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The new seventh stage, the Kraljič Stage, attracted many curious people who were able to see that the iconic purchasing matrix published in 1983 is still a very practical and effective tool for strengthening the competitiveness of companies, amongst other things. Martin Zelinka and his colleagues took the matrix literally into the last quadrant, and on Wednesday afternoon this “best of” stage was so full that the latecomers were hard-pressed to find an empty seat. We believe that Peter Kraljič would be very happy about this.

Wednesday's gala evening again included the announcement of the FSA awards, which are awarded annually for extraordinary ideas and results in both corporate and public procurement. The new format of the competition and the minimal differences between the winners will be discussed, but now is the time to introduce the winners and runners-up in each category:

IDEA (private sector) - 1st: Radoslav Delina, 2nd: Jan Vašek, 3rd: innogy ČR
IDEA (public sector) - 1st: eBF festival, 2nd: Moravský Krumlov, 3rd: Leopoldov
TREND (private sector) - 1st: innogy ČR, 2nd: Asahi, 3rd: Ray Service
TREND (public sector) - 1st: Banská Bystrica Region, 2nd: Masaryk University Brno, 3rd: Moravian-Silesian Region
MASTER (private sector) - 1st: Tomáš Veit (Asahi), 2nd: Zdeněk Pytlíček (innogy CR), 3rd place: Martin Olejník (Ray Service)
MASTER (public sector) - 1st: Zuzana Krajčovičová (Public Procurement Office Slovakia), 2nd: Ondrej Kuruc (Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic), 3rd: Naďa Voráčová (Masaryk University Brno)

Congratulations once again and thank you very much for the award for our festival in the IDEA category!

How, where and why the role of procurement is shifting was the focus of the Asahi Stage, which was, as is traditional now, presided over by Tomáš Veit.

He talked about new approaches to procurement along with speakers with experience from a variety of countries and businesses. Many topics filled the air, of which perhaps sustainability was of particular interest to both businesses and the public sector. In practice, buyers are faced with the decision of what commodities to buy to protect the climate or environment wherever their businesses do business.

We were looking forward to seeing the legend of corporate procurement Peter Kraljič, who participated in the curation of the seventh stage at the Puppet Theatre. Unfortunately, for health reasons, he was not able to come to Ostrava, for which we are very sorry. We wish him a quick recovery and send our applause and encouragement from a distance that all will be well soon.

We always love to see our partners supporting the idea of ​​eBF and helping to develop our festival every year. It is encouraging when they too confirm its mutual attractiveness. “I am very pleased that an event such as eBF is taking place and that thanks to it Ostrava is perceived as a centre of innovative thinking,” said the Director of the Moravian-Silesian Regional Authority Tomáš Kotyza during the opening ceremony, which was broadcast live for the first time ever.

Right at the start of this year's 15th year we were reminded that eBF is here to disseminate innovation and new ideas. This is confirmed, among other things, by the addition of a festival app that will guide you through the programme. We believe that this will make eBF, which has outgrown the usual size of a professional conference, even better and more welcoming. “Let's enjoy it here,” said eBF Director Milan Kaplan.

We came TOGETHER again after a year with what we enjoy when we're not at work. Tuesday's opening of the 5th exhibition of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and other works of art showed how artistically creative and imaginative are the individuals among us. This year's exhibition was also enhanced by the works of professional artists from the Kitzberger family and the Ostrava caricaturist and cartoonist Vašek Šípoš, who took over the patronage of TOGETHER and decorated it with unique caricatures of our speakers.

How can procurement help increase the competitiveness of an organization? Procurement legend Peter Kraljič has pledged to participate in the #eBF program. Along with Martin Zelinka from Siemens, he will curate the newly created "Kraljič Stage". And there's much more to come…

This specialist in strategic procurement thinking has escaped us for years, but now we are delighted to be able to introduce him to you. James is a great narrator of even bigger stories, and he likes to look "beyond the wall" of companies to customers, suppliers, contractors and the "intelligent extended value chain" that can drive their strategic decisions. At eBF he and Tomáš Veit will appear together in the grand finale on the ASAHI Stage discussing the New DNA of Procurement, or how the role of procurement is changing, what added value it can bring, and how the approach and attitude to procurement is changing over time.

After two days of presentations and discussions about bidding and procurement, it was nice to close the programme with a meeting with celebrities at Friday’s Caffè Lungo. Sharing their stories were the climber Leopold "Polda" Sulovský, ice hockey coach Vladimír Vůjtek, psychologist Bohdana Fialová, architect Eva Špačková and Ostrava patriot Vladimír Šmehlík. Sharing their stories of a life of freedom and life in the army respectively were the key eBF players Karel Otýs and Piotr Krompiewski. There were talks about how teams work and about choosing the right people for them. There were talks about decision-making in crisis situations, but also about the beauty of Ostrava. It was a very enjoyable coffee morning, and another good reason to come back to eBF next year. So see you then!