2023 Ivalua NOW Paris: Recap + Photos!

2023 Ivalua NOW Paris Day 1 + 2 Recap 

Paris may be the City of Lights, but Ivalua NOW was a bright beacon in its own right! With the same enthusiasm and innovation as always, we gathered together this year to explore a new frontier of possibilities in procurement. The beautiful Pavilion Gabriel provided an exquisite backdrop to bring together customers, prospects and sponsors in person- what better way to collaborate? Our team would like to express immense gratitude to everyone who joined us in creating something special. We were delighted to see an overwhelming show of support for the event, with a record-breaking turnout!

by Eloise Barnum

Keep your eyes peeled – there’s more exciting content coming up! For now, our “Breaking New Ground” Ivalua Now 2023 Recap provides a great summary below.

Partner + Customer Day 1

Harnessing our theme “Breaking New Ground”– Ivalua aimed to break through to uncharted territory, bringing forth a new era of innovative solutions that set the bar to redefine industry standards. Our Partner + Customer day was packed with networking, exchanging ideas, and having a good laugh; it was the perfect recipe for reconnecting and recharging!

The 12 Customer/Partner Day breakout sessions featured Ivalua’s talented solution and product experts–bringing innovation and “groundbreaking” discussion topics into the mix! Our speakers covered: Scope 3 emissions, Invoicing, Supply Chain Resilience, Contract Management, Supplier Management, and the Procure-to-Pay Roadmap. This year’s speaker lineup included:

Arnaud Malardé, Olivier Durand, François-Xavier Gaufroy, Sébastien Mirabel, Patrick Conquet, Stephen Carter, Emmanuelle Stucki, Olivier Dupuy, Simone Smits, Maud Herman, Jarrod McAdoo, Frédéric Arénas, Julien Pleska, Peter Hunt, Axel Cieslar, Xuan Khanh DO, Erik Korpås, Sandra Schmidhammer, Wouter Pas, Sammy Hureau, Thomas Maurice, Doug Keeley, Michel Girerd

Innovation Day 2

We welcomed all our guests to a day of networking, keynote sessions, and a few surprises along the way. Thank you to our customers, partners, and sponsors for making this all possible. 

Alex Saric and Franck Lheureux led us into Day 2 of Ivalua NOW with opening remarks and an agenda full of inspiring keynote sessions and thought-provoking product discussions.

Ivalua Founder and CEO, David Khuat-Duy delivered a keynote that provided insight into how far the organization has come and what we are prioritizing to drive greater opportunities in the future – all while highlighting those who have contributed to its prosperity along the way.

David emphasized the importance of culture and it’s role as a powerful catalyst in the journey towards digital transformation. By harnessing its potential, organizations can unlock new channels of growth and create meaningful value for stakeholders along their path to success!

Incredible Guest Keynotes! 

We were thrilled to have Karolina Hagberg Chinell, CPO at Alhlsell-the leading distributor of technical installation products in the Nordics speak to our guests!

Karolina highlighted “We need to increase speed and efficiency, simply put—we need to make better business decisions with digitization.” Lastly as we look toward the future, we must rethink the way we approach these innovative ideas. Karolina continued,  “Don’t underestimate the magnitude of change.”

Next up, we heard from Slawomir Peter and Otto Tell from Ikea. For Ikea, digital transformation strategy and adaptability is the key to their growth and success. They closed with the poignant statement–Share your ideas with other people and make something new—Just think “what if”!

Pascal Bensoussan‘s Ivalua Platform Session closed with a custom “Ivalua Sonnet”:

To end the morning, Vishal Patel, Axel Cieslar, Camille Ortega, Stephen Carter, Patrick Conquet, and Sandra Schmidhammer discussed exciting product updates and releases on the horizon in our Innovation Showcase!

Breakout Sessions

After another wonderful lunch and some networking too– attendees had the opportunity to attend the breakout sessions with our Ivalua experts and industry leaders. 

Building Resilience through Effective Supplier Collaboration – Miljenko Galic, Jos Joos, and Jarrod McAdoo

Climate transition and New Business Opportunities: Why do we need to Transform Customer-Supplier Relationships? – Fabien DEBAUD, Matthieu EUVRARD, and Dr. Natacha TREHAN

(Virtual) Cost and Carbon-based Supplier Development Management – Dr. Jan Herrmann and Jasmin Pennicke

Ensuring a Successful Digital Transformation – Janel Longfellow, Arnaud Malardé, Stefan Meller, and Renaud Rebitz

Successful Strategies to Combat Inflation and Preserve Profitability – Francesco Basso, Isabelle Carradine Pinto, Vishal Patel, Jai Rastogi, and Bryan Marc Tividad

A Digital Transformation Journey: Laying a Solid Foundation for Supplier Data and Sustainability – Angel Fernandez, Doug Keeley, and Vishal Patel

Circular Economy: The Strategic Role of Procurement – Romain Fournier, Dietmar Hauser, Hugues Sorez and Dr. Natacha TREHAN

What an incredible group of panelists. Session replays will be available soon!

Day 2 Keynote

Last but certainly not least, our Keynote Speaker Hanli Prinsloo of I AM WATER OCEAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION delivered incredible closing remarks.

Hanli took us on a journey of our breath and she detailed incredible freediving stories that tapped into human vulnerability, strength, and courage. After she took us on a journey of our breath, Hanli left us with inspiring words to live by: “If we focus too much on our limitations, we’ll never try. And in life, we have to focus on what is possible, not the impossible”

Exploring uncharted territory can be an incredibly rewarding experience, offering the chance for self-discovery, and growth. As we move through life, we must stay connected to the earth and one another to fulfill our worldly pursuits.

Customer Awards 

At Ivalua, the customer is the focal point of everything we do and central to our purpose. We were honored to recognize a few of our “champions” who went above and beyond–thank you for your continued support and contributions!

Procurement Community Team Spirit: Best Advocate – Bulgari
Technology Innovation and Excellence Award – Booking.com
Procurement Trailblazer – Making a Difference – Eiffage
Best New Deployment – IKEA

Closing Party at the Petit Palais

A site to be seen! Guests enjoyed a private museum tour and lively cocktail hour, followed by a unique dining experience with renowned French Chef, Xavier Pincemin. The venue was absolutely breathtaking and as the sunset over the garden, we could not have asked for a better day or experience.

Petit Palais

Breaking New Ground Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond…

Pushing boundaries, taking a leap of faith, and venturing into unexplored terrain – these are the hallmarks of true progress. Doing something that has never been done before to create a radical new way of thinking – this is “Breaking New Ground”.  This year, we discussed going beyond traditional boundaries and creating something entirely unique, changing perceptions, and introducing possibilities. What an incredible opportunity to make a positive impact on our world!

We cannot thank our customers, sponsors, partners, attendees, and our team for an incredible #ivaluanow Paris! 

What’s next? Part 2! Join us for Ivalua NOW Nashville on May 3rd! Register HERE!