THURSDAY, JUNE 26
8:00 am Registration & Coffee
8:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Pinpointing Areas of Improvement & Key Opportunities for Savings
9:00 am Doubling Down on Strategic Spend Management to Secure Procurement Wins
Synopsis
• Prioritizing Key internal and external stakeholders to clarify objectives, understand motivations, drive change, and optimize outcomes.
• Exploring innovative approaches and implementing business processes to maximize speed and spending productivity through transparency, targeted supplier relationships, and negotiations
• Identifying and evaluating systems and tools to enhance spend management capabilities such as orchestration, automation, and visualization
9:30 am Rewriting the VMI Playbook: How Neutral Managed Inventory Models Are Transforming Lab Operations and Procurement.
Synopsis
- Learn how Takeda modernized its lab supply strategy with a vendor-agnostic, data-driven approach to inventory management
- Hear first-hand how a neutral model improved visibility, reduced waste, and gave Takeda more control over their supply needs
- See how Boston Lab Services and Labviva partnered to deliver automation, flexibility, and operational excellence
- Walk away with actionable insights for transforming procurement from a cost center into a strategic R&D enabler
10:00 am Harnessing Spend Analytics to Inform Procurement Decisions
Synopsis
- Leveraging spend analytics to gain a comprehensive view of spending across R&D categories to enable data-driven decision-making on investments
- Utilizing analytics to identify cost-saving potentials by detecting inefficiencies and supplier overlaps across procurement categories
- Visualizing spend patterns to prioritize high-impact areas, improve supplier negotiations, and align procurement strategy with business objectives
10:30 am Session reserved for Infinity Loop
11:00 am Coffee Break
Strategizing Procurement
Chair: James Altwies, Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing – Supply Chain, Exact Sciences
Solidifying Your Team Structure to Combat External Changes
11:30 am Panel Discussion: Building Out Your Procurement Teams to Meet Company Milestones
Synopsis
• Is it best practice to embed outsourcing into the operations vs procurement team?
• How can we best integrate both R&D operations and procurement to better align on shared research goals to drive business revenue?
• How can we ensure procurement teams are speaking the same language as the business?
12:00 pm Maximizing Resources as a Small Sized Biotech to Attract Fruitful Partnerships & Support Business Growth
Synopsis
• Collaborating with clinical operations to best outline the roadmap to expansion and obtain vendor buy-in
• Optimizing your small internal team whilst adopting an FSO model to protect the value of services and research
• Kick-starting your shift towards automated platforms such as Coupa to avoid scale issues in the long-term
Implementing Procurement
Chair: Terrel Carothers, Executive Director, Strategic Procurement & Site Services,Eisai US
Assessing Future R&D Technology & Maximizing Purchasing Value
11:30 am Simplifying the Process of Onboarding Novel R&D Technologies to Free Up Scientists’ Time
Synopsis
• Planning future technology implementation in light of current budget challenges to prepare for future onboarding
• Integrating multi-functional sourcing for innovative diversity and pricing flexibility
• Prioritizing investments and using automation to your benefit to shift away from proof of concept to implementation, boosting R&D efficiency
12:00 pm Roundtable Discussion: Obtaining Maximum Value to Balance Quality, Cost, & Reliability
Synopsis
• What best practices can you share surrounding flexible contracting to enable speed of services?
• Discuss some governance techniques and tools to make critical vendor assessments.
• How do you currently reprioritize between cost, quality, and reliability, and communicate this internally?
12:30 pm Networking Lunch
Conducting Data-Driven Decision Making to Establish Change Management
1:30 pm Tracking Performance Metrics to Compare Against KPIs & Adapt to Required Internal Changes
Synopsis
• Turning inwards towards internal procurement data to identify gaps in performance and improve leadership
• Comparing current sourcing strategy with overall procurement objectives to identify gaps for improvement
• Setting up your sourcing teams for success in aligning with performance goals and establishing a strong internal culture
2:00 pm Outlining the Roadmap for Outsourcing Strategies & Fitting this Into the Broader Landscape to Set Up for Success with All Stakeholders
Synopsis
• Identifying the health of the current landscape and assessing strategic priorities to meet procurement requirements
• Visualizing the opportunities for potential suppliers and price range to facilitate decision-making with minimal delay
• Collaborating with the supplier network to understand current state of play and demand to meet expectations
Implementing Robust Tactics to Manage Inventory & Vendors
1:30 pm Devising a Robust Category Strategy Design to Consolidate on Vendors & Reduce Spend Accordingly
Synopsis
• Uncovering methods of vendor tracking and scoring to aid prioritization within the business and avoid failed spending
• Working with R&D to understand preferred suppliers and build out your supplier network as a roadmap to success
• Comparing prior vs current contracts to exercise new saving opportunities and flexible partnerships to adapt to external changes
2:00 pm Case Study: Exploring Takeda’s New Inventory Management Systems for Consumables to Increase Scientists’ Bench Time
Synopsis
• Utilizing LabViva’s inventory management software to visualize inventory across sites to maximize current resources
• Outlining the benefits of pairing with agnostic models for software and supplies to procure the best value products
• Gaining control over your inventory by leveraging software to aid decision-making and minimize spend
Navigating External Relationships & Cost Pressures to Adopt Wins for Your Procurement & R&D Teams
2:30 pm Afternoon Break & Coffee
3:00 pm Devising a Flexible Hybrid Strategy in the CRO Space to Streamline Clinical Research for Scientists with Minimal Downtime
Synopsis
• Pin-pointing risks of FSP models to manage CRO misalignment and aid decision making for future models
• Analyzing examples of hybrid CRO models to enable both targeted outsourcing and full-service support for R&D operations
• Delivering clinical trial results from a hybrid partnership model to assess best areas of opportunity in light of restricted budgets
3:30 pm Panel Discussion: Developing Effective Inflation Management Strategies to Protect Budgets: Bridging Leadership & Action
Synopsis
- Crafting an actionable inflation management strategy from proof of concept to lay out the roadmap for cost reduction
- Implementing detailed cost models to assess inflation impacts and identify opportunities for cost control
- Communicating with stakeholders internally and externally for holistic engagement