Driving Procurement Performance at the Next Level Purchasing Association's Annual Conference

Yesterday the 2016 Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) annual conference kicked off at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! The day started out with a keynote presentation motivating attendees to strive for procurement excellence with a variety of workshops. After another keynote speech during lunch, a general session in the afternoon highlighted how to demonstrate success through the use of performance metrics. Finally, the full day of informational presentations concluded with a networking voyage- a dinner cruise of Pittsburgh’s three rivers.

Attendee’s continue to ‘make their mark on procurement history’ today with more educational sessions and presentations from key players in procurement. With more networking opportunities in the morning followed by two select workshops and then a final general session in the afternoon, the second day of NLPA conference is looking just as busy as the first! Today’s events also include presentations in the exhibit hall and finally a panel discussion to end the 2016 conference. 

Today Jennifer Ulrich, Source One’s Associate Director and Procurement Transformation Advisor, gives a presentation titled No Taxation Without Representation: Procurement’s Crucial Seat at the Table to fit the conference’s theme of making procurement history. During this session, attendees will learn why the traditional perception of procurement needs to be revised to meet the new meaning of procurement. Ulrich explains not only why it has changed, but also how you can lead the change in your organization with the right tools and resources. Through the use of better metrics to demonstrate value, better hiring practices, and a new approach to supplementing internal resources with the most appropriate external partners, attendees can feel prepared to be a key participant in boardroom-level discussions and decisions. More topics including negotiation advice, KPIs, cost-reducing concepts and other procurement trends are covered in separate sessions throughout the day.