The prestigious event, hosted by the Swedish National Association of Purchasing and Logistics (SILF), is attended by 400 delegates from across northern Europe.

O’Brien presented “Category Management – a strategic approach to maximise value and profit”. He discussed why category management is the single most powerful approach to maximising value and profit, the benefits it can deliver, and the importance of getting category segmentation right.

Jonathan O’Brien said:

“I was delighted to present in Stockholm to a prestigious audience from the purchasing and logistics industry in northern Europe.

“Category Management is an essential component to ensure that organisations are successful and can maximise the value from the supply base. It is even more crucial as we emerge from the biggest recession the world has seen since the 1930s, as the role of the supply base to help drive competitive advantage comes into sharp focus.”

The presentation drew insight from Jonathan O’Brien’s book, Category Management in Purchasing, which reached 2nd position in Amazon’s Bestselling Business Books in its category. The book provides a step by step guide to the tools, techniques and application of category management, which companies can readily apply in line with their overall business strategy. With practical examples throughout, the book clearly demonstrates how to:

• Analyse complex sourcing situations quickly and clearly
• Understand specific marketplaces for categories of spend
• Develop innovative and creative category-based sourcing strategies
• Effectively implement the new sourcing strategies across the business
• Deliver dramatic value and cost savings when sourcing, and add real value to the whole organisation

The Swedish translation of the book was made possible by SILF.

Reviews of Category Management in Purchasing by Jonathan O’Brien:

“Category Management in Purchasing fills a need in the literature available on this topic and provides the reader with a thorough insight into the principles and application of category management”
Ken James, former CEO of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply

“Jonathan O’Brien has managed to encapsulate everything that organizations must put in place to deploy effective category management. A quality read and a great reference manual to keep on hand”.
Marc Magistrali, Senior Vice-President Global Outsourcing, KONE Corporation

“The definitive guide to strategic category management in modern organizations”
Patricia A Whitehouse, Global Learning and Development Manager, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, BP PLC

“I strongly recommend the book as a tool for managers seeking to develop a common approach to category management in their team”.
Supply Management

“The book provides all the background, strategy and tactics to stage a successful procurement transformation along category lines”.
Buyers Meeting Point