HDAW One-on-One Business Meetings
How Do One-on-One Meetings Work?
An integral part of HDAW, One-on-One Business Meetings are highly valued, private, custom, pre-scheduled meetings between eligible* distributor companies and manufacturer suppliers.
The process to create a company’s custom schedule is detailed and time sensitive so please carefully read all the information below.
*Limited to HDAW’27 registered companies. Manufacturer suppliers must also have an exhibit booth and rented meeting space.
One-on-One Business Meeting Details
WHAT:
- Up to 20 meetings are pre-scheduled with HDAW staff based on your company’s input.
- Meetings are 35 minutes in length with 5 minutes in between for travel time.
WHEN:
- Meetings occur Tuesday, January 19; Wednesday, January 20; and Thursday Jan. 21.
- Meeting times do not conflict with expo hours.
WHERE:
- Meetings are held in private rooms rented by the manufacturer supplier company, which are located in the convention center close to the expo floor.
How to Register (Deadline: November 20, 2026)
Distributors – Fee: Complimentary
Step 1: Register for HDAW (coming soon!) and in that registration, answer “Yes” to when asked if your company would like to participate in the One-on-One program.
Step 2: After answering “yes,” identify the specific individual to receive all One-on-One process communication. This individual must be attentive to the timelines and steps noted below.
Manufacturing Suppliers – Fee: HDAW Booth Cost + Meeting Room Cost (starts at $3,250)
Step 1: Reserve your HDAW booth and in that registration, answer “Yes” when asked if your company would like to participate in the One-on-One program.
Step 2: Designated HDAW booth contact will receive email to review and reserve One-on-One meeting room options. Companies are not officially registered for the One-on-One Business Meeting program unless a meeting room is reserved.
Step 3: In your meeting room rental reservation, identify the specific individual to receive all One-on-One process communication. This individual must be attentive to the timelines and steps noted below.
Important Dates & Deadlines
The process to create a company’s custom schedule is detailed and time sensitive. Adhering to the timeline will allow for meeting schedules to be shared with companies approximately one month before the HDAW’27 event.
| Supplier Deadlines | Distributor Deadlines | |
| By November 20, 2026 | Deadline to Sign Up For the One-on-One Business Meetings (Suppliers Must Also Reserve Meeting Rooms) | By November 20, 2026 |
| By November 20, 2026 | Access Scheduling Software (MeetMax) to Create Profile | n/a |
| December 3 – December 9, 2026 | Select/Rank Companies | November 23 – December 2, 2026 |
| By December 10, 2026 | Suppliers Receive Meeting Room Assignments | n/a |
| December 16, 2026 | Receive Schedule With Meeting Rooms Noted | December 11, 2026 |
| December 17, 2026 – January 8, 2027 | Self-Scheduling (request / edit / cancel) | December 17, 2026 – January 8, 2027 |
| January 11 – 15, 2027 | All Changes/Edits Now Sent to HDAW Staff | January 11 – 15, 2027 |
| Tuesday, January 19 Wednesday, January 20 Thursday, January 21 | One-on-One Meeting Dates | Tuesday, January 19 Wednesday, January 20 Thursday, January 21 |
Questions? For One-on-One Process questions, contact Leah Jones (240-333-1061; leah.jones@autocare.org) or Ashlie Vesper (ashlie.vesper@autocare.org). For registration questions, please contact HDAW Conference Management at 708-226-1300 or email info@hdaw.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
HDAW utilizes the MeetMax Online Scheduling Software. MeetMax is a user-friendly interface that allows each company to select their preferred companies and then rank them according to interest level. Schedules will be based on mutual selections and created before you arrive on-site, resulting in quality, preferred appointments for both distributors and suppliers.
For each team* your company is bringing, you will select and rank at least 30 companies to meet with.
Company Opt-Outs: The MeetMax system provides an opportunity to anonymously “opt out” of meeting with a certain company and prevent a meeting from being scheduled between the two. Distributor companies also have the availability to preview and edit their schedules before supplier manufacturers receive a copy.
Self-Scheduling: Once schedules are created, there is now an opportunity to manually request a meeting to fill any remaining available time slots.
*If a company has multiple regions (Ex. East, West) or multiple business functions (Ex. Marketing, IT,), then that company may have multiple teams to field that specific need. Suppliers must reserve meeting rooms for each team sent.
HDAW staff will send out the link to access the HDAW’27 specific MeetMax site to the designated company One-on-One communications contact on the specific dates to be announced.
Do not try and access the HDAW’27 scheduling site through www.meetmax.com. That is not the custom scheduling site for HDAW.
Multiple teams from one company can be approached in two ways:
1.) If a larger company is looking to hold a greater number of meetings than the 21 meetings allotted, then that company can have “generic” teams to schedule multiple meetings in each time slot.
2.) If a company is looking for their team to represent a specific “region or business function,” then that company may have multiple regions (Ex. East, West) or multiple business functions (Ex. Marketing, IT,) where that team would be marketed with its specific name and have its own distinct schedule. Contact leah.jones@autocare.org or Ashlie.vesper@autocare.org to facilitate these types of teams.
For each team your company is bringing, companies will select and rank at least 30 companies to meet with. (Ex. 1 team selects/ranks 30 companies, 2 teams selects/ranks 60 companies, etc.)
There is a maximum of three (3) teams any one company can bring.
Regardless of situation, each team must have a minimum of one HDAW registrant.
For suppliers, each team must have their own meeting room reserved.
If bringing multiple “generic” teams (Ex. Team 1, Team 2, or Team 3), simply indicate that number in the HDAW registration process when prompted.
If bringing multiple teams that are “region/function” specific, HDAW staff will be sure that those teams have a unique login to the MeetMax online scheduling system. They will be treated as a separate company to ensure that companies are specifically selecting and ranking them.
The MeetMax system will allow you to choose which time slots, out of the total 20, you would be available to hold a meeting. By default, your company will be made available to all time slots. You may “de-select” the box of the timeslot that you do not want any meetings scheduled.