Audience:
Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
Regulations like UFLPA and EUDR, transshipment scrutiny, and the looming EU Digital Product Passport are creating urgency for brands. Yet many apparel and footwear companies remain paralyzed by perceived costs and complexity. From proving country of origin to demonstrating ethical sourcing, the pressure is mounting. Reality: pharma took 10 years to implement traceability, but generative AI makes full-scale traceability achievable in a fraction of that time. Companies that start now don't just meet compliance—they gain competitive advantage through supply chain intelligence that reveals risks, surfaces efficiency gains, and validates product claims.
This webinar will show you how the right digital platform and supplier-centric approach can move you beyond tracing a few SKUs to achieving comprehensive traceability across your multi-tier network. The question isn't whether to start, but whether you can afford to wait.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- How AI and RFID enable collection and validation of traceability data across multi-tier supplier networks at scale.
- Real-world examples of competitive advantages and insights companies are gaining from transparent supply chains.
- How incentivizing suppliers to participate in traceability exercises can be mutually beneficial to the supplier and the brand.
Speakers:
Brian Carelli
VP Sustainability and Partnerships
Infor Nexus
Brian Carelli combines over 20 years of technology experience with 14 years in supply chain, to find innovative solutions for Infor Nexus' footwear and apparel customers. Brian fused his passions for sustainability, technology and product into a new role focused on ESG in 2023. He and his team are building clever applications to improve supplier traceability, to accurately calculate scope 3 carbon emissions and to produce better outcomes for people and the planet in general. Brian received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2000.
Heidi Benko
VP Product Management and Strategy
Infor Nexus
Heidi Benko is VP of Product Management and Strategy for Infor Nexus. Heidi has more than 25 years of experience in supply chain product management, solutions strategy and marketing delivering innovative supply chain solutions to companies across industries that help them transform their supply chain operations.
AAFA Host:
Conor O'Brien
Senior Vice President, Policy
AAFA
Conor O'Brien joined AAFA's policy team in 2024 as its Sustainability Policy Coordinator after completing his Masters in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. Prior to joining AAFA, Conor worked for several years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boston, where he engaged with RCRA compliance, state coordination, climate adaptation planning, and environmental justice application. Initially trained as a chemist at Princeton University, Conor combines scientific research with policy analysis and application to provide holistic approaches to sustainable resource usage in pursuit of a more circular economy. Conor supports the work of the AAFA Environmental Committee and AAFA Product Safety Council by engaging with public and private stakeholders on issues of sustainability, product safety, and chemical management germane to the apparel and footwear industry.
Unable to join on November 3?
Register for the webinar to receive an email containing the direct links to access the recording and the PDF version of the presentation. The email will be sent 1-3 business days after the webinar.
CONTACT | QUESTIONS
Stephanie Paendong