407: Upheaval and Uncertainty in the Meetings and Events Industry W/ J. Grant Caplan

In this week’s episode, which is based on an Art of Procurement Mastermind Community Category Briefing, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner ask J. Grant Caplan, President of Procurigence, Inc. and Chairperson  of the GBTA Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, detailed questions about the current state of the meetings and events to better understand the conditions companies are dealing with and possible steps they can take to restart their meetings programs without incurring unnecessary risk.

He shared his knowledge and experience regarding:

• The nuanced differences between ‘meetings’ and ‘events’ and how procurement needs to manage them
• How companies can navigate the complex web of policies and guidelines that help meeting and event planners decide how much to spend on what elements of their gathering
• Why he believes travel is a service sold as a commodity, and how that should influence procurement’s handling of the category