Building Your Procurement Team’s 2027 Operating Plan
AI Execution, Efficiency & Delivering More Value Than Ever Before
Leave with an active blueprint for your operating plan, a functional AI agent you built on-site, and peer-validated solutions to your team’s hardest challenges. CPOs and VPs of Procurement, one focused day, hosted at the Ericsson campus in Plano.
Request Your Seat
Seats are capped at 40 attendees. Register your interest here and we will reach out in 2 business days to confirm your seat and provide further details.
Our Workshop Facilitators
Agenda
Most procurement events aren’t designed for people at your level. The keynotes are polished. The panels are safe. You leave with a notebook full of ideas and no time to act on any of them.
The Grand Prix format is built differently. We keep the room small — 30 to 40 leaders — so every conversation is worth having. Sessions are structured for peer-to-peer problem solving, not passive listening. No vendor pitches. No recycled talking points. Just senior procurement leaders working on real challenges in real time.
If you’re building your 2027 operating plan, this is where that work gets done.
Speaker: Conrad Smith - Graphite
Opening remarks framing what’s changed heading into 2027, what’s at stake, and how the day is structured to produce real output — not inspiration.
Speaker: Amanda Prochaska - Wonder Services
An expert-led overview of the top trends reshaping procurement this year, followed by an interactive session on setting your team’s strategic priorities for 2027. Built for group discussion and audience participation — not a presentation.
Speaker: Conrad Smith - Graphite
An honest look at the supplier data challenges choking modern procurement teams. Attendees examine the structural shifts required to clean up data pollution, conquer systemic inefficiencies, and transition their organization into an operationally elite powerhouse.
Speaker: Ericsson + Vonage Leadership
How cross-organizational collaboration drives massive operational efficiency. Real-world case studies on how unified supplier networks allow global enterprise brands to move fast without breaking compliance.
Hands-on. Technical. Attendees build a functional AI agent tailored to procurement workflows — moving past AI hype into practical application. You’ll leave with hard skills and a working tool, not a demo you watched someone else run.
Table Moderators | Topic: How to Move from Paper Pushing to Value-Add
Interactive peer-to-peer roundtable on 2027 strategic planning. Small groups tackle a shared challenge: how to eliminate manual administrative burdens, safeguard data integrity across multi-brand portfolios, and refocus talent on high-margin strategic value.
Speaker: Conrad Smith - Graphite
Key insights synthesized. Immediate action items for the 2027 roadmap. Networking reception to follow.
Details TBA
AI AGENT LAB
Build Your Own AI Agent — On Ericsson’s Campus
The highest-paid leaders shouldn’t be doing the lowest-value work. Most procurement teams are still one step away from automating the tasks that consume their team’s bandwidth — intake, triage, supplier follow-up, and status reporting.
In this hands-on lab, you won’t watch a demo. You’ll build. Graphite’s team will walk you through standing up a functional AI agent tailored to procurement workflows — one that moves your team from tactical execution to strategic leadership.
You’ll leave with:
- A working AI agent built to your workflows
- Hands-on experience with MCP servers — the next wave of enterprise AI
- Hard skills your team can use the week you’re back
Bring a laptop with admin access or participate without standing up your own agent.
The Finish Line
You won’t leave this workshop with another binder of frameworks or a 47-slide deck you’ll never open. You’ll leave with an active blueprint for a Living Strategy, a functional AI agent you built on-site, and the hard skills required to steer your team into the automated future.
Who Should Attend
Seats are limited to 30-40 participants and filled by direct invitation. If you’re reading this page, you were referred or invited — we don’t run open registration.
This workshop is designed for senior procurement executives who own the 2027 operating plan or are actively building it:
- Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs)
- VPs of Procurement
- Heads of Strategic Sourcing
- Sourcing Leaders and Supply Chain Directors
Cross-industry. One room. No vendor pitches.
Event Details
This in-person workshop is part of Graphite’s 2026 Grand Prix Series — a multi-city tour for senior procurement leaders, each stop focused on a different operational challenge. Breakfast and lunch are included. Every event stands alone — attend the stops most relevant to your current priorities.
The Dallas stop is hosted at Ericsson’s campus in Plano, TX, on October 22, 2026.
Grand Prix in Action
A look at what happens when the right room gets to work.
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Date and Location
