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TRANSCRIPT
5 Secrets to Working Effectively
with Procurement
Exploring Procurement’s role in exhibit agency selectionA webinar by Matrex Exhibits - June 10, 2009
Strategic Marketing Series
MODERATOR:
Dan Hanover
Editor/Publisher
Event Marketer Magazine
SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Wilson
Director, Marketing and Strategy,
Matrex Exhibits
Mike Thyen
Director of Marketing and Sales Global Procurement, Eli Lilly and Company
Michelle Hammond
Manager, Global Sourcing and Procurement, Bausch & Lomb
Welcome
Michelle HammondManager, Global Sourcing and ProcurementBausch & Lomb
Mike ThyenDirector, Marketing and Sales Global ProcurementEli Lilly and Co.
Kathleen Wilson
Director, Marketing and Strategy
Matrex Exhibits
Setting the tone
The power of Procurement
There is a right way to leverage it
The “balance” is the key
Lowest price? Highest Value?
The right partnership is… a partnership
Procurement has specific goals
Event marketers have specific goals
You CAN create a win-win
Today’s conversation
Learn a little
Get a perspective
Acknowledge Procurement’s influence
Understand Procurement’s role and process
Serve Procurement’s needs
Use the intell to your advantage
Ask questions
Finally, get some answers
Engaging dialogue
Asked Procurement executives to share
opinions, experiences specific to exhibit/event
spend
Spoke with leading U.S. companies, wide
breadth of industries: hardware, software,
food, auto, consumer products, pharma,
apparel
Discussed process (objective) and
prescription (subjective)
The Players
Exhibits and events management
Spend one-third of marketing budget
Provide best source for quality leads
Reports into Marketing, focused on revenue,
market share
Procurement
Range of names, roles
Proactive and strategic. . . or not
Reports into Finance, other; focused on cost
reduction, risk mitigation
Procurement’s duality
Necessary waste-cutting; frees up funds for other productive activities
Tactical, narrowly focused on cost containment
Both? Neither? Is there a middle ground?
Digging deeper
We asked:
What new processes would you like to see
from exhibit agencies?
What are your biggest pain points in dealing
with exhibit agencies?
What are some best practices in working with
Procurement?
Themes emerged …
Make Costs Transparent
Unbundle, itemize, provide detail, explain the
expense. Avoid energy-sapping discussions
of unclear cost estimates. Focus on results.
Secret #1
“Don’t tell me something costs $100,000. I want all $10,000 pieces itemized.”
Purchasing Executive
Move conversation to brand
strategy, event objectives,
measurable results.
Don’t Fall in Love
Procurement understands what has value to the
company. They add process for quantifying even
subjective elements.
Secret #2
“Procurement leads the group to a logical, not an emotional, decision.”
Senior Manager, Marketing Procurement
Create an agency selection
scorecard to add objectivity
to the selection process.
Get Close to ROI
Know your “R” in ROI. What do consider as
success in a trade show? Leads? Sample
distribution? Favorable PR?
Secret #3
“Sadly, we don’t do a very good job of quantifying
ROI. If there’s no infrastructure in place to measure
sell-through, then collecting leads is a moot point.”
Group Manager, Strategic Sourcing
Match creative decisions with
financial impact. Set metrics
for what you want to get out
of your exhibit.
Offer Value-Driven Insights
Discuss the total budget, not just the single show
budget. Look at the total life-cycle costs.
Secret #4
“If you are recommending a titanium booth that costs 50%
more than the less fabulous one, tell me why. Maybe it
requires less I&D, maybe fewer screws, maybe less storage.”
Senior Procurement Manager
Ask your agency for creative
ways to save money and build
efficiencies into exhibit design.
Get Procurement Involved Up-Front
Procurement can help manage cost, reduce risk,
and manage the supply chain.
Secret #5
“If the exhibit company shares its process with
[Procurement], the latter tend to believe in its integrity,
which goes a long way to considering the exhibit
company’s prices fair.” -- Procurement Executive
Collaborating with Procurement
helps Marketing get the most out
of the exhibit agency.
“We want our (internal) client to be happy.”
[Once an agency] has been validated, it’s
easier for them to get more business from us.
[That means] pricing is transparent, and legal
terms and conditions are validated.”
“We help take risk out of the equation.”
“It’s all about a collaborative effort.”
Secret #5
5 Secrets
Make costs transparent.1
2
3
4
5
Don’t fall in love.
Get close to ROI.
Offer value-driven insights.
Get Procurement involved up-front.
Questions for Our Speakers
Let’s talk to the pros!
Enter your questions on your screen
We’ll pick as many as we have time for
Matrex Exhibits creates 3D environments and solutions that
deliver quantifiable results backed by the industry’s ONLY
performance guarantee. Matrex walks the talk on transparency
by showing clients all competitive bids from subcontractors.
We serve leading companies in a wide variety of industries and
we are the largest woman-owned, WBENC-certified, trade
show services company in the U.S.
www.matrexhibits.com
630-628-2233
Thanks for attending!