Happy Birthday Spend Matters UK

Happy Birthday Spend Matters UK

Congratulations to Peter Smith and Jason Busch. Spend Matters UK celebrated its 1st birthday in London last night. It was a nerve-racking event. It could have gone terribly wrong.

Purchasing Insight logoI was on edge. We were told that the celebration of Spend Matters UK surviving it’s first 12 months featured a covers band led by a CIPS president. This is like being at school and hearing that the teachers are going to entertain you with a rap battle. What was Peter thinking?

But it got worse. I’d only been there 15 minutes when Jason Busch explained to me that he was on his third Mac book in 12 months – he’d trashed the other two by spilling drinks on them and I was standing over his with a foaming pint of ale. The night felt fated as Jason began his talk. The set up went wrong. Jason couldn’t see his own slides. His choice of music fed from his iPhone wasn’t going down well with the audience and there was a heckle. It was a Steely Dan hater. (There’s always one!) It looked like things were going to turn ugly.

But then it changed. Jason threw away the script and, rather than following the plan, he began to share his views on the world of procurement without notes. It was scintillating. I don’t know if Jason rehearsed this but this was one of the most insightful talks I have witnessed. But the best was yet to come.

Peter played a blinder. The bands were just superb. How on earth did you source these guys Peter? And to their great credit they gave it their all even as the audience dwindled.

I was absolutely delighted to celebrate with Pete and Jason, and Sheena, Spend Matters’ birthday. The noise that they make in the social media space stimulates debate and discussion and they are, as I’d like to think Purchasing Insight is also, making an important contribution to the evolution of best practice in the procurement, purchasing and supply chain space.

Congratulations on your 1st birthday and well done on a great event.



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