If you want to be at the top of your professional game, you need to get out and hear what the experts as well as your peers have to say about the latest industry trends. Here are three upcoming events where you can do just that:

• The International Furniture Transportation and Logistics Council (IFTLC) will hold its annual conference May 15-17 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The conference will bring together furniture retailers, manufacturers, and transportation companies to share ideas and information about furniture shipping and delivery. Topics will include lean logistics in the furniture environment, Internet vs. store furniture delivery, specialized furniture transportation services, and furniture imports.
• Executives from more than 50 organizations, including The Coca-Cola Co., Kellogg, Mercy, Target, Tyson Foods, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will speak at GS1 Connect 2013, the annual educational conference sponsored by the technical standards organization GS1. These experts will share best practices for leveraging GS1 standards and will address topics such as item-level RFID, Global Location Numbers, and Global Trade Identification Numbers, to name just a few. GS1 Connect 2013 will be held from June 10-13 in San Antonio, Texas.
• The theme of the American Association of Exporters and Importers' (AAEI) 92nd Annual Conference & Expo is Globalization: Policy and Practice. The conference, slated for June 16-18 in Washington, D.C., will feature presentations on global trade compliance by experts at such major importers and exporters as Caterpillar, Cardinal Health, and Cargill, as well as international trade consultants and attorneys.