Now is the time for a professional procurement team

Current economic climate makes professional venue find procurement vital for corporates, says EDGE Venues Jacqui Kavanagh…

Jacqui believes expert input can bolster technology platforms to maximise results.

Corporate governance, risk and financial challenges currently combine with the need for live events to support staff retention, brand differentiation and ultimate business growth. This makes partnering with professional procurement teams a must for event teams and for buyers.

Recent changes in the delivery of events, with virtual and hybrid, have resulted in a shift and increase in expertise required for events teams. But these teams are already overloaded with demands as clients and businesses return to live activity to achieve business goals. 

Additionally, with the daily changing economic climate, I believe professional venue procurement is more vital than ever. My view considers corporates booking meetings and events who must ensure budgets are spent wisely and return on investment is a given, not a risk. Professional event planners want and deserve the best support during this time, and technology tools with the personal touch and knowledge deliver the best of both worlds. 

Let’s face it every penny counts right now

Technology can support transparency, but people want – and need – to stay in control. Professional venue procurement teams can do that, while ensuring there are no surprises for any stakeholders. A professional venue procurement team can also underpin a quality mitigation approach to cancellation and terms of requirements, while boosting corporate governance in sustainability and risk management.

Technology can simplify tasks and support a professional organisation if the tech is agile enough to transform alongside corporate and agency business needs. Yet, meetings and events still need people to manage more complex requirements. This need is the reason we’ve retained the EDGE Venues’ model of ‘technology with personality’. We provide a professional venue procurement team behind the tech, for businesses which don’t have experts in-house.

What our clients say about our venue find procurement team…

An EDGE Venues contracted client within the Pharma sector is already using our technology and service. She supported my view when we spoke at EDGE Venues recent Business Intelligence event: “With such an influx of new people into our industry, it’s crucial for us to work with an experienced and professional venue procurement team. For a start, it gives us the security that our meetings and events business can remain compliant. 

“We have worked with Jacqui and the team at EDGE Venues for more than 15 years, using their venue procurement services and technology. EDGE has become one of the best in the business at delivering innovation and intuition, making our lives easier. We were consulted throughout the whole technology build, and the EDGE team continues to listen and act on our needs as corporate planners.

 “We can manage many of our venue bookings online, yet knowing we have a dedicated and consultative expert team gives us confidence from additional support for more complex processes where required. It’s crucial for us where value for money is concerned.”

*Pharma companies are not able to personally endorse products or services and this is a personal view.