What is meetings and events procurement?
Meetings and events sit on a spectrum — from a booked meeting room to a flagship conference. M&E procurement manages the whole spectrum coherently, rather than treating each type in isolation.
The M&E spectrum
M&E procurement spans the full breadth of event sourcing. At the high-volume end sit meetings and away days — many small, repeatable bookings best handled through frameworks. At the other end sit conferences, gala dinners and incentive travel — fewer, larger, more bespoke events best handled through structured sourcing.
Managing the whole category
The power of M&E procurement is coherence: one supplier network, one set of reporting, one governance model spanning everything from meeting rooms to conferences. It brings the full event procurement service to bear across the category and underpins event category management.
Matching approach to spend
| High-volume meetings | Major events |
|---|---|
| Framework rates to book against | Structured, competitive sourcing |
| Light-touch process | Full RFP and negotiation |
| Value from aggregation | Value from competition and terms |
| Preferred providers | Benchmarked, bespoke sourcing |