Optimal The Leadership Summit for Predictive Procurement

Our team is still basking in the glow of Optimal: The Leadership Summit for Predictive Procurement and wanted to share a guide to the resources of our speakers, customers and thought leaders. We knew beforehand that there was a significant demand for the kind of information we were going to share, but the level of engagement we saw leading up to, during and after the conference was truly notable.

Procurement software is a strategic driver for modern businesses. Gone are the days when “order it and pay for it” were procurement’s marching orders. Procurement teams should, and do, provide the kind of insight and direction that C-suite leaders are looking for. The reaction to the sessions at Optimal drove home just how much procurement pros understand the value their jobs bring to the enterprise.

Today every business is under pressure to make better, faster decisions. That’s where AI is an indispensable tool. Critical questions are answered through AI’s ability to seek out and display patterns that give humans the information they need to answer important questions about which suppliers to shortlist and whether a quoted price is competitive.

Optimal Sessions

Some of the subjects we delved deeply into were:

• • • The business case for sourcing productivity;
    • the power of machine learning to transform sourcing; and
    • the dangers of dirty data; and the seismic shift caused by subscription culture.

One theme that emerged again and again was the sea change toward best-of-breed solutions, rather than suites. We examined success stories and handed out awards (the Opties Awards). There was even a magician on hand to remind us that sourcing with AI seems like magic, but it’s sleight-of-hand.

Couldn’t Be There? We’ve Got You

If you weren’t able to join us, check out these recorded highlights. To book a demo and learn just how Arkestro pulls insights from the oceans of data that make up a business, contact us here.

Procurement software can bring a true competitive advantage to a business. Through cost-savings, a diverse and sustainable supply chain and overall direction to leaders. The presentations and discussions fostered by Optimal made that fact crystal clear. We are energized by all that and are eager to work with all of you to build the future of strategic sourcing.