On Thursday 5 June, 35 procurement excellence leaders gathered at Vandemoortele’s HQ in Ghent.
Together with Wietse Nauwelaerts, Procurement Excellence Manager @ BPost & Carmen Van Gestel, Procurement Excellence Manager @ Vandemoortele, Procurement & Supply Chain Masters organised the very first Procurement Excellence Leadership Connect.
In this post-pandemic, post-globalization world, it’s evident that procurement teams have to adapt to the changing reality. This is a challenge we must all embrace. As the world our companies operate in, has shifted dramatically in the last 5 years, one of the questions is: How does procurement remain relevant?
The silver lining however, is that most of the changes we face, are external in nature. Hence, we can also assume that there’s a big opportunity to learn from colleagues about which procurement solutions they’ve designed to respond to the changing procurement role. To this end, we organised a gathering exclusively targeted at Procurement Excellence Leaders in the BeNeLux area. The goal of this gathering was to discuss procurement trends, share experiences, showcase best practices, create learning opportunities, and enable networking.
We were honored to have Nina Guézennec, Chief Procurement Officer at Vandemoortele, provide an engaging introduction to the company and its procurement department. Her insights into Vandemoortele’s strategic priorities and procurement transformation journey offered valuable context and inspiration for the discussions ahead.
The first keynote session, led by Nicole van Deventer CPO at Cegeka, delved into the power of data and AI in procurement. Nicole presented a compelling automation use case, demonstrating how intelligent technologies are reshaping procurement operations and enabling smarter, faster decision-making. The audience was captivated by the practical applications and the potential for scalable impact. Her colleague Jo Neetsone ellaborated on a few more cases opening up discussion.
After a refreshing break, the conversation shifted to a critical strategic topic: “Go Big or Go Small” presented by Danny Pieters. This session explored the pros and cons of transitioning from large, integrated suites to more agile, specialized procurement orchestration tools. The discussion was rich with real-world examples, highlighting the trade-offs between end-to-end integration and modular flexibility.
As the formal program ended, everyone enjoyed drinks and some great discussions.
This informal setting allowed for deeper conversations, new connections, and the exchange of ideas that will no doubt continue to shape the future of procurement excellence.
We look back on a successful edition of the Procurement Excellence Leadership Connect and are looking forward to the next! We’ll keep you posted!
The slide deck of this session was sent to all participants
and is available to all members in the ONLINE MEMBERZONE