SESSION INFORMATION
fiercely competitive environment still comes back to the fundamentals of taking care of customers. “When you’re serving somebody and you’re trying to do the right thing and have a positive impact, you need to solve a problem for them,” Pierce said. “And he and Steve Jobs were solving problems that people didn’t realize they had.” When designing the Apple II, Wozniak fought for the machine to have eight expansion slots (Jobs wanted only two). This allowed buyers to add much more functionality, including floppy disk drives, upgraded graphics, networking modems, and even real-time clocks. The decision effectively created one of the first open hardware ecosystems, as third-party manufacturers were able to develop and sell peripherals that pushed the boundaries of what computers could do. Nearly 50 years later, there are still hobbyist companies marketing expansion devices that add modern features such as Wi-Fi connectivity and HDMI inputs to the long-out-of- production computer model. In many ways, the Apple II’s expansion slots proved the value and utility of letting third parties build on an open architecture rather than locking buyers into a closed system. This correlation between openness and innovation has been revalidated with each new generation of technology in every industry. In foodservice equipment and supplies, the FEDA Data Portal project was born out of a similar need for an open platform to distribute and disseminate product data between manufacturers and distributors. Just as the Apple II’s expansion slots fueled a cottage industry of peripheral makers, a goal of the FEDA Data Portal is to attract technology solutions providers who can similarly build universal and niche products powered by the industry- owned database. “Wozniak’s insistence on providing more expansion slots spurred third parties to embrace the platform and work together creating the ecosystem as partners,” Pierce said. “The FEDA Data Portal is utilizing this same methodology which will spur innovative solutions by enabling collaboration with industry partners.” The broader lesson extends beyond technology.
While Wozniak’s expansion slots created opportunities for developers to build new products, they ultimately created more value for customers by solving problems and unlocking capabilities that did not previously exist. Pierce believes the same principle distinguishes the most enduring foodservice equipment and supplies distributors. “I would relate that in our industry to solving a problem that somebody may know that they have,
Special Guest Presentation: Fireside Chat With Steve Wozniak Sept. 17, 9:05 a.m. — 10:15 a.m. MT
STEVE WOZNIAK CO-FOUNDER APPLE
Session Sponsored By:
Digitize Your Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Freight Needs With a Customized LTL Solution
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FE&S margins are slim. Use freight as a margin generator and competitive advantage.
us.kuehne-nagel.com/-/services/road-transport/ ltl-ecommerce
September 15-18, 2026 • Grand Hyatt Deer Valley • Park City, Utah Summer 2026 13
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