PASA Premier Confex 2025.
Australia & New Zealand’s largest independent procurement event
15–16 October 2025 • Flemington Racecourse Conference Centre, Melbourne
Including The NIGELS Awards – the only peer-reviewed awards celebrating the best in procurement.
The Programme.
Day One.
Navigating the uncertain, complex and volatile global economy is tough. Asia-Pacific is not immune to global forces and perhaps even more vulnerable given its critical role in global supply chains. With ANZ at the tip of the global supply chain.
The effect of traiffs, new trade deals, sluggish interest rates, currency volatility and geopolitical tensions, including in the Middle East, needs an eyes-wide-open approach to ensure global sourcing still provides value-for-money as well as surety of supply and manageable risk levels.
So, what is the economic outlook regionally and globally? What are the top 3 risks facing the global economy? Which countries can we predict, with some certainty, will create questions and supply threats downstream? How should this influence your INBOUND supply-chain management strategies?
Given the rapidly changing dynamics of global supply markets - what can procurement leaders in APAC take from their colleagues around the globe? Bringing extensive experience from the UK, Europe, North America and now APAC, new ArcBlue Managing Director Dan Collings explores the trends shaping procurement now and over the next 12 months; what are the challenges and opportunities seen by our global counterparts, and what are the key levers businesses can pull now in APAC to avoid missteps and make the right moves.
If 150,000 or more people work in procurement across ANZ – then how much do we collectively spend on goods and services?
And what percentage of GDP is that?
Imagine our influence if we used our spending power as a force for good?
Striving for procurement excellence means constantly enhancing capabilities, processes, systems, and supplier relationships to unlock substantial value. By focusing on value creation through procurement excellence, organisations can drive broader benefits for people, places, and the planet.
The APCC is endorsing PASA events in 2025
Three annual award categories - each of three shortlisted nominees present their case why they should win each award, and the audience votes for the winner in each category on the conference APP: The presentation of THE NIGELS is made at the end of the conference - in two categories by the awards sponsor for the private sector - GEP, and for the public sector - APCC, as well as the main award by Mrs Lesley Wardropper, wife of Nigel, and the owner of PASA.
The entrants all have stories to tell, and we can all learn something from each and every one. But it is the CONFEX audience who will decide who made the best presentation in each of three categories. Paul will outline what you might be looking for when scoring the presentations.
The Most Improved Procurement Team 2025 … sponsored by PASA
The Best Procurement Project Delivery 2025 … sponsored by the GEP
Efficiency, collaboration and transparency may be three core challenges facing procurement leaders this year, but they are no strangers to Tip Top Bakery’s Procurement. Michael will share how Tip Top’s procurement strategy has grown with these principles as it’s core – and what has worked (and what hasn’t…)
As a relatively new agency, Suburban Rail Loop Authority needed to get new procurement efforts up to maturity quickly – harnessing efficiency, collaboration and transparency to ensure that the full scope of the $36bn 'Big Build' infrastructure project is fully supported by the best possible day-to-day purchasing processes for the goods and services it requires.
AI Agents and Agentic AI are poised to transform enterprise procurement, offering significant opportunities for enhanced decision-making, improved supplier relationship management and optimised sourcing strategies. This session will outline how AI Agents are improving procurement operations, enabling efficiencies, and creating new areas of opportunity for procurement teams. Practical uses cases and lessons from the leaders will round out this examination of this next evolution of AI in procurement.
AI isn’t just transforming the products your business buys—it’s transforming the way you procure and pay for them. As more SaaS vendors embed AI into their offerings, procurement leaders face a double challenge: evaluating the real value of AI to their business and navigating increasingly complex, opaque pricing models.
In this practical session, Jordan Tang will explore how AI is impacting the SaaS market and how procurement teams should evaluate the right use AI use cases for their business. He’ll also break down key considerations when contracting for AI-enabled SaaS and how it's changing pricing structures, as well as how to prepare for negotiations.
If you’re grappling with AI upsells, unpredictable consumption pricing, or vague promises of “AI-powered outcomes,” this session will give you a clear framework for assessing value, controlling spend, and negotiating agreements that protect your organization’s interests.
The Australasian University Procurement Network (AUPN) brings together universities across Australia and New Zealand to collaborate on procurement strategy, capability and outcomes. Through its strategy house, the AUPN provides a clear framework for sector‑wide initiatives—building shared governance, aligning priorities, and creating structures that deliver measurable efficiencies and transparent processes. Over more than a decade, this collaboration has generated tangible benefits for member universities, driving innovation, strengthening supplier engagement and maximising value through collective effort.
Do you have the time to read all the best research reports on procurement from the premium providers around the world? No. neither does anyone else except Gordon – SAP’s own Global VP for procurement research and the #1 global procurement thought-leader according to UK ‘Procurement Magazine’ (June 2023 issue].
“Gordon’s Window” is a regular monthly column in the PASA Procurement INSIDER e-magazine published to our subscribers at PASA every Tuesday morning – subscribe for Free here. It neatly summarises all the most relevant research for our ANZ procurement audience in an accessible, timely and relevant digest.
This session will highlight the key messages for busy ANZ procurement teams from the last 12 months publications - tune in to save time.
Procurement is undergoing a profound transformation. In this session, we’ll unpack the real-world challenges procurement teams face in today’s fast-moving landscape—and how organisations are responding with the latest AI innovations. From automation to agentic AI, discover how technology is evolving not to replace people, but to empower them.
We’ll explore how a human-in-the-loop approach ensures that AI augments human judgment rather than overrides it—enabling smarter, more adaptive procurement strategies that prioritise collaboration, transparency, and trust. Learn how leading organisations are achieving meaningful and measurable outcomes by keeping people at the center of every decision, and how human-centered AI is reshaping procurement into a more resilient, responsive, and ethical function.
Procurement leaders will leave with a clear understanding of how their function can lead financial transformation today, and how emerging tools like agentic AI can position them for the future. Adrian will be able to highlight some agentic AI points within the presentation and leave time for ~5 mins Q&A at the end if that works?
The Most Impactful ESG Procurement Project 2025 … sponsored by the APCC
With demands on the supply side growing exponentially, it is possible for a small procurement team to quickly outgrow their remit.
Balancing the needs of a wide range of stakeholders in a small agency, weighed against commercial imperatives, can be a real challenge.
One solution is to “decentralise’ the procurement workload and share effort within a designed control framework – like at MCB in WA
Avoid the traffic and join the crowd for networking drinks with the compliments of PASA
Day Two.
As a major systems integrator & contractor supporting multiple sectors such as Defence, healthcare and energy, Leidos fronts a complex and collaborative supply chain into Australia.
Collaboration is a core value of Leidos and a clear focus on the both the buy-side and the supply-side as the commercial and procurement team lead a team-oriented and proactively engaging approach to both supplier & stakeholder management to meet shared objectives. It is about building relationships and staying connected with each other. And the additional benefits from efficiency and transparency often flow from this initial collaboration.
… collaboration in practice
In 2024, the key sporting codes in Melbourne identified what they had in common - relatively smaller organisations, similar catgeory spend, low resource levels, but huge brand potential. They formed a collaborative buying group and starting working as a team … just as their stakeholders do ! This Roundtable discussion, hosted by JD, explores their journey, their collaboration and the benefits from their teamwork ….
The Victoria Racing Club have being hosting world class events for over 150 years.
But what is behind a successful racing venue and hosting one of the world’s biggest races – one that even stops a nation!
Hear from the manager of racing engagements and a VRC Ambassador about the supply side of racing and maybe even a few tips?
Drowning in technology jargon? Trying to figure out what a fit-for-purpose procurement stack should look like in 2025? Wondering how to future-proof your tech strategy as innovation accelerates? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes', this session is for you!
As a leading paints & coatings manufacturer, building inherent efficiency, transparency and collaboration into all facets of the supply lines is critical for PPG in Melbourne and throughout the region.
With coatings protecting and beautifying everything from aircraft to architecture, it takes well worked team to deliver on time every time. So, how does the supply side at PPG build in ECT in a tangible way and in practice?
What are the benefits for organisations from engaging with disabled suppliers and contractors? Inclusive sourcing offers real advantages for all organizations. So, what actionable strategies can you deploy in designing accessible tenders and ensuring equitable opportunities? And what are the essential changes required to your current processes and systems? Discover how practical and simple collaborative approaches can build more efficient, transparent and inclusive procurement practices …
Procurement is entering the “Age of Synthetic Doubt,” where AI-driven risks erode trust as speed pressures rise. This session explains how tech-enabled transparency becomes a fast-track to confident, compliant decisions.
The pandemic taught us once again that RISK is the biggest issue in business; as a new white-paper on supply side risk from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) illustrates.
And many procurement teams are now being asked to proactively de-risk their supply lines. But how?
What risks are clear & present? How do you complete a supplier risk assessment? What plans can you enact to mitigate these risks?
Data-driven strategies driving supply chain visibility for more efficient and sustainable operations
- Learn how data-driven strategies can unlock new opportunities to reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and strengthen supply chain resilience.
- Leverage expert guidance to confidently navigate today’s complex regulatory landscape.
- Listen to real-world success stories that offer actionable insights to boost operational efficiency, minimise environmental impact, and achieve sustainability targets.
At the beginning and end of every procurement effort lies cost savings. Despite all else that any procurement team in now involved with, including using procurement as an instrument of policy, cost-savings are still a significant deliverable.
Not just direct savings, even cost avoidance, but almost re-engineering how our supply-side works to bring genuine efficiencies and cost-out in the way we work with suppliers – how we rebuild the value-chain.
Now over ten years old, EPSA is the energy procurement and supply association, which formed into a formal not-for-profit organisation from an original informal buying group.
EPSA provide an environment where our members connect, share insights, and tackle common challenges regularly — driving innovation and sustainable business benefits across their organisations and ultimately the energy sector for the ultimate benefit of energy consumers.
What can the success of EPSA teach us about the opportunity of collaboration?
What is the difference between your inbound supply chain and logistics? In a volatile world, they are often the same and, perhaps, your most vital category:
- Practical lessons from best practice procurement—where inbound logistics directly drives total landed cost.
- Transparency first: Breaking out freight/handling/storage to reveal hidden costs and enable fair supplier negotiations & DIFOT assurance.
- Procurement levers that cut real cost: Incoterms, mode shifts (air→sea)with cost benchmarking, order consolidation + packaging standardisation, open-book contracts, supplier KPIs, banded pricing models to drive behaviours and reduce costs
- Mini case studies from Argon & Co. experience : Healthcare and Universities
With demands on the supply side growing exponentially, it is possible for a small procurement team to quickly outgrow their remit.
Balancing the needs of a wide range of stakeholders in a small agency, weighed against commercial imperatives, can be a real challenge.
One solution is to “decentralise’ the procurement workload and share effort within a designed control framework – like at MCB in WA
This category is open to submissions in respect of mature procurement projects that have gone beyond planning and are at the stage of execution and may have begun (or completed) delivering results. The focus is on implementation, execution and overcoming challenges to deliver tangible results. A “procurement project” could include a complex RFP, organisational development, the implementation of a new solution or any project where there is merit in the delivery phase of the project.
This category is open to submissions in respect of mature ESG projects that have delivered results. This means that the focus needs to be on demonstrating tangible outcomes. This award shall be judged by the specific objectives set and how they were achieved as ell as the evidence for these benefits.
This category is open to submissions in respect of procurement teams that have undergone improvement. Implicit in the word ‘improvement’ is that there needs to be content which addresses “from what, to what?” and evidence to demonstrate that improvement has actually occurred.
Future PASA events - and 2026 programme
