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Importance of Procurement in Meeting Planning

Magdalena Bonnelly • June 1, 2021

I was talking to a new professional acquaintance and when I told her what my vision was for Event Strategies (now Procurement Strategy Group), how I deep dive into venue sourcing best practices through procurement process for meetings and conferences,  she said (among other things): “You do not put customer service on a spreadsheet”.


This sentence hit me hard - I thought “oh my gosh, she gets it! That is exactly what I try to explain to my potential clients!”


You see, when I started Event Strategies (now Procurement Strategy Group), I based it on evaluating my skill set - I knew best practices for strategic venue sourcing, how to negotiate contract with a hotel, since I have done it for 18 years. I also knew what was important when it comes to conferences and meetings, since my last 5 years of corporate career were with Caesars Entertainment hotels - I helped clients plan their conventions and conferences for thousands of people.


Eventually, my vision for Event Strategies (now Procurement Strategy Group) has evolved into something bigger, something beyond sourcing through Cvent and site selection from a spreadsheet... because I saw bigger, untapped benefits for my clients.


I did market research and created procurement plan. I expanded vision of Event Strategies (now Procurement Strategy Group) from a siloed, single step into a true, intentional procurement process for meeting and events, which at the end, benefits whole planning process: analyzes trends, provides strategic sourcing of destinations and venues, builds a database of inclusive and diverse suppliers, prevents attrition , and many more. Tracking spend, cost analysis, objective supplier evaluation based on specific criteria - those are just few things that I envision for my clients. If you are interested in seeing how this plan would fit your meetings and events, fill out THIS FORM for a free consult. 


When I read article "Why Investing in Procurement Makes Organizations More Resilient" by Rafael Ramírez, Ciaran McGinley, and Steve Churchhouse in Harvard Busines Review, they summarized my goal for my clients perfectly, in this one sentence: "Deployed strategically, procurement can help firms build whole constellations of value—rather than simple chains of value—in which stakeholders of all sorts are connected to one another holistically and dynamically." Now, think about this sentence with you exhibitor, attendees, marketing and sales departments, and events in mind.


Again, "you do not put customer service on a spreadsheet"!


To your success,


Magdalena

(updated on June 19, 2023)

Corporate Event Planning

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