The Big Ideas Summit 2017: Welcome to the Party

They say there ain’t no party like a Procurious party. Thank goodness you’re all invited to The Big Ideas Summit!

Want to follow all of the action today? Register as an online delegate for the London Big Ideas Summit 2017 here.

It’s not every day you invite more than 50,000 people to join you online for a procurement event. It’s going to be a whopper of a party and we’re so glad that you’re able to join us.

The Big Ideas Summit

Today, Procurious is gathering fifty of the world’s most influential Procurement & Supply Chain leaders in London. For the third year running we present The Big Ideas Summit – the world’s first digitally led procurement think-tank.

Procurious’ Big Ideas Summit now has a global reputation as the most innovative leadership event for the procurement profession.

Today we need your involvement. Together we are going to spark vigorous discussions, light up social media across the globe and crowd-source ideas for the future of procurement.

What’s the aim of the game?

Our aim is to inspire a new generation of business intrapreneurs, people who can think outside the box. These forward thinkers will  drive innovation and lead change into the future.

Now with 20,000 members from 140+ countries, Procurious is well on the way to becoming a United Nations, in kind, of procurement professionals.

We’ve made it possible for you to attend one of the best procurement conferences in the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re siting at your desk, lounging on the sofa or on the go. There’s a lot of ways to get involved throughout the day and have your say.

Get involved, get ahead

If there’s anything you’re burning to ask one of our procurement thought leaders, why not put them to the test? Ask them the toughest questions you can possibly muster.

Or, if you’re looking for a way to build your personal brand and market yourself as a global procurement superstar, send us your Big Idea. It might not be Hollywood, but putting your video up in lights on Procurious offers an unprecedented chance to grow your profile as a thought-leader and a true influencer in procurement.

You can submit your questions, comments or your Big Idea videos via the Procurious twitter account, @Procurious_ using the hashtag #bigdeas2017 or on the Procurious Big Ideas Summit group.

Procurement 4.0

What are the Big Ideas that will disrupt and transform the procurement profession in 2017?

This year’s conference is primarily focused on uncovering the mysteries of Procurement 4.0. We don’t want you to feel intimidated if you haven’t yet got robots running your production floor and Watson doing your negotiations!

In fact, one of our key goals for Big Ideas is to determine exactly where the profession should be in the journey to Procurement 4.0. We want to help the profession get calibrated.

Procurement 4.0 is something we are consistently discussing on Procurious but confusion remains about the term’s definition. Procurement 4.0 simply describes what the profession will look like in Industry 4.0. From the creation of digital networks, to the increasing use of technology and digitalisation in all facets of business – it represents a transformation in how businesses will run.

The Big Ideas of Big Ideas 2017

What are the top themes and discussion points for this year’s event?

• Courage is the number one attribute required for procurement pros wanting to succeed in the future world of Industry 4.0. We’ll be giving you a wake up call to be brave and embrace the future.

• We’ll also be narrowing our focus as we learn about the unexpected shifts in the geopolitical landscape. How will this will affect your supply chains and global trade? Last year we talked a lot about Thinking the Unthinkable. We considered how procurement must stay agile to respond to unexpected macro and micro economic changes. Well! Our advice couldn’t have been better timed given the series of political events in 2016.

• It wouldn’t be a procurement event without discussing cognitive technology. How things have changed in the past year! Last week more than 600 people registered for our webinar, Man and Machine, with IBM. This is testament to the global interest in this critical topic. We want to help procurement understand how artificial intelligence, such as IBM’s Cognitive Technology solution Watson, is going to help make more informed decisions, with deeper insight and greater certainty.

• In the face of all this uncertainty, companies’ ability to anticipate and swiftly respond to change is more important than ever. To tackle Industry 4.0 head-on, we will need to build agile, creative and diverse teams.

• Another new term you will hear today is “neuro diversity”. Britain’s intelligence agency today employs more than 100 dyslexic and dyspraxic spies. They say many of their most talented code-breakers have trouble reading or interpreting words, but this can help them crack codes because they see things others do not.

Taking procurement out to the abyss

We’ll also be talking about unleashing our inner creativity in the workplace, sustainability, reinventing the public sector procurement wheel and how procurement teams can shape their workforce in preparation for workplace 4.0.

And, once we have taken you out to the abyss, to the brink of what is possible in the coming 50 years, we will bring our conversation back to the here and now. We’ll discuss why procurement teams should be focused on ‘doing the do’ and getting the basics right whilst still keeping their eyes on the horizon.

Don’t forget to register as a digital delegate so you can keep up with all of today’s events.