This year's Shared Services Exchange's theme is "driving further improvements and efficiencies in shared services and creating additional value for business units and shareholders." Speakers include representatives from Wal-Mart, Deloitte, Monster and P&G to name only a few.

In Florida, this executive-level event will include interactive Brain Weave™ discussions, networking and consultations along with discussion on best practices for managing people, processes and technology and devising strategies for delivering optimal value through shared services.

For registration and more information, go to: http://www.sharedservicesexchange.com.

If you live near Seattle and would like to hobnob with the areas finest business process improvement practitioners in a casual after-work setting, attend the iSixSigma Live! Social and Networking Party at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Bellevue. (iSixSigma.com is a sister website to BPMEnterprise.com.)

Thursday, May 1, from 6 to 8 PM. Rock Bottom can only hold so many process improvement gurus so hurry and register today. The full details for the event can be found at: http://live.isixsigma.com/seattle.

Have you heard? This year's Gartner Business Process Management Summit is coming soon! A focus on creating and sustaining a culture of business process improvement will appeal to individuals – and companies – at any spot on the BPM spectrum.

To best present to this year's audience, tracks are broken into four main categories: Putting BPM Into Practice, Building a Process-Centric Infrastructure, Organizing for BPM and a fourth, virtual track, Building Agility Into the Enterprise.

This year's keynote speakers are Eddy Janssen, Founder and Managing Partner, Ideas@Work; Daryl C. Plummer, Managing VP & Gartner Fellow; and Mark Raskino, VP & Gartner Fellow.

Take a look at their website for a virtual brochure, more detailed information about the conference's goals and, most importantly, to register!

BPM Enterprise readers receive a 25% discount with code GS-BPM5! Just go to http://www.europe.gartner.com/bpm.

IQPC's 12th Annual Shared Services Week (the Global Forum for Shared Services) is the largest annual gathering of shared services professionals in the world. This year's lineup features representatives from Warner Bros. Entertainment, Proctor & Gamble, Sun Chemical, McDonald's and Monster to name only a few.

Site tours are available to early registrants. Take advantage of the available visits to The Walt Disney Company, Coca-Cola and Lockheed Martin when not listening to keynotes, participating in workshops or seeing who wins this year's excellence awards.

If you haven't made arrangements for the 12th Annual Shared Services Week yet, you still have time to take advantage of the discount available to BPMEnterprise.com readers. BPMEnterprise.com readers receive 15% off! Call 1-800-882-8684 and quote "IUS_BPME_#"

March 30-April 2, 2008
Orlando, FL
http://www.iqpc.com/us/sharedservicesweek

The entry deadline for the Process Excellence Awards (formerly Six Sigma Excellence Awards) has been extended to November 16, 2007.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner on January 29th 2008, Disney Contemporary Resort, Orlando.The Process Excellence Awards recognize best practice in the Lean Six Sigma & Process Improvement community.

Individual awards:

• Master Black Belt of the Year
• Deployment Leader of the Year

Program award:

• Best Improvement Program
• Best Start Up Program

Project awards:

• Best Project Contributing To Innovation
• Best Design for Six Sigma Project
• Best Process Improvement in Service and Transaction Project
• Best Process Improvement in Manufacturing Project
• Best Fast Track Project

For more information, go to www.sixsigmaawards.com.