Procurement with the wow factor!
Could companies have prepared for the revolution caused by the pandemic? Will the economy survive? What is the key to building a safe and sustainable future for an organisation? All this and more was discussed during the Procon Online Forum 2021, an international conference staged by Lively for Optibuy.
Sending out quotations, processing invoices, attending meetings and reading emails – boring? Or maybe the key to business success? These seemingly insignificant activities, which are increasingly optimised by autonomous technologies, can become the key to a secure and sustainable future for any organisation. This was the message from the Procon Online Forum 2021, a conference we had the pleasure to organise for Optibuy, a company specialising in procurement consulting and the implementation of IT tools for procurement.
The task we were set in the brief was not an easy one. The offer was to include an online conference conducted live from a studio, a platform enabling remote connection with the speakers and the creation of an Expo zone for the most important partners. A digital event is already the standard we are used to, but this time it was about going a step further and planning an event that would also take place partly in a traditional form. A fascinating subject for a conference and an ambitious task? Sounds like a topic for Lively! The brief went to our dream team – the whole thing was coordinated by Piotr, the streaming and technical side was handled by Filip, while Asia, our 3D graphic artist, was responsible for the "wow factor". We focused on the PINE platform and a studio with a green box, a technology well known from the movie world that allows you to conjure up any virtual background. Soon after our pitch meeting, when we talked about the details of the project, we received the good news that the client had decided to entrust us with the conference.
Using the PINE platform, 200 participants from all over the world and 14 speakers from five different time zones could not only watch the presentations on the main stage, but also talk individually, meet with event sponsors, link to their social media profiles and generally take advantage of the many other attractions we had prepared. We conducted the conference in a hybrid model, which meant we were able to organise a completely safe event combining both the online and offline worlds.
Lots of inspiration, the exchange of experiences and, above all, the fact that we managed to create a space for conversation that was similar to the one we remember from before the pandemic – we consider the conference to have been a huge success. Seeing satisfied and inspired participants is always the greatest reward for us. The Procon Online Forum 2021 conference was extremely important due to its international character, and we wanted to show that online events are perfect not only for transferring knowledge, but also for exchanging experiences of people from different cultural areas.
The future is hybrid
The reality around us is changing but at least we are now able to breathe a little sigh of relief – thanks to the mass vaccination programme, life is now gradually returning to normal. Does the imminent end of the pandemic mean a move away from online events? Not at all! The time of the hybrid conference is coming – events that are inclusive, accessible to everyone, and combine all the advantages of the digital and traditional formats.
