Autumn 2026 Meeting

Test Your Thinking

You've sat through the webinars, the events, the vendor decks. What's missing isn't more input. It's a way to test your own thinking against people working through the same kind of decision, including the people whose business it is to know this space.

Nov 12, 2026 8:30
—
17:00
GMT
·
Central London, UK
Register interestTalk through where you are
For senior practitioners only
Get a brief introduction by email
How this meeting works
  • Practitioner-led working session
  • No pitches
  • Small-group, facilitated discussion
  • Works best when you can engage actively
  • Chatham House Rule
  • Limited places to preserve quality

Why this meeting exists

You've got a view forming on what needs to change, whether that's a full network and operating model redesign or making the most of what you've already got, even if you haven't tested whether it's right.

You've been to the events, sat through the webinars, taken the vendor calls. Most of that comes from people trying to sell you something without knowing your context, the rest from inside your own organisation, tested against people who share your assumptions. Neither tells you if your read is sound.

This meeting is practitioner-led, shaped around what matters to your decision, with solution providers contributing pattern recognition rather than pitching. You bring your current thinking and test it against peers and people who've watched this play out elsewhere.

If you're not working towards a real decision in the next 3 to 12 months, this probably isn't the right room yet.

What you'll leave with

  • A sharper sense of whether you're framing the right problem, not just a plausible one.
  • Other ways supply chain leaders in comparable positions are thinking about the same kind of decision, and where your read differs from theirs.
  • Pattern recognition from people who've watched this play out across many organisations, on what tends to work and what doesn't.
  • A clearer view of what you'd need to test or align internally before this is ready to move forward.
Group of four adults engaged in a discussion around a table at a professional event.

Plenary / panel themes / enablers

These whole-room sessions focus on the shared operating context — including common innovation blockers and enablers — that shape everyone’s decisions. Their purpose is to establish a common frame of reference, so that the roundtable discussions can focus on specific capability and decision areas with less ambiguity.

09.00 – 09.50

Operating model and partner ecosystem: the strategic context for capability investment

11.20 - 12.00

How AI is changing the build versus buy trade-off

14.00 - 14.20

What early implementation actually looks like: practitioner cases from the first twelve months

15.50 - 16.25

Getting the organisation ready: people alignment and the conditions for a credible investment case

16.25 - 17.00

The business case: what an investment will eventually need and why that matters now

Group of professionals seated around a table with cups and bottles, engaged in discussion during a meeting.

Roundtable discussions

Roundtable discussions run in parallel for 60 minutes at set points during the day (09.50, 12.00 and 14.20), following whole-room sessions that establish shared context. Each roundtable focuses on a specific decision area or challenge and is facilitated to support practical, peer-level exchange rather than passive presentations.

The themes below reflect areas currently being explored based on participant interest and ongoing discussions. Final roundtable topics are confirmed as discussion hosts and participant interest become clearer.

*indicates that this theme is currently under consideration

*

What's limiting Your S&OP? It's not the process... it's the people

S&OP works in theory, but making it work in practice can be much harder. Sound familiar?

  • Meetings that are more about reporting than decision-making – focused on reviewing what’s happened rather than making the decisions needed to move forward.
  • Meetings that are poorly attended and prepared for – without the right people, preparation or engagement to make them effective.
  • Decisions that aren’t supported by the data – when the information provided doesn’t support the discussion or the decisions that need to be made.
  • Decisions that don’t stick – agreed in the room, but without the authority or support behind them to make them happen.
  • Lack of clarity on ownership – who owns a decision once it leaves the room, and who notices when it starts to unravel?

S&OP often reflects wider challenges in the way an organisation is structured – centralised vs decentralised, the KPIs used to incentivise performance and unclear accountabilities.

What’s this costing you in rework, credibility, wasted time and effort?

Hosted by:
Tim
 
Richardson
,
Founder and CEO
Iter Consulting
CO-Hosted by:
Alejandra
 
Ruiz
,
Head of Supply Chain
Adelphi Healthcare Packaging
*

What can AI actually do for S&OP right now, and what has to be in place first?

  • What are you currently doing manually in your monthly S&OP cycle that AI could or should be doing — and what's stopped you acting on that?
  • Your ERP and APS systems need to be right before AI can add real value. How do you know if your current data foundations are actually ready, and what does getting there actually involve?
  • Everyone is under pressure to have an answer on AI. Are you solving for the right problem — or fitting a challenge to the solution that's easiest to justify internally?
  • What would a genuinely useful AI-assisted S&OP process look like in your organisation, and how would you know it was working?
Hosted by:
Ben
 
Jansen van Vuuren
,
Head of Digital Supply Chain Planning
The Config Team Ltd
Chris
 
Curtis
,
Supply Chain Planning Lead
The Config Team Ltd
CO-Hosted by:
Funda
 
Tatlidil
,
Fmr Supply Chain Director
Independent / Unaffiliated
*

Giving people AI access isn't a skills strategy, so what is?

  • Is what you're calling a skills strategy actually just tool access with a label on it?
  • Who needs to change how they work for a capability investment to land, and have you tested whether they're ready to?
  • When the honest answer is dozens of possible AI opportunities, do you retrain the people who already know the business, or hire people who already think digitally?
  • Where have citizen-led or low-code wins stalled once the easy part was done?
Hosted by:
Alex
 
Mortimer
,
Commercial Director
Supply Chain Academy
CO-Hosted by:
To be confirmed.
*

Are your planning parameters set for a business that no longer exists?

  • When did you last actually look at the safety stock, lead time and MOQ settings behind your live plan, rather than the plan itself?
  • What's changed since those numbers were set that they were never adjusted for?
  • Who owns the parameters? Whose job is it to monitor them before something breaks?
  • Are outdated parameters responsible for additional touches that override system outputs?
  • What is that actually costing?
Hosted by:
Uzair
 
Bawany
,
Chief Executive Officer
Oii.ai
CO-Hosted by:
Jack
 
Dibben
,
Supply Chain Director
VADO
Dan
 
Smith
,
Vice President Supply Chain Go to Market
Orveon
*

Do you really need a data lake, or do you just need to know what you're actually trying to fix?

  • Are you chasing a data lake or platform rebuild because it's genuinely what the problem needs, or because it feels like the safer place to start?
  • What decision are you actually trying to make better, and would you know if your current data was already good enough to make it?
  • Where has jumping straight to a solution cost more, in time and rework, than working out the actual problem first would have?
  • What would "AI ready" really mean for your specific decision, rather than a maturity benchmark borrowed from somewhere else?
Hosted by:
Nirpal
 
Kulair
,
Director
Trusted Data Technologies Ltd.
CO-Hosted by:
To be confirmed.
People engaged in multiple group conversations and networking in a well-lit conference room with labeled sections B, C, and D.

Focused 1:1 conversations

Alongside group discussions, each in-person meeting includes time for structured 1-to-1 conversations. These are not open networking slots or random introductions.

Ahead of the meeting, participants share a short context profile covering the decisions they are currently working through, their operating environment, and where they are seeking clarity. This allows us to suggest 1-to-1 conversations between participants who are grappling with similar questions, even if their organisations or industries differ.

The aim of these conversations is to go deeper than is possible in group sessions — comparing how decisions are being framed, what trade-offs are being considered, and what has or hasn’t worked in practice.

Best Practice Leaders

Our session leaders are selected for their direct experience of tackling the challenges addressed in this meeting. They participate fully as peers in the room and remain engaged throughout the discussions, sharing practical experience and lessons learned from real decisions.

Keynotes, Panellists & Invited Experts

Confirmed
Andrew
 
Gilliver
 
Director - Supply Chain Analytics
Eaton
Practitioner
Confirmed
Alex
 
Johnson
 
Fmr Chief Supply Chain & Business Transformation Officer
Clinigen
Practitioner
Confirmed
Genevieve
 
Landricombe
 
Fmr Director Business Transformation, The Crown Estate
Independent / Unaffiliated
Practitioner
Confirmed
Lochy
 
Macpherson
 
VP - Strategic Account Management
GXO
SP / Consultant
Confirmed
Simon
 
Brown
 
Chief Procurement and Supply Chain Officer
Infinite Electronics
Practitioner
Uzair
 
Bawany
 
Chief Executive Officer
Oii.ai
SP / Consultant
Confirmed
Claire
 
O'Brien
 
Global Supply Chain Strategy Implementation Specialist
Mars Food & Nutrition
Practitioner
Confirmed
Daniel
 
Mielke
 
Supply Chain Director
Composition Brands
Practitioner
Tentative
Dan
 
Smith
 
Vice President Supply Chain Go to Market
Orveon
Practitioner
Confirmed
Funda
 
Tatlidil
 
Fmr Supply Chain Director
Independent / Unaffiliated
Between Roles
Confirmed
Geeta
 
Malhotra
 
Founder and CEO
AccuEdge
Independent / Interim
Confirmed
Jon
 
Stanley
 
Founder & Managing Director
One Point Four Degrees
Recruitment
Confirmed
Nick
 
Miles
 
Senior Director, Technology - Supply Chain, R&D and Regional IT
Wella Company
Practitioner
Confirmed
Paul
 
Gething
 
Global Process Owner & Transformation Lead, Plan-to-Fulfil
RS Group plc
Practitioner

Discussion Hosts

Confirmed
Alex
 
Mortimer
 
Commercial Director
Supply Chain Academy
SP / Consultant
Confirmed
Tim
 
Richardson
 
Founder and CEO
Iter Consulting
SP / Consultant
Uzair
 
Bawany
 
Chief Executive Officer
Oii.ai
SP / Consultant
Confirmed
Ben
 
Jansen van Vuuren
 
Head of Digital Supply Chain Planning
The Config Team Ltd
SP / Consultant
Confirmed
Chris
 
Curtis
 
Supply Chain Planning Lead
The Config Team Ltd
SP / Consultant
Confirmed
Nirpal
 
Kulair
 
Director
Trusted Data Technologies Ltd.
SP / Consultant

Discussion Co-Hosts

Confirmed
Alejandra
 
Ruiz
 
Head of Supply Chain
Adelphi Healthcare Packaging
Practitioner
Confirmed
Martijn
 
Steijger
 
Group Supply Chain Design Manager
Belron International
Practitioner
Confirmed
Suleyman
 
Nezih Kocaman
 
Senior Director, Global Supply Chain
pladis Global
Practitioner

How the day works

The day is designed to balance shared context with focused peer discussion, with time built in for informal exchange and follow-up conversations.

Arrival & informal coffee

Settle in, meet other participants, and establish the context for the day.

Whole-room context setting

Shared discussion exploring the operating context, including common innovation blockers and enablers shaping current decisions.

Parallel roundtable discussions

Focused peer discussion around specific decision areas, with groups re-forming across the day to explore different perspectives.

Focused 1:1 exchanges

Time built in throughout the day to follow up conversations, explore overlaps, and connect around shared challenges.

Reflection and next steps

A closing discussion to surface insights, identify areas for follow-up, and explore how ideas move forward beyond the room.

Who this meeting is for

This meeting is designed for people working through real operational and innovation decisions, rather than those seeking presentations or general inspiration.

Who for

This meeting is for you if:

  • You are leading or materially influencing a supply chain capability investment decision and are working through whether the timing, framing or sequencing is right.
  • You are uncertain whether you have correctly identified the root cause of current performance constraints.
  • You're starting to shape the case you'll eventually need to make, and want early peer challenge on the framing.
  • You want peer challenge from practitioners who have navigated similar journeys, not presentations or vendor-led agendas.

Who not for

This format may not be a good fit if your primary objective or organisational context looks very different:

  • You are primarily looking to pitch products or services
  • You are seeking a traditional conference with formal presentations
  • You are not in a position to engage openly with peers
  • You are attending mainly to gather leads or contacts

This meeting may also be less useful if:

  • You are looking for a ready-made solution rather than working through a decision
  • Your organisation has extensive internal transformation capability and you are primarily seeking implementation support rather than peer sense-making
  • You are attending mainly to validate an already-decided course of action rather than to test and refine thinking

What happens next

Participation is confirmed through a short, staged process designed to ensure a good fit and a productive discussion for everyone in the room.

Step 1: Register interest

Start by registering your interest. This includes a short set of questions to help us understand the decisions on your radar and help shape the final agenda.

Step 2: Confirming fit

We review each request to confirm that the meeting is a good fit, based on role, context, and the focus of the discussion. If it is, we'll confirm your place by email.

Step 3: Shaping the discussion

In advance of the meeting, we may invite you to indicate which discussion areas are most relevant to you and to share any specific questions or challenges you'd like to explore. This helps us finalise the agenda and prepare the sessions so they reflect what participants are actually working through.

Step 4: Final confirmation and preparation

Once the agenda is confirmed, we'll ask you to reconfirm your participation and provide a little more context. This step helps us balance the groups and ensure the discussions are as useful as possible.

Step 5: Your personalised agenda

Ahead of the day, you'll receive a personalised agenda showing which sessions are most relevant to your situation and suggested one-to-one conversations, along with visibility of who else will be attending.

At each stage, we aim to keep the process lightweight and transparent, while protecting the quality of the discussion for everyone involved.

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