Newsletter 1-2004, April 21, 2004

Technology II Procurement tools for events

The costs of events are the second-largest controllable block of expenses for many companies. In some industries event and meeting-related travels account for over 50 per cent of travel costs. Therefore, more and more top-level managers in companies are concentrating on event cost management.

Although they all try to approach the problem in different ways, there is one goal they have in common: to put an end to ad hoc expenses. Meetings and events are to be just as predictable a cost factor as business trips. The experience of companies that have already successfully introduced a programme to consolidate meeting management invariably features three central elements:

The definition of uniform rules for organising meetings, best practices for procurement.
Standard processes to implement these rules in the company.
A uniform database to improve procurement and supplier management and to check whether guidelines are being observed. Equal importance is attached to the consistent use of best practices for organising meetings.

Must-haves – the most important tools and systems
For companies who introduce programmes to consolidate meeting organisation, the following systems and tools have proved to be effective for introducing or simplifying standard processes.

Meeting portal: With access via the corporate Intranet the portal offers a common platform for all staff members who are planning, monitoring or attending meetings. As all meeting-related activities have the same database, guidelines and standard processes can be implemented swiftly and easily. Moreover, all players have access to the same data, a central tool box.

Procurement technology for meetings: Procurement tools like Ariba or SAP Trip Planning have been used for some years for the procurement of office supplies or authorisation of business trips. A corporate solution for organising meetings follows the same approach: Meeting planners use uniform processes and handle inquiries by computer.

Database with preferred suppliers: This database with a search facility speeds up your research work. Preferred suppliers are highlighted, agreed rates and contract terms are displayed where needed. In addition, companies can enter their own resources in the list of preferred suppliers, e. g. meeting rooms in the training centre or company hotel. So you can use these capacities while reducing the costs of meetings. And the money stays in the company.

Conclusion: Automated end-to-end logistics immediately turns meeting planning into a cost-saving factor.
Databases with preferred suppliers, automated RFPs, attendee management systems and integration with other resources relieves event organisers of routine work and makes such processes more transparent for the company.

About the author: Juergen Fassbender is the head of RemoteEvent / www.seeUthere.com  Technologies in Munich. You can send him an e-mail on: juergen.fassbender@remoteevent.com with questions or suggestions.