Procurement Leaders magazine has been shortlisted for two major awards in the UK's most prestigious publishing awards, the PPA Awards for Publishing Excellence 2009.

 

The flagship title of publishing and information provider Sigaria was shortlisted in two categories, Monthly Business Magazine of the Year and Columnist of the Year (Business Media), for which its regular columnist Neil Deverill was picked out.

 

The awards are seen as the 'Oscars' of the British publishing industry, and will see Procurement Leaders fight it out with magazines and writers from many of the biggest publishing companies in the world.

 

"These shortlists are testament to how far Procurement Leaders has come in such a short space of time," said Alex Martinez, managing director of Sigaria's publishing division. "Providing cutting-edge, insightful products has always been the core objective of this company and it's gratifying to see that independent assessment by industry experts backs this up."

 

David Rae, editorial director of Sigaria, said that the content of the magazine made it difficult for the judges to ignore. "The aim of the magazine is to provide a window into the thoughts and beliefs of some of the most senior procurement executives in the profession," he said. "Neil Deverill's shortlist is a good example of this."

Procurement professionals should block the 13th May 2009 out of their diary after Sigaria announced the date for its Procurement Leaders London Forum.

The showcase event will be preceded by its annual awards ceremony on the evening of 12 May, both of which will be held at Banqueting House, Whitehall in London.

The Forum, which is the industry’s highest-profile gathering of senior procurement talent promises to be even better than last year, with IBM’s global head of procurement, John Paterson, set to speak together with Novartis CPO Philip Duncan and Johnson & Johnson CPO Hans Melotte.

Alex Martinez, event organiser and marketing director at Sigaria, said that both events would bring together the brightest minds in purchasing. “2009 promises to be a truly great event. We have some of the most respected figures in world procurement already signed up and Banqueting House provides a fitting location for such an esteemed gathering,” he said. “As the economy looks increasingly fragile, business leaders need to develop their networks and share ideas. The London Forum will provide the perfect platform.”

A new head of research has joined Sigaria and the Procurement Leaders Network, in a move aimed at increasing peer-to-peer benchmarking services and in-depth studies of the procurement space internationally.

Michelle Perkins, who joined Sigaria from Global Insight, has brought a wealth of experience in corporate research services to the company, said CEO Mark Perera. “Michelle is an excellent addition to the senior team at Sigaria,” he said. “Her knowledge of procurement combined with her long experience in the field of research promises to bring real value to network members.”

Perkins will work closely with the editorial director David Rae to help complement the existing editorial services already offered by Procurement Leaders. As a result, said Perera, network members would have access to topical, in depth and deeply relevant editorial – the like of which is unavailable anywhere else.

The chief procurement officers of Daimler, IBM, Nokia, Reed Elsevier and Shell have accepted positions on the Procurement Leaders Advisory Board, which will see them play a key role in the future development of network services.

The Advisory Board will be steered by Neil Deverill, the former CPO of Royal Philips and Anglo American. The aim of the Advisory Board is to provide an independent and robust platform which can be used to define the future direction of the Procurement Leaders Network as well as the member services it provides.

Neil Deverill, Advisory Board chairman, said, “Procurement and supply chain management in general is developing well as a discipline, but it still needs to change up a gear or two to fully realise the potential that it can provide. Until now, the impetus for improvement has tended to be patchy and sometimes fragmented, lacking a clear point of focus for knowledge and information.”

It is that focus that the Advisory Board will provide, not only for the Network but for the wider procurement profession.

John Paterson, global head of procurement at IBM, said that, currently, procurement professionals must be focused on several areas; including the role they have to play in the current economic climate, the globalisation of supply chains and of the procurement function; sustainability and supply chain security. “I joined the board to help make these topics top of mind for our industry,” he said.

But skills is another topic close to the top of his list of priorities. “I hope the board can influence academia to take a stronger look at the procurement profession and to address the needs of industry as we look to recruit and develop new talent,” said Paterson. “Procurement is exciting, it's global and it offers a lot of opportunities. But unless ‘Generation Y’ is introduced to it as an option, it's not going to get any easier to attract them.”

London, 15 May 2008 -- Sigaria Ltd, governor of the Procurement Leaders Network and publisher of Procurement Leaders magazine today announced accolades in four categories across two major publishing awards.

The title received a Highly Commended award for Brand Extension in the Periodical Publishers ’ Association Independent Publisher Awards 2008, celebrated in London during May. It was also Highly Commended in the Best Paid-For Website category of the Periodical Publisher ’ s Association Magazine Awards 2008 for editorial and publishing excellence, widely regarded as the ‘ Oscars ’ of the magazine publishing world and which recognised titles such as BBC , Esquire and GQ. The magazine also received a finalist position in the IPAC Awards for Best Magazine and Sigaria Ltd was a finalist for Best Independent Publishing Company.

Mark Perera , Chief Executive of Sigaria, commented, "As an independent publisher I am delighted that Procurement Leaders is rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in world publishing, which shows how far we have come in such a short space of time. The fact that we have picked up multiple accolades in our first year of entering the awards is testament to the unprecedented quality and efforts of our team and the ongoing support of clients and partners. We will continue with our commitment to deliver award recognised content and services to our community."

David Rae, editor of Procurement Leaders, said, “This is timely recognition of the growing success of both the magazine and the readers it serves. There really is no better time to be reporting on, and to, the procurement profession. I have no doubt that we will pick up one of these awards next time.”

Procurement Leaders (formally European Leaders In Procurement) is Sigaria’ s flagship title and forms part of the Procurement Leaders Network, an international membership-led community for executive level procurement, sourcing and supply chain management professionals.