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Are you ready to hear about the latest sourcing optimization and autonomous sourcing developments? Keelvar just hosted an incredible event in Chicago and we're here to tell you all about it!
Taking place March 23, Keelvar Konnect 2023 was the perfect opportunity to bring together procurement professionals from different industries for a day of sharing insights and best sourcing practices. It was great to be back in the US for our first event since the pandemic, and fitting to again be in Chicago - the scene of our first ever Keelvar Konnect in the US.
The event kicked off with an enlightening keynote address by Professor Rich Wilson, an aficionado of advanced sourcing and non-executive director of Keelvar. Rich explored the history of sourcing from optimization through to automation.
This was followed by a keynote address from our CEO, Alan Holland, who talked about scaling sourcing excellence by leveraging automation to make sourcing optimization available throughout the organization.
One of my highlights was our panel discussions hosted by our Head of Professional Services, Dylan Alperin. First up was a session on best practices in sourcing with panelists Sheila Lopez from Stanley Black & Decker, Jordan Zach from Mars, and Michael Freed from UTZ. The panel shared insights on the latest trends and challenges in the industry and discussed how organizations can stay ahead of the curve.
Next up came, Trends in Transport, featuring industry experts including Basil Weaver from CJ Logistics America, Jocelyn Hansen from SeaRoutes, Sarah Broadley from The Coca-Cola Company, and Bryan Wilson from Caterpillar. Attendees learned about the latest trends and innovations in transport and logistics, and how technology is driving change in these areas.
But that's not all! The event also featured interactive workshops including build-a-bot workshops for truckload and IT services. and roundtables, where attendees learned about benchmarking, sustainability, and spend analytics. Partners like SAP, SeaRoutes, Sievo and Xeneta shared their insights on extending sourcing excellence through an ecosystem of best-of-breed vendors.
And we can't forget the presentation on autonomous sourcing bot use cases by Keelvar's Panos Stavrakos and Martin Srna. Attendees saw real examples of how autonomous sourcing bots can be spun up in hours, not days.
Attendees saw real examples of how autonomous sourcing bots can be spun up in hours, not days
To wrap up the day, we recognized the winners of our Customer Co-Innovation Awards. Siemens won the award for Autonomous Sourcing Innovation, while Mars won the award for Sourcing Architecture. We're proud to partner with these incredible organizations who are breaking new ground in sourcing innovation.
We're so grateful to our customers and partners for attending the event and making it such a success. We value your trust in Keelvar and look forward to continuing our partnership to scale sourcing excellence.
