PMU: when events become part of the general purchasing department

David Krasy - Until the end of 2011, the management of various events - conventions, seminars, study days - was the responsibility of the departments that organised them. These were mainly the sales, marketing and communications departments. For example, every year we hold a meeting in Paris for all our regional and branch sales teams. Study days are also organised to motivate the teams. Previously, the general purchasing department simply placed orders for these events.

 

D. K. - As we are seeking to rationalise this expenditure, in-house specifiers must now give priority to referenced service providers when requesting quotes. It's no longer a question of making decisions in a piecemeal fashion. The fact that we are involved at a very early stage, and no longer just validating orders, means that we can globalise our needs. As a result, we can ask hotel chains about a certain forecast volume of rooms required for our business meetings. Ideally, we book meeting rooms in large hotels. But availability is not always an option. Last year, for example, one of our conventions coincided with Fashion Week. Over four days and three nights, two hundred employees stayed at the Novotel Tour Eiffel. But because there were no meeting rooms available there, the working sessions were held on a Paris Yachts boat.

 

 D. K. - None whatsoever. When it comes to business travel, we have a codified travel policy and we can use online booking tools. On the other hand, booking venues for events requires a tailor-made approach. The budget for this type of event is subdivided into several items: transport, accommodation, catering, video and entertainment. So we work on the basis of an overall budget per event.