The ground-breaking research initiated by MPI was conducted by The European Institute of Purchasing Management (EIPM) with the aim to define best commercial practice, in the procurement phase, within the meetings and events sector.

This first research was supported by the MPI Foundation Europe, EIBTM and MCI.

The research included a review of all the available literature on the subject and an in depth survey of corporate buyers and agencies.

These resulted in both a ‘Qualitative Study’ and a ‘Quantitative Study’, the findings of which were presented to high profile companies earlier this month.

The 1st European Workshop on Events Purchasing – “Value Creation in Meetings & Events Industry: the Role of Strategic Purchasing” organised by MPI and EIPM was attended by representatives from leading companies including Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), GLAXOSMITHKLINE, Pirelli tyre, Mitsubishi Motors Europe B.V., BMS, Eli Lilly, AXA Service AG and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

Joyce Dogniez, CMM, MPI Director of Operations EMEA comments: "It is the first time that a meetings industry research on the relationship between procurement, meeting planning and agency services has been conducted in Europe and we are delighted to be the initiator of it. MPI’s role is about identifying challenges facing the industry and the report will be a valuable tool for all our members to maximise their business relationships.”

The Qualitative study showed that while the techniques may vary, strong relationships based on mutual trust remain the common bedrock of the agency-client interface. However, it seems that these are too often tainted by mutual distrust and misunderstanding. An ignorance of each other’s needs and objectives is a recurring theme.

“50% of buyers indicate that they have a purchasing strategy for Meetings and Events” is the headline introducing the Quantitative Study which may or may not be encouraging news, but the survey found that even those companies with a strategy often had a less than consistent approach to selecting, hiring and managing agencies.

The authors identified three levels of maturity among corporate buyers and provide a handy yardstick for assessing these. They go on to suggest that best practice could be defined as procedures to improve:

- The quality of the relationship

- The financial management of the project

- The success of the corporate meeting or event

The Report ends with recommendations for improving client - agency relationships, under the headings: Formalisation, Creativity and Image.

The research will be presented as part of the EIBTM Agency Programme on Wednesday 28^th and Thursday 29^th November. The seminar session is titled ‘Try to understand better who is buying & how’ and will be presented by Bernard Garcia, European Institute of Purchasing Management (EIPM).