April 23-24, 2015

Regents Hall, Lewis Towers at Loyola University, Chicago, IL

Supplier relationship management (SRM) continues to be a major focus within the procurement and supply chain community, and on the strategic agenda of many C-suite executives.  It has well been established that to drive competitive advantage it is no longer a question of “if” your company can collaborate with outside parties to drive value and innovation but “how”, and SRM provides the systematic methodology to accomplish this.  Despite its increased popularity, there are still varying degrees of success for most organizations, and many are still struggling with the basic foundation to nurture and leverage the required relationships with suppliers and internal business partners, as well as trying to move away from the primary reliance on traditional sourcing practices to reduce costs. By systematically harnessing the power of collaboration, and with a more holistic and balanced program in place to strategically manage all interactions with suppliers across the entire lifecycle of engagement, vast new opportunities and value can be realized. 

During the Conference Board’s 11^th annual Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Relationship Management Conference (http://www.conference-board.org/suppliermanagement) leading practitioners from a diverse group of companies will share how they have been able to bridge the gap between competitive cost pressures and the desire to foster collaborative partnerships with suppliers to deliver step changing value creations to the business in a long-term and sustainable way.   

This is the only event of its kind that goes beyond the theory of SRM to demonstrate practical and real-life applications. The event will begin with a half day pre-conference morning workshop on April 23^rd  titled “Unlocking the Value of SRM through Effective Governance”.   The main conference will commence the afternoon of April 23rd where attendees will expand and capitalize on the knowledge of trends and best practices in supplier management as well as:

• Learn how to leverage the SRM value proposition that is fully aligned with the overall business agenda to ensure continued stakeholder engagement and support
• Effective ways to operate a global SRM platform and leverage “one voice” with all parties involved thereby promoting transparency, quality, standardization, and efficiency
• Change the organizational mindset around working with suppliers to build trust, improve communication, and optimally balance collaboration with traditional competitive sourcing strategies
• Embedding partnering in the DNA of the organization through effective change management, stakeholder engagement, governance, and organizational capabilities
• Drive innovation through collaborative supplier partnerships by overcoming common inhibitors and develop an end-to-end process to harness ideas, build trust, evaluate success and/or areas of improvement to create an environment that will promote creativity and innovation 
• Effective ways measure and monitor supplier relationships through the use of proven governance structures, joint business planning and best practices in risk management

Registration Information:

As a special promotion to SupplyChainBrain readers, The Conference Board is offering a discounted rate of $1695.00 to attend the conference.  To view the Conference information please visit http://www.conference-board.org/suppliermanagement.  If you wish to take advantage of this special offer please reference code SB1 online or by calling The Conference Board Customer Service at 212-339-0345 or via e-mail at customerservice@conference-board.org.

About the Conference Board

The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

For further information contact:

Casey Greenzweig
1 914 734 9834
casey.greenzweig@conference-board.org