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
10:00 am Saving Stories
Synopsis
- We will investigate the lifecycle of supplies moving through research operations from procurement, inventory management, utilization and replenishment determining common areas of waste that can be addressed
- For each area of waste that is identified we will speak of real stories that provide case studies on how those areas of waste can be eliminated securing real savings for complex organizations
- Technologies, process improvements, and partner management strategies will all be discussed providing a holistic approach for waste reduction
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