It’s no secret that the procurement industry currently faces some of its biggest challenges to date. From Trump’s tariffs to the climate crisis, companies are struggling to maintain their supply chains in an unpredictable environment. More than ever, procurement teams find themselves responsible for dealing with pain points in their organisation. Not only that, but businesses are increasingly looking to procurement to unlock new sources of strategic value. 

In this climate, the procurement sector needs, more than ever, to come together. Procurement leaders need to share expertise, learn, and exchange ideas to develop new strategies and solutions to pressing challenges. 

Developed by founding partners Keelvar, Zip, Beroe, and more, ProcureTEX is a gathering of top tier best-of-breed vendors — it’s “a rallying point for a community that emphasises interoperability, innovation, and best-in-class technology” working together to solve real challenges.

ProcureTEX 2025 

ProcureTEX is a first of its kind event for the procurement sector. Unlike other events, the event exclusively targets best-of-breed procurement technology providers and forward-thinking procurement teams. 

The event will debut on September 17, 2025, in London.

“The future is here, it’s just not equally distributed. For procurement, it’s best-of-breed systems working together,” said Alan Holland, Founder & CEO of Keelvar and founding member of ProcureTEX. “An ecosystem of interoperable tools that seamlessly work together can unlock huge improvements in speed and value.”

ProcureTEX targets procurement and digital transformation leaders, providing a space for them to explore, build, and experience custom best-of-breed tech stacks that solve specific enterprise challenges — in real time. Live hackathons, practitioner-led workshops, and curated content sessions will put actionable insights at the heart of the agenda.

A Groundbreaking Shift for the Industry

Lu Cheng, CTO & Co-Founder of Zip and fellow ProcureTEX founding partner continues, “At Zip, we believe procurement leaders deserve a modern, AI-powered tech stack that keeps pace with the business — not legacy all-in-one suites. The future is best-of-breed, seamlessly orchestrated. That’s why we’re proud to partner with Keevlar and Beroe on ProcureTEX — a space for the procurement community to explore, learn, and build the next-generation stack together.”

Vel Dhinagaravel, Founder & CEO of Beroe and founding partner of ProcureTEX adds, “My biggest bugbear with traditional conferences is the way in which all the regular “frictions” associated with procurement seem to disappear – poor data, lack of trust in procurement metrics, disconnected processes, CIO’s dictating the choice of procurement software, and many, many more. ProcureTEX will be different: we’re going to acknowledge all of these frictions and focus on ways to work through them.”

ProcureTEX is for procurement leaders and digital transformation teams looking for integrated modern solutions that can scale with ease. Tickets are available now, with early bird pricing and group discounts (4-for-3) available. The event organisers will announce the full speaker lineup and agenda in the coming weeks.

CPOstrategy is renowned for its in-depth coverage and analysis of procurement trends, making it the perfect partner to amplify the impact of DPW Amsterdam. 

As media partner, CPOstrategy will deliver exclusive content, live updates, and in-depth coverage throughout the event.

Here are the updates that you can look forward to:

Insights from Speaker Sessions

Gain insights from industry leaders like Paul Polman, Business Leader & Former CEO of Unilever, Jennifer Moceri, CPO, Google, and Marcelo Stefani, CPO, PepsiCo, as they take the stage to share their expertise and shape the future of procurement.

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Exclusive Interviews

CPOstrategy will conduct exclusive interviews with top procurement experts, providing you with valuable strategies and perspectives. Stay tuned for these insightful conversations that will be shared throughout the event.

Special Coverage

Look out for special live segments from DPW Amsterdam 2024, as well as full-page summaries in the CPOstrategy monthly magazine that offer a closer look at the vision behind DPW Amsterdam and its impact on the procurement industry. Join the excitement and follow along with #DPWAmsterdam for live updates and exclusive content. Let’s celebrate procurement excellence together!

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Bringing together some of the most progressive minds in procurement. This exclusive invite-only event will be held in the heart of New York City at the iconic NeueHouse Madison Square Penthouse on June 12, 2024.

Speakers include:

• Scott Belsky, chief strategy officer and EVP of design and emerging products, Adobe
• David Rogers, author of “The Digital Transformation Roadmap,” Columbia Business School
• Tony Filippone, chief research officer, HFS Research
• Elouise Epstein, digital procurement futurist and author of “How to Hack Your Supply Chain: Breaking Today, Building Tomorrow”
• Pierre Mitchell, chief research officer and managing director, Spend Matters
• Christine Howlett-Perez, associate vice president and head of procurement, Definitive Healthcare

The DPW NYC Summit is anchored around the theme, “AIX: Breakthrough Thinking for Exponential Impact,” inspiring procurement leaders to tap into the full potential of artificial intelligence, fostering a culture of innovation and generating transformative results.

In addition to thought-provoking keynotes, attendees will gain insights from groundbreaking new research, learn from use cases around the transformative use of AI, participate in an immersive virtual reality experience, and develop a collaborative journey map for the future of procurement.

Founding partners for the DPW NYC Summit include Airbase, ORO Labs and Zip. Additional sponsors include Arkestro, Candex, Globality, LavenirAI and Sievo.

Qualified procurement and supply chain practitioners can request an invitation to attend at nyc.dpw.ai.

The DPW NYC Summit is DPW’s first event in the United States. This move comes in response to the overwhelming demand from participants and sponsors of DPW’s annual conference in Amsterdam, which attracts thousands of procurement practitioners, startups, solution providers, investors and media every year. DPW Amsterdam’s fourth annual conference will take place on Oct. 8-10, 2024. For details, visit conference.dpw.ai.

Matthias Gutzmann, the founder of DPW, said, “The DPW NYC Summit will redefine the expectations for procurement gatherings, challenging the status quo and facilitating deep, impactful conversations among the industry’s leading voices. This summit is much more than an event; it’s a stepping stone to genuine transformation.”

About DPW

Digital Procurement World is the world’s largest and most influential tech ecosystem for the procurement and supply chain industry. DPW brings together a diverse network of startup founders, investors, executives from technology and advisory firms, business leaders and academics to collaboratively tackle industry-wide challenges. Learn more about DPW at dpw.ai.

One of the world’s biggest and most influential tech events in the procurement and supply chain space has announced a new CEO.

DPW has revealed that Herman Knevel has stepped up to take on a more strategic role while Founder Matthias Gutzmann focuses on continuing to grow the events.

“It’s a great brand and a fantastic company. The energy in the room in Amsterdam is contagious and the people and teams that come to DPW are at the core of what we do,” explains Knevel. “We’re building a strong strategy and team now and continue to deliver a great value and experiences to our customers and community at scale.” 

DPW Boom

Being the initiator of DPW LABS, the corporate innovation programme, Knevel is already involved with DPW. He has long-standing career in global outsourcing, corporate innovation, and corporate start-up collaborations. “Throughout my career I have always been passionate about making connections meaningful and been driven by people, innovation, and collaboration opportunities,” he reveals. “That’s what LABS still is today as we thrive by the procure tech ecosystem, and that’s what I continue to do at scale as CEO of DPW. I am grateful and excited to make DPW the global number one super connector of our ecosystem and to create more value for our stakeholders year-round, an ambition that is shared and supported by the founder and team behind DPW.”

Since the launch of DPW in 2019, the conference has grown from strength to strength. In its October 2023 edition, DPW welcomed 1,250 procurement professionals with more than 2,500 virtual attendees watching along at home. Held at the former stock exchange building, the Beurs van Berlage, last year’s theme was “Make Tech Work” which focused on turning digital aspirations into a reality. The event encompassed a deep dive into discussions surrounding AI and machine learning in procurement, digital transformation strategies, sustainable procurement, supplier collaboration, risk management as well as innovation and disruption. 

Innovation drive

DPW’s topic focus for 2024 has already been determined as 10x. Knevel explains the process of deciding a conference’s theme is relatively straightforward. “If you look at make tech work, that was a really good theme last year and that resonated well with many who came to DPW, not only in Amsterdam but also online on our livestream,” he explains. “But also, what we learned from the market, and especially from the side of the startups and scale-ups, is that the technology is there and ready to solve the problem. Making tech work was an obvious thing last year, as the adoption rate is still fairly low and a pain point in the industry. The 10x mindset is something we think we should need in the industry to accelerate the base of innovation and to increase the speed of value for many.”

One of DPW’s newest innovations for 2024 is tech safaris which are guided group tours throughout the expo halls. With 25,000 ft² of exhibition space and over 120 technologies to explore, it can sometimes be hard to navigate. Based on areas of interest such as ESG or intake and orchestration management, tech buyers and investors are taken directly to exhibitors to watch live product demos, ask questions, and get insights into key trends in specific tech domains. “It all comes from feedback and listening to customers,” he explains. “Right before I joined as CEO, Matthias and I went to San Francisco and the Valley and also visited New York. Being able to listen to different customers and founders was key and meant we could listen, learn and then implement that innovation.”

Coming to America

And continuous improvement is very much part of DPW’s mantra. The organisation is gearing up for its inaugural United States event which will be held in New York on 12^th June, 2024. Although it will be a scaled-down one-day event, the aim is to spread awareness of DPW’s presence in a new market together with launching partners and start the process of expanding out of solely operating in Amsterdam. “We want to engage with the community in the ecosystem on the East Coast and the Americas,” explains Knevel. “It’s also not the same format as Amsterdam as we bring people and the ecosystem together for a day with some great solutions and customers. It’s about understanding the ecosystem there a bit better and we plan to grow over the years to come.”

DPW is passionate about bringing procurement to the top of the c-suite and making the function cool and relevant. This year, the organisation has plans to introduce a Padel tournament as a different way of connecting. “Networking through sports is a great way of getting together,” says Knevel. “It’s an informal way to connect and also lowers the bar. We know this works from experience and we wanted to bring this to DPW so it’s very exciting.”

DPW’s pull

But the main draw of DPW Amsterdam has always been the high-level speakers it attracts. Last year saw the likes of visionaries such as Dr. Elouise Epstein, Partner at Kearney, Yossi Sheffi, Director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author David Rogers deliver keynote sessions. Knevel recognises the importance of bringing in great speakers and also sees the value in outside perspectives too. “We want to bring in more CEOs for a different perspective with the right leadership experience,” he explains. “We had Guenther Steiner (former Haas Formula One team principal) who provided an interesting perspective from a different industry. This year, we’re bringing in the former CEO at Unilever Paul Polman. We’re always on the lookout for fresh speakers and they don’t just have to CPOs for them to be considered.”

With an eye on the future, Knevel is looking forward to procurement’s next few years and how DPW fits within that. “Some say we are at the beginning of a replacement cycle in digital procurement,” explains Knevel. “There’s so much happening in the coming years. Of course, it will not only be driven by technology and AI, but foremost by the people, founders and leaders. It’s people that bring innovation and make the connection. If you look through the lens of opportunity from a digital and sustainable procurement angle, there’s so much to be excited about over the coming years.”

2024 promises to be a significant year for the procurement sector, as the discipline takes centre stage in the enterprise decision-making process. However, increasing importance for procurement departments means new challenges, as organisations increasingly look to procurement to not only cut costs but drive sustainability, digital transformation, and supply chain resilience. 

For those looking to stay abreast of the fast-moving procurement landscape, events provide opportunities for networking, learning, and experiencing the latest procurement solutions and products first hand. That’s why we have gathered our top five unmissable procurement industry events for 2024. 

5. ProcureCon Indirect East 

• When: September 9-11
• Where: Orlando, Florida 
• Projected Attendance: 500+

For more than 20 years, ProcureCon has been hosting industry events with a peer-to-peer structure and focus. Billed as a conference “by practitioners, for practitioners”, ProcureCon Indirect East is a networking and education focused event “whether you’re a CPO or a rising star, a large or small spend company”. In addition to featuring the insights of procurement innovators and professionals “in the trenches” as well as the C-Suite, ProcureCon Indirect East also emphasises interactive events, with more than 30 hours of discussion groups, workshops, panels, roundtables, and social networking opportunities throughout the event.  

Past speakers include Google’s Senior Procurement Director, Aleck Matambo, and Rod Jahromi, head of COrporate Procurement at ExxonMobil. 

4. Procurement Summit 2024 

• When: June 12-13
• Where: Hamburg, Germany 
• Projected Attendance: 1,600+

Returning for the seventh year, Procurement Summit 2024 promises to continue the event’s legacy of being the premier gathering of procurement professionals in Germany. The two-day event will see a gathering of the leading minds in the German procurement sector, as well as experts and professionals from throughout Europe and beyond. Speakers from Roche, Merz Pharma, Zalando, Mars, and many more of Germany’s leading brands will lead keynotes, panel discussions, and workshops with applicable expertise. 

In addition to attracting seasoned veterans of the industry, Procurement Summit also has a reputation for attracting younger experts. These newer members of the industry, according to Susanne Vorberg, Senior Manager of Digital Transformation at Airbus, “are driving forward innovations in their companies”. This, she says, makes for “a wonderful and inspiring mix.”

 3. Americas Procurement Congress 2024 

• When: March 25-27
• Where: Miami, Florida  
• Projected Attendance: 400+ 

Setting its sights firmly on 2030, this year’s agenda at the America’s Procurement Congress event focuses on answering the question “how do we get the next six years right?” The event has assembled a host of industry experts, scientists, and media luminaries. Over the three-day conference, they will tackle issues ranging from the climate crisis to the rise of AI. The goal of the conference is focused onachieving a future of sustainable growth. 

The event is hosted by Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, CEO and publisher of MIT Technology Review, and features expert speakers from across the procurement sector, including Karla Jackson, Senior Procurement Executive, Chief Acquisition Officer & Assistant Administrator for the Office of Procurement at NASA; Vitold Horodecki, CPO and VP Americas at CapGemini; and Patricia Miller, Interim CPO at Accenture.

 2. ProcureCon Asia 

• When: July 9-11
• Where: Sentosa, Singapore 
• Projected Attendance: 200+

Bringing together the leading regional experts in procurement and supply chain management throughout APAC, ProcureCon Asia offers attendees access to expert speakers, interactive case studies, streams, new industry research, and networking time. 

While most events focus either on direct or indirect procurement, ProcureCon Asia caters to both direct and indirect/services procurement professionals. The event organisers pride themselves on providing unmatched access to diverse perspectives from executive speakers representing a broad range of Fortune 1000 companies from the aerospace, hi-tech, industrial manufacturing, CPG, automotive, and pharmaceutical sectors. Previous speakers have included high level procurement executives from JLL, Standard Chartered Bank, Air Liquide, Accenture, FGV Holdings, and DHL Group. 

EVENT LINK:  

1. World Procurement Congress 

• When: May 14-16
• Where: London, UK
• Projected Attendance: 800+  

The World Procurement Congress has played host to more than 1,100 Chief Procurement Officers over the course of its history. Heading into its 18th year, the event is firmly established as one of the industry’s must-attend functions. The three-day conference blends content, networking, and social interaction opportunities centred around the theme of Horizon 2030. Taking a global view of the decade to come, World Procurement Congress 2024 aims to address the current pain points facing procurement professionals, and how to translate these challenges into opportunities for sustainable growth throughout the remainder of the decade. 

Speakers at this year’s event are drawn from the highest levels of procurement teams across a diverse swathe of industries, including Dan Bartel, CPO at Schneider Electric; Anna Spinelli, CPO & Head of Mobility at the DHL Group; Anu Saxena, President & Global Head of Hilton Supply Management; and Adam Weisswasser, CPPO at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Along with hundreds of other experts and thought leaders, they will provide guidance and insight into the event’s five key themes for discussion: ESG, Partnerships, Resilience, Digitalisation, and Macroeconomics.