Elizabeth and Rick Peters to speak on streamlining business processes at 2019 Farwest Show

Portland, Ore. - At the 2019 Farwest Show, Elizabeth and Rick Peters of The Peters Company will conduct two seminars focused on their Lean program for businesses. Lean is a way of identifying, reducing and eliminating waste in business processes. Their knowledge and expertise can open the door to cost savings for producers and retailers in the horticulture industry. The Farwest Show will be held August 21–23 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.

The Peters’ first session, “Lean Shipping: Better All the Time,” is set for 1:30–2:30 p.m., Thursday, August 22. This case study looks at how Robinson Nursery Inc., a grower of bareroot shade and ornamental trees and shrubs, improved productivity and flow in pulling and preparing trees for shipping. Through a series of improvement activities, the company was able to create work that cut their lead time in half, eliminated 30 percent of product touches, reduced the crew size from 11 to five, and motivated their employees. The time required to process a full truck order, about 3,200 trees, was cut from three days to one-point five.

The second session, “Receiving Product the Lean Way,” is scheduled for 8:30–9:30 a.m., Friday, August 23. Spotlighting benefits for retail, this presentation looks at how the team at Al’s Garden & Home transformed the company’s receiving processes. Attendees will learn how one of the region’s top garden retailers applied Lean principles to receive product and cut their labor cost per unit by 30 percent. The seminar will show ways to improve workflows and teamwork.

Elizabeth Peters has a 20-year background in leadership communications, product development and process improvement. Rick Peters is an Oregon business owner with more than 30 years of investment management experience. The Peters were honored in 2016 with the Distinguished Member of the Horticultural Allied Trades award by the Oregon Association of Nurseries. 

To complete required registration or to learn more about Farwest Show, click here.

For more information on The Oregon Association of Nurserie, click here.