Supply Excellence — Open Season (Part Two): Best Practices for Event Management Spend

Open Season (Part Two): Best Practices for Event Management Spend

June 5th, 2008 · by Tim Minahan · No Comments · AribaLIVE, best practices, events, sourcing, supply management

Tuesday’s post examined the key cost drivers for the events management spend category. today, Ariba category expert Justin Falgione unveils five key strategies for negotiating and managing best-value events:

Set the standard. Standardize event contracts as much as possible and enforce centralized review to reduce financial risks associated with attrition and cancellation fees, food and beverage minimums and other hidden costs.
Be flexible. Examine two or three potential event locations and be flexible on dates to capitalize on latent capacity or cancellations at a specific property or city.
Get preferred treatment. Develop a preferred supplier program for event air and hotels that you can make available to attendees to lower overall costs for your company and conference attendees.
Pay for performance. Ensure your contracts with the events provider have some level of “at risk” fees based on achieving quality, price and service goals to ensure a snafu-free conference. (I personally learned this one the hard way.)
Search for sourcing expertise. If you plan to use an event management group, understanding their sourcing competence, especially their ability to negotiate lower prices and better services from the venues and subcontractors.

Justin provides more insights into event management in the Services sector article of the most recent issue of Supply Watch.

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