OMP REAL Conference 2025 Recap: 500 Supply-Chain Leaders Meet in Fort Lauderdale
Belgian supply-chain software vendor OMP welcomed 500 customers, partners and prospects to the Broward County Convention Center on 18–19 November for its annual REAL Conference, mixing live factory simulations, customer case studies and product-road-map briefings.
Record Attendance From 26 Countries
Delegates from 26 countries registered for the two-day event, the largest crowd since the meeting moved to the United States in 2022. Organizers opened a second overflow room after on-site sign-ins topped the 450-seat main theater. Badge-scan data released by the company shows attendees represent manufacturers, retailers, 3PLs and consultancies that together manage roughly US $340 billion in annual global product flow.
Scale-Model Plant Becomes Unexpected Crowd Magnet
A 1,200-square-foot chemical-plant mock-up ran eight 30-minute simulations showing how OMP’s Unison Planning platform reacts to sudden port closures, demand spikes and raw-material shortages. Operators slid magnetic tokens representing railcars and tankers while the software re-optimized safety-stock levels in real time, the results projected on a 20-foot curved LED wall. “Seeing the inventory curve flatten in under 90 seconds after a strike scenario made the ROI click for my CFO,” said Laura Kim, vice-president of supply-chain analytics at South Korean paint maker KCC.
Early Adopters Post Forecast-Accuracy Gains
Four companies quantified results one year after migrating to Unison’s 2024.3 release. Belgian plastics producer Ravago raised forecast accuracy from 68 % to 81 % across its European polymer hubs, cutting €19 million in emergency freight. U.S. sporting-goods retailer Modell’s trimmed promotional markdowns 12 % after feeding point-of-sale data straight into the demand engine. Each presenter shared configuration screenshots and a candid “what broke” segment that delegates later voted the most useful format in a mobile-app poll.
Road-Map Preview: AI Co-Pilot and Carbon Ledger
Chief technology officer Ben Vanden Berghe closed the conference with 2026 modules: an AI co-pilot that turns plain-language questions into SQL queries against the planning data lake, and a carbon ledger that converts every purchase order into a CO₂-equivalent entry aligned to the Global Logistics Emissions Council framework. Beta access opens in March 2026 for customers with active maintenance contracts; general release is slated for October. Licensing will be tied to carbon-tonnage tiers rather than traditional user seats, a move analysts say could pressure rivals such as Kinaxis and o9.
Delegates Warn of Talent Crunch
Between sessions, an open-air lounge overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway hosted round-tables on the analyst shortage. A snap poll of 180 attendees found 62 % plan to raise recruitment budgets in 2026, yet only 29 % have clear upskilling pathways for planners who lack Python or SQL fluency. “We can buy the software in six months; hiring the brains to run it takes two years,” said Miguel Ángel Martínez, global demand director at Madrid-based brewer Mahou San Miguel. Purdue and Eindhoven universities staffed kiosk stations to pitch specialized master’s tracks.
Survey: 94 % Would Return in 2026
Exit feedback gave the event a net promoter score of 68, up from 52 in 2024, driven by shorter queue times and expanded one-to-one product clinics. The only recurring complaint was the 7:30 a.m. start after a waterfront reception that ran past 10 p.m. OMP CEO Bernard J. van der Kemp announced the 2026 edition will shift to San Diego and extend to 2.5 days to accommodate deeper workshops on scenario modeling.
Key Themes for Supply-Chain Leaders
Panels circled three topics: board-level urgency for end-to-end visibility, experimentation with AI beyond classic forecasting, and pressure to embed sustainability metrics inside daily planning cycles. Several delegates noted that vendors who once competed on algorithm speed now sell “decision confidence” measured in dollars and carbon saved. Whether Unison’s upcoming carbon ledger can convert that promise into measurable competitive advantage will become clearer once pilot data emerges midway through 2026.
Action Steps for Operations Teams
- Map your current forecast-error cost in dollar terms before evaluating any new platform; Ravago’s €19 million freight saving became the internal ROI benchmark that funded its Unison rollout.
- Build a two-year hiring plan now—62 % of peers are boosting recruitment budgets, so talent pipelines will tighten further. Partner with local universities offering supply-chain analytics degrees.
- Pilot one sustainability metric inside your existing planning cycle (e.g., CO₂ per order) to test data availability; early users say carbon calculations surface supplier gaps faster than financial audits.
Sources: OMP official conference report, delegate polling data, customer presentations
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