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Relationships with internal clients are often very complicated. They could be compared with an Argentine tango where the experienced buyer must know all the complicated dance figures, steps and turns to be able to come out of this relationship with his head held high. Monika Weiss, the Head of Procurement at British American Tobacco for Central Europe, is coming to share her solution for elegantly dealing with internal clients with her years of experience in purchasing and supply chain management.

In the programme block “The Present and Future of eProcurement in the EU” current eProcurement trends will be discussed by leading public procurement representatives from countries that indicate the fundamental direction of digitisation in Europe. They will be joined by Ivo Locatelli, who is team leader in the Innovative and e-Procurement Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Ivo is deputising for Nikita Stampa, who has had to withdraw for work reasons.

At the top of their field, Mr Angus McIntosh and Mr Miloš Olejník have one remarkable ability in common, which is to relate their considerable negotiating skills in a compelling manner. They also both have many years of experience buying for large multinational concerns. At a recent conference, Angus heard from the auditorium that in today’s world automation drives negotiations and will do so even more in the future. The presentation will look at what an important strategic ability being able to negotiate is for the buyer in in the modern procurement world, and will introduce us to the different roles negotiations play in the new world of eProcurement.

Are you really buying what you want to buy? At first glance, two identical oranges sitting side by side other might look exactly the same, but you want to choose the juiciest one. It's not that easy, but it can be done. Coming to tell us about the art of specifications for difficult commodities is Michal Kristiňák, a master of specifications for commodities which are seemingly impossible to compare.

The presence of the legendary Peter Kraljič at this year's eBF festival has inspired us to create a whole programme block which will be curated by Honza Vašek. Real examples from practice will demonstrate the different strategies for each quadrant of the Kraljič Matrix.

We are running with the times, and after last year’s positive feedback we’ve decided to repeat Malcolm’s early morning run again this year. Start the morning on the right foot by putting your running shoes on both feet and joining Malcolm for a run on his well-trodden trails. It’s been proven that oxygen to the brain means better thinking, so give it a go!

This unofficial opening event to our procurement festival just brings us great joy! For years, we have noticed how many people around us have a sense of beauty. With the TOGETHER exhibition we want this creative and artistic spirit to connect corporate buyers and contracting authorities. The vernissage for TOGETHER will take place on the eve of the festival, Tuesday 7th November at 7pm.

eCatalogues are undoubtedly a current trend in the world of eProcurement, and if we had to name which countries are currently heading the eCatalogue pack in the public sector, they would be Italy and Finland. So we are proud to welcome from the Finnish capital someone with no shortage of international eProcurement experience, Mr Timo Ratanen, who will present his experience of eCatalogues intended for the public sector, but which can also be a source of inspiration for the private sector.

Thank you for the tremendous interest you have shown, your loyalty, and the faith you have in the organisation of the eBF procurement festival. Almost a third of the tickets have gone even before the line-up has been announced. We’re currently working on it but we can already promise you one thing: You will be captivated and entertained! Big names from both the public and corporate procurement sectors will be announced for the line-up very soon.

What was probably our biggest HOLLAND eAuction yet took place yesterday, with a value of around €1 000 000. However, it was for complex technology rather than tulips. Savings of tens of thousands of euros will certainly encourage more auctions of this type. What's more, it's proof that every type of eAuction has its own uses and it's necessary to take these options into account during the strategic planning stage of procurement.