WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25
8:00 am Registration & Coffee
8:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Remaining Resilient in a Period of Heightened Risk
9:00 am Panel Discussion: Managing External Uncertainty & Impact of Tariffs to Protect Budgets Whilst Retaining Value.
Synopsis
• Where are you looking to newly resource critical commodities, exploring new suppliers, distributors, products, and countries?
• How are you scoping and mitigating predictive risk surrounding global supply chain and what is the impact?
• Can you outline the mitigation strategies you have assessed internally to avoid such disruptions?
9:30 am Optimizing R&D Outcomes through Digital Transformation: How Exelixis is Using Procurement Orchestration to Go from Concept to Clinical
Synopsis
- Implementing Scientist.com’s procurement orchestration platform to streamline and enhance all sourcing processes, from vendor management to guided buying
- Sharing examples of successful digital platform implementation and measurable improvements in sourcing outcomes
- Introducing Clinical Labs Navigator—how Scientist.com aids in selecting and managing lab partnerships and helps make informed decisions when working in the clinical space
10:00 am Exploring Utilization of genAI for Large RFx- Use Cases with Actual Numbers & Examples to Free Up Time
Synopsis
• Outlining a tangible use case of genAI in conducting RFIs and RFPs to drive time savings and efficiency
• Comparing manual cases to genAI-empowered approaches to understand timeline improvements in real-time
• Pinpointing the ingredients for success in leveraging genAI for this purpose to help transition away from manual operations
10:30 am Speed Networking & Morning Coffee Break
Synopsis
Connect with industry peers, exchange insights, and forge valuable relationships.
Strategizing Procurement
Chair: James Altwies,Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing – Supply Chain,Exact Sciences
Aligning with Corporate Objectives & Milestones
11:30 am Aligning on Internal Governance & Company Reporting to Closely Visualize Procurement Operations & Minimize Spend Across the Board
Synopsis
• Portraying objective and subjective measures of performance to ensure the team’s alignment with corporate objectives
• Implementing layers of performance metrics to establish clarity and accountability for your procurement team
• Undertaking accurate and regular performance evaluation through assessing target achievements to understand gaps in the overall procurement strategy
12:00 pm Fireside Chat: From Pipettes to Platforms – Redefining Life Sciences Procurement Through Tech Innovation
Synopsis
- Exploring how ORO Labs is pioneering procurement orchestration—a new approach to streamline, automate, and intelligently guide procurement processes in highly regulated, complex environments
- Discussing the evolution of technology in procurement—from basic automation to the rise of Agentic AI, where intelligent agents now operate with context, autonomy, and adaptability
- Showcasing through real-life R&D use cases how orchestration is accelerating innovation, compliance, boosting collaboration, and delivering measurable impact
12:30 pm Creating a Collaborative Procurement Culture & Managing Expectations for Stakeholders for Mutual Benefit
Synopsis
• Balancing between sourcing control and R&D flexibility to encourage active support on both ends and select fit-for-purpose partners
• Establishing a procurement culture that allows for continuous transparency to explore new R&D opportunity whilst protecting R&D spend
• Adopting a ‘fail fast’ approach to novel suppliers and technologies to improve turnaround time with scientists
Implementing Procurement
Chair: Terrel Carothers, Executive Director, Strategic Procurement & Site Services,Eisai US
Shifting to Novel Systems to Free Up Procurement Time
11:30 am Why Digital Accessibility is Critical for Pharma Procurement
Synopsis
- With the rise of the digital patient and consumer as a catalyst for tech enabled healthcare and pharma, the need for implementing digital accessibility standards is essential to advancing engagement and outcomes
- Embedding accessibility language and assessments into procurement and supplier management is key to business strategy and outcomes that provide a better digital experience for everyone
- Explore the WHY, WHAT, and HOW as to why digital accessibility is critical for pharma procurement
12:00 pm Effective Sourcing in Uncertain Times: Navigating Global Disruption in Supply Chains
Synopsis
- Uncovering the macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures impacting budgets and supply chains
- How manufacturers and suppliers are responding and how this impacts sourcing strategies
- Risk mitigation strategies to ensure products are kept in stock and within budget
12:30 pm Discussing the Supplier Framework Ecosystem- Utilization of Marketplace To Replace Admin Burden from the Procurement Process & Streamline Timelines
Synopsis
• Understanding how to optimize your supplier framework development using marketplace as a resource to aid decision making
• Outlining the contracting and qualification benefits provided by marketplace operations to inspire your own supplier framework development
• Pinpointing the successes in establishing a non-traditional sourcing tool to understand wider opportunities to connect with suppliers
1:00 pm Networking Lunch Sponsored by Strategikon
Reimagining Sourcing Models to Protect Against Modern-Day External Risk
2:00 pm Roundtable Discussion: Exploring Different Strategies for Leadership Management to Drive Your Teams
Synopsis
- How have you improved your internal leadership strategy in the last 6 months?
- What are some challenges you have faced in aligning your teams with corporate objectives?
- What are some tips towards success for internal change management?
2:30 pm Improving Sustainability in Laboratory Supply Chains with Independent Ecolabel Verification
Synopsis
- The ACT Ecolabel for lab products and equipment supports transparency and comparative choice in lab procurement by providing clear, trusted, third-party verified environmental attribute data
- Integrating ACT-labeled products into pharma supply chains helps companies meet environmental goals and simplifies sustainable procurement
- Mutual alignment with the ACT Ecolabel sustainability standard supports collaboration between manufacturers, suppliers, scientists, and procurement teams to create better products, drive innovation, and improve the impact of manufacturing
Deploying Tactical Contracting for Flexible Service Agreements
2:00 pm Automating Onboarding of Contractors & Consultancies to Better Manage Workflows & Visualize Procurement Documents
Synopsis
- Leveraging a workflow automation system to centralize confidential information, W9s and associated documents for improved organizational cost management and staff augmentation
- Presenting these new workflow systems to internal stakeholders and senior leadership to influence change management
- Managing hesitation surrounding system changes to influence the complete procurement team and derive business-wide improvements
2:45 pm Roundtable Discussion: Exploring Best Practices for Successful Contract Negotiation to Minimize Risk
Synopsis
• What are some challenges being faced when contracting with new suppliers?
• Where does the opportunity for success lie in overcoming such challenges?
• What are some tools you are using to improve efficiency upon contracting analysis?
3:00 pm Afternoon Break & Coffee
Evolving Supplier Relationships in 2025 to Protect Current Budgets
3:45 pm Building Credibility with Stakeholders & Standardizing Your SRM Framework to Evolve Strategic Partnerships
Synopsis
• Shifting from a tactical to strategic partnership through devising shared goals and mutual understandings
• Undertaking a holistic vendor-based segmentation to pin-point supplier diversity and aligning with category requirements
• Addressing UCB’s supply chain decarbonization goals for 2040 to set up sustainable, long-term partnerships
4:15 pm Fireside Chat: The Hidden Cost of Chaos: How Pharma Teams Are Rethinking Procurement
Synopsis
- What’s Broken in Pharma Lab Procurement: Explore the hidden inefficiencies in traditional procurement models and why they're holding back R&D
- How Pharma Teams Are Fighting Back: Real-world use cases where global organizations have reduced turnaround times and supplier chaos
- Designing with Scientists, Not for Them: How co-creating with R&D teams enables seamless procurement across both preferred vendors and the long tail, without added admin friction
- Cutting Through the Noise: Understand what makes ZAGENO a purpose-built partner for pharma, beyond the typical B2B marketplace
- Future-Proofing the Lab Supply Chain: Discover what a resilient, scalable procurement model looks like and how to build it with minimal disruption