ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has high hopes for next year’s debut of the Total Store Expo, according to president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson.

The expo will bring together what are now three separate shows in one setting in Las Vegas in August of 2013.

“Our current Supply Chain, Marketplace and Pharmacy and Technology conferences are going well, but we anticipate creating a lot of synergies by combining them in the Total Store Expo,” says Anderson. “The conference will reflect that whole health and wellness concept … and will encompass the entire store. Why would we balkanize the store on the show floor when we’re trying to promote the entire store as the place to go in the area of health and wellness?”

Anderson has managed supply chain and logistics conferences for three decades with three different trade associations, but that area has never been more important than it is now, he says.

“So one plus one plus one isn’t going to equal three; we’re hoping it’s going to equal five. If you take the program for all three of those meetings, they combine really, really well in terms of what our members do.”

Nobody runs better meetings than NACDS, he adds, crediting the organization’s meetings team and the leadership of senior vice president of member programs and services Jim Whitman. “If anybody can pull this off, it’s them,” says Anderson. “They pay attention to every little aspect of our members’ needs.”

Members have reacted favorably to the change, he adds. “People are looking for efficiencies and effectiveness from their association, and when you enable companies to go to one meeting instead of three, they appreciate it. They understand what we’re doing and, as a result, they’re being supportive.”

CVS Caremark Corp. president and CEO Larry Merlo said last year the expo “will deliver the precision and personalization that members have come to expect from current NACDS conferences, and will add the power of an unparalleled conference in our industry.” He promised it would “deliver even more power and value to the NACDS membership.”

Merlo said the association’s board approved the change based on input from members generated through ongoing dialogue and a formal outreach program designed to identify any opportunities to revolutionize NACDS events.