Anticipating and adapting to future trends is not just advantageous – it's imperative. The ability to future-proof your procurement strategy determines your organisation's resilience and competitive edge. How do we think about the future? Crucially, how can we think about it better? How do we create compelling visions to navigate today’s volatile business environment? In this keynote, Dr. Graham Norris reveals how to elevate the strategic importance of procurement in your organisation by applying the techniques that futurists use.

Communications and storytelling guru Anthony ‘Tas’ Tasgal shares the tools you need to weave narrative into your communications and make your pitches more persuasive. How can procurement better influence stakeholders? Why does emotive storytelling often work better than sheer facts and data? Discover the power of storytelling and the key principles of how to structure your message from a CIPS trainer and acclaimed TEDx speaker.

Procurement is changing. Young people entering the profession are making an impact beyond just the bottom line. New skillsets and perspectives are required to make a success of the role. What are the new markers for success? Does the profession need to rethink its role in an organisation? Hear from young leaders who are creating a new blueprint for procurement and supply in exciting sectors such as sport and fintech. You’ll learn what it means to be a procurement and supply innovator in 2024.

Getting a supplier to do what you ask is one thing; mobilising your colleagues and internal stakeholders can be much tougher. Three experienced CPOs, with very different backgrounds, share insights on how to tell stories, position change, and influence decision-making in the organisation. Learn practical ways to improve the capability that separates the good from the great.

Procurement’s role as a business support function is over. Tomorrow's teams must be able to anticipate and drive change in line with their company’s key objectives – to “create movement”, as IKEA’s leaders explain it. How do you move the dial on sustainability, even at a multinational retailer? What role should procurement play in a company’s digital transformation ambitions? And why must you be able to transform a corporate strategy into meaningful and realistic objectives for the procurement function to take ownership of? Listen to IKEA’s story, and be inspired by procurement’s position to lead change within an organisation.

The public sector has the power to be a beacon for innovative procurement practices that not only drive efficiency but also create significant social value. Can a digital transformation programme unlock public sector procurement’s true strategic value? How can you inspire your procurement team to recognise their role in driving social value and supporting communities? Watch two trailblazing professionals share their stories. Specifically, how DEFRA automated tail spend of suppliers to unlock their team’s full potential to drive strategic value, while Essex County Council showcase the crucial role procurement played in improving patient outcomes in their community.

Procurement and supply functions will need a new mix of skills in the future. In-depth digital and sustainability literacy will be non-negotiables; leaders will need to understand their role in delivering a broader value proposition beyond cost. What mix does your team need? What does good look like? How do you embed a ‘beyond cost’ culture? Hear from pioneer and CIPS 2023 Leader of the Year, Anna Spinelli, on how to build a world-class procurement team to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

Just having a dedicated department doesn’t make your organisation aware of the benefits that procurement and supply can bring. You need to build cultural understanding, embed good practice, and tackle resistance and “outlaw” behaviours. If you want to raise the profile of procurement and supply in your organisation, what are the critical first steps? And what are the main obstacles you’ll need to navigate? In these two first-hand presentations, you’ll hear from a global media group that centralised procurement to gain huge operational efficiency and enable people to “think differently” about procurement; and a pioneering technology company that’s embarking on a programme to create a “cost-conscious culture”.

The choices facing procurement and supply professionals can be excruciatingly complex. How do you balance multiple stakeholder interests? What’s most important: cost or environmental impact? Speed or reliability? In this keynote address, hear from one of the world’s pre-eminent ethical thinkers about navigating complexity in uniquely turbulent conditions.

Diversity comes in many forms. People who are neurodivergent or who come from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds can face significant obstacles in building a career. Is procurement and supply truly accessible to everyone? Is your organisation reaching into all corners of society to find great talent? How diverse is your own thinking? In this inspirational conversation, you will hear from procurement professionals who have faced adversity and, through careers in procurement, altered the trajectory of their lives.

Public procurement is changing. The new Procurement Act will “shake up the UK’s outdated system”, says the government. But where will public-sector professionals see the most immediate change? How should you be preparing your teams? And what new skills will public-sector procurement professionals need? Hear from a panel of public-sector procurement professionals and experts at the sharp end of the new legislation.

Imagine if purpose were at the core of every project you worked on – what could be achieved? The development of emergency vaccination programmes require purpose beyond measure to achieve success, as demonstrated by a global pandemic. Working at the heart of vaccine manufacturing operations, Alice Kan has important lessons to share from her experiences – lessons that will resonate strongly with the daily challenges faced by procurement and supply professionals. How do you best communicate with data and keep stakeholder’s attentions? How do you get the right people around the table to make decisions? Listen to a unique perspective of operating during Covid and be inspired by how purpose can be the driver of success for your own projects.