve your productivity.

• Agentic PIM: What Happens When Product Data Manages Itself?

Allyson Larson, Bluemeteor

• ProjectNexus: Building Industry-Wide Supply Chain Transparency

Jay Andrews, IDEA

Knowing where orders are (and when they will arrive) is one of the most persistent challenges across the electrical supply chain. This session introduces a first-of-its-kind, industry-owned middleware solution developed through a co-investment between NAED, IDEA, and Pull Logic. Learn how this initiative is designed to deliver real-time visibility into equipment schedules and shipment status from manufacturers and representatives through distributors and contractor job sites.

2:00 pm - 2:45 pm (choose one)

• Getting It Right: Manufacturer Best Practices for Connecting to IDEA Connector

Angela Baraks and Bonnie Haina, IDEA

A successful digital presence starts with clean, current, and complete product data. This session walks manufacturers through proven best practices for connecting to IDEA Connector and maintaining up-to-date content in the global syndication platform. From initial onboarding to ongoing data management, learn how leading manufacturers are streamlining their workflows, reducing errors, and ensuring distributors always have access to the accurate product information they need to sell effectively.

• Beyond Reporting: Turning POS Data into a Strategic Advantage

Mark McGready and Shahan Syed, IDEA

Your POS data is one of your most powerful and underutilized assets. This session explores how manufacturers and distributors are moving beyond basic reporting and compensation to unlock actionable customer insights that drive smarter sales decisions. Learn how advanced analytics and sales enablement tools can transform your existing data into a clear roadmap for growth, helping your team know exactly where to focus and what to do next.

• From Product Data to Purchase: Designing AI‑Ready Buying Paths for the Next Generation

Jeanette Abrahamsen, Vice President of Marketing, Trade Hounds

Next‑generation buyers aren’t waiting for callbacks or navigating linear sales flows. They discover products through social media feeds, peer communities, and AI‑assisted search. Once intent is formed, they expect frictionless quoting and ordering.

In this breakout, Jeanette explores how distributors and manufacturers can architect buying paths that meet these expectations by rethinking product data, workflow design, and quote readiness. Using real-world examples from Trade Hounds, the session connects data quality to speed, conversion, and preference formation at the moment of need.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for data and digital teams: what “AI‑ready” product content actually requires, which data elements remove the most friction, and how compressing the path from request to quote to order fundamentally changes how distributors win the next generation of buyers.

• A Strategic Approach to AI-Driven Automation: Reallocating Resources to Value Driven Activities

Mike Mazzoni, Kodaris

Manual order entry, quote processing, and invoice matching are an overlooked bottleneck in distribution. Every hand-typed transaction adds cost, delay, and risk of error. This session reframes manual entry as a solvable problem where reading the document is just the beginning. Explore how distributors can use AI-driven automation to read, match, and process quotes, orders, and AP documents that are validated and ERP-ready, cutting processing time to near zero and shifting teams from manual entry to manage by exception. Plus, discuss best practices to scale automation while maintaining accuracy, control, and visibility.

Networking Break

2:45 pm - 3:15 pm

Breakout Sessions

3:15 pm - 4:00 pm (choose one)

• Pro Data Services: The Data Team You Don't Have to Build

Angela Baraks and Gail Mayo, IDEA

Building and maintaining a high-performing product data operation is expensive, time-consuming, and increasingly complex. Pro Data Services (PDS) from IDEA gives manufacturers and distributors access to expert data management capabilities without the overhead of building it in-house. This session explores how PDS handles the heavy lifting, from data enrichment and normalization to ongoing maintenance, so your team can focus on growing the business, not managing spreadsheets.

• The Next Generation Sales Tool

Mark McGready, IDEA

Today’s most successful businesses don’t just aim to sell more—they focus on making their customers better. This session explores how to identify untapped potential within your existing accounts by evaluating key factors like revenue, cost to serve, pricing, and growth trajectory. Learn how to measure customer efficiency, communicate account strategies clearly to your team, and elevate every customer conversation. Walk away with a smarter approach to maximizing your book of business and driving long-term profitability.

• IDEA Connector Roundtable: Share Your Feedback & Shape the Future

Johna Aro and Sherri Thorne, IDEA

This is your chance to speak up. Join fellow manufacturers and distributors for a candid roundtable conversation about your real-world experience with IDEA Connector. By sharing what works, what’s missing, and how it drives value for your business, you'll provide insights to help guide product improvements and service priorities. IDEA staff will be on hand to listen, respond, and take your feedback directly back to the product team. Come ready to share your experience.

Happy Hour

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm

eBiz Gives Back

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm 

eBiz Gives Back is our new signature event, bringing our team together to make a meaningful impact in the community. The highlight of the evening is our high-energy Wish for Wheels bike build, where teams go head-to-head in a fun, exciting, and friendly competition to assemble bikes for children in need. Expect lots of laughter, teamwork, and a little competitive spirit as we race to the finish line for a great cause. Paired with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in a lively, celebratory atmosphere, it’s the perfect opportunity to connect, give back, and make a difference in an unforgettable way