Here are five of the biggest procurement events happening during 2023 that chief procurement officers won’t want to miss.

Procurement Futures 


London, UK  |  1-2 February 2023 

Held at the QEII Centre in central London, Procurement Futures is a new conference, launching in 2023. It promises delegates the chance to find out how to make supply chains more resilient, with thought-provoking and presentations and discussions designed to inform and inspire.

There is a flexible programme of content that can be tailored to attendees’ preferences, with networking opportunities throughout and a huge variety of sessions to attend and take part in.

This CIPS event has three streams of content: Insights, Ignite and Interact. Insights will showcase presentations and panel discussions from leaders, Ignite will consist of hands-on workshops to help delegates optimise their procurement strategies and Interact will be smaller groups taking part in interactive roundtables and debates.

Speakers across the two days will include Ross Grierson, Director of Procurement, Primark; Patrick Dunne, Director of Group Property, FM & Procurement (CPO), Sainsburys Plc; Rebecca Simpson, Procurement and Supply Chain Director, Balfour Beatty; and Nick Jenkinson, Chief Procurement Officer, Santander. In addition, delegates are ablew to book a one-to-one career workshop, where they’ll get advice on professional development from coaches covering a variety of specialisms. 

Tickets are £795 for CIPS member, £995 for a non-member and £2240 for a supplier/solution provider, and there is a discount of 30% for tickets purchased before 30 November 2022. 


3rd World Digital Procurement Summit 


Berlin, Germany  |  2-3 March 2023 

The third World Digital Procurement Summit is aimed at procurement directors, VPs, managers and other industry specialists. The two-day event will focus on accelerating procurement processes, adopting emerging technologies, finding the right talent, overcoming the barriers to progress and embarking on a journey of transformation. It’s a hybrid event, bringing together procurement experts from various industries, which will maximise knowledge exchange opportunities. The event organisers list five key learning points for delegates: 

  1. Exploring the latest advances in data and cognitive technologies to gain greater insights and improve procurement processes 
  1. Overhauling the procurement ecosystem with new technologies and strategies to drive business value 
  1. Sharing the best practices of monitoring and managing a range of risks to hedge against future disruptions 
  1. Developing capabilities and skillset required for the digital transformation of procurement 
  1. Defining ESG metrics of the procurement strategy to ensure business continuity 

Speakers will include Paul Harlington, Group Procurement Director at TUI Group and Patrick Foelck, Head of Strategy and Transformation Procurement at Roche. 

Click here to check out a video from a previous event. Tickets cost €1495. 


Women in Procurement & Supply Chain 


Sydney, Australia  |  6-8 March 2023 

Returning for its 8th annual event, Women in Procurement & Supply Chain will deliver two days dedicated to leadership and the future of procurement. The event will feature a series of exclusive panel discussions and keynote addresses examining career development, overcoming imposter syndrome, working with confidence, developing an unbeatable talent pool, mentoring, diversity and inclusivity.

It will also address risk mitigation, digital disruption, ESG, sustainability, economic development, ethical sourcing, category management, cultural diversity, strategic sourcing, supplier relationships, procurement with purpose, and supply chain resilience. There are two pre-conference masterclass options on 6 March – that can be booked separately – covering either contract law or leadership skills. 

Some of the reasons to attend include: 

  • Discover the path to taking your procurement career to a new level while elevating your organisation with dedicated days on leadership and the future of procurement 
  • Learn best practice strategies to facedown supply chain vulnerabilities and reduce risk exposure 
  • Get ahead of the game with insights into the future of procurement and the impact of globalisation on modern supply chains 
  • Put yourself at the cutting edge of ESG and procurement with the latest updates and trends in procurement with purpose 

Speakers for the main two-day conference include Michelle Richard, Director of Procurement, Thales; Karina Davies, Chief Procurement Officer, icare NSW; and Kylie McKinlay, Procurement Partner – Property and Business, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 

Tickets start at $3,495 with discounts available until 25 November 2022. 


Americas Procurement Congress 


Miami, USA  |  21-22 March 2023 

The Americas Procurement Congress will feature the region’s most progressive CPOs sharing their expertise

With a focus on what makes CPOs tick, the Americas Procurement Congress will feature the region’s most progressive CPOs sharing their expertise in keynote presentations and working groups.

Giving delegates the tools to stay on the cutting edge of procurement developments, there are also sessions aimed at those with responsibilities over governance, procurement capabilities and quantifying data. Unsurprisingly, sustainability will also be a key theme in 2023, and attendees will hear from a diverse range of sustainability leaders about how to transition from traditional metrics to a purpose-driven function. 

The agenda for Americas Procurement Congress 2023 will include: 

  • Sustainability of the future  
  • How to transition from traditional metrics to a purpose-driven function   
  • Harnessing the power of digital transformation  
  • Utilizing data as a driver of sustainable value, supply continuity and transparency   Agile procurement  
  • New approaches and skills that facilitate speed and agility   
  • Frictionless procurement  
  • Removing friction from the procurement process to support high-velocity sourcing   
  • Beyond Just in Time 
  • Designing future-fit supply networks for an age of chaos and conflict 

Tickets start at $3649. 


Americas Procurement Congress 


Orlando, Florida  |  8–10 June 2023 

Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2022 addressed the most significant challenges that chief supply chain officers and supply chain leaders face as they mitigate risk and navigate uncertainty in an increasingly dynamic and challenging environment.  

At the conference, the top 5 sessions that CSCOs and supply chain leaders met on included: 

  • Signature Series: The Future of Supply Chain 
  • What the Pivot to Sustainable Profit Means for Procurement Leaders 
  • The Art of the New Age One Page Dashboard: Why Your Current Perfor-mance Measures May Be Doing More Harm Than Good 
  • Manage Supplier Risk With Technology 
  • Procurement Role Redesign: Stop Fitting Square Pegs Into Round Holes 

Tickets start at $4725. 

As the world continues to become increasingly digital, it was only a matter of time before it spread to the…

As the world continues to become increasingly digital, it was only a matter of time before it spread to the very currency in our wallets. Just over a decade since the advent of Bitcoin, blockchain (the very foundation of cryptocurrency) has very much cemented itself as an industry in itself.

Here, we take a look at 5 of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency market, and the blockchain system they use as ranked by Forbes. 

This list featured in the August issue of Interface Magazine – you can read the full issue now!

Samsung

Three new Samsung Galaxy S10, S10e and S10 plus mobile phones.

Arguably one of the biggest companies in the world, driven by a vision to “create a better world full of richer digital experiences, through innovative technology and products”.

Naturally, Samsung has turned its attention to blockchain and works with the Nexledger platform. Available for enterprises all over the world, Nexledger enables enterprise companies to track their transactions with greater speed and efficiency at scale.

One use case for Nexledger is a Digital Payment System, utilising blockchain to support various types of payments in an increasingly cashless world.

Visa

Closeup of VISA credit card with smart chip. VISA is one of the three biggest brands.

In early 2019, the payments giant Visa announced the global launch of its Visa B2B Connect network, a platform designed to transform B2B payments for the digital age.

Developed in response to the growing complexity of payments between financial institutions and their corporate clients, Visa B2B Connect uses blockchain technology architecture that allows payments to be made in a simple, flexible and safe way. Visa B2B Connect will look to cover more than 90 markets by the end of 2019.

The platform will facilitate transactions from the bank of origin directly to the beneficiary bank, creating a unique digital identity formed of banking details and account numbers that can be used to facilitate transactions on the network.

Visa B2B Connect’s digital identity feature has been said that it will “transform the way information is exchanged in business-to-business cross-border transactions”.

Oracle

The Oracle World Headquarters located in Redwood City.

Known for its database and cloud software, Oracle also has its own blockchain software in the Oracle Blockchain Platform.

Described as a “comprehensive distributed ledger cloud platform”, Oracle allows its customers to reliably share data and conduct trusted transactions with suppliers, banks and other trade partners.

The Oracle Blockchain Platform is the only enterprise-grade managed blockchain service with 99.95% SLA with enhanced security and through built-in identity management, it allows rapid provisioning and simplified management of blockchain networks to reduce costs and setup time from weeks to minutes.

Maersk

Pile of Shipping Containers of Maersk at Ballyhoo road at night, Unalaska, Alaska.

In the global logistics industry, tracking shipment and cargo is its bread and butter and so blockchain solutions naturally lend themselves to this space.

Through a partnership between Maersk and IBM, TradeLens was born. TradeLens is an open and neutral industry platform, powered by blockchain, to track shipments in real time, improve and encrypt data sharing for over 10 million shipping events every week.

The TradeLens ecosystem is a treasure trove of some of the biggest organisations the world over, with more than 100 companies including carriers, ports, terminal operators, 3PLs and freight forwarders. These contribute to one of the most powerful supply chain blockchain ecosystems in the world.

HTC

HTC One smartphone

In a world of cashless transactions and data sharing, the mobile phone is the obvious vessel for blockchain deployment. Dubbed as the phone that could “change the internet as we know it”, the HTC Exodus was announced in early 2019.

With a secluded area kept separate from the Android operating system, the blockchain-powered phone is the first mobile phone that can only be bought with cryptocurrency.

Users will have access to Zion, HTC’s very own cryptocurrency wallet. Running decentralized applications and programs that operate on the blockchain technology; HTC Exodus will represent a “new era” of secure data storage and transactions.