Dear Procurement Conference community,

The 27th Procurement Conference, held on 14 and 15 September 2026, once again demonstrated just how central public procurement has become to the state’s ability to act. Around 300 representatives from the public procurement sector, politics, academia, business, consultancy and the legal profession gathered in the conference area of Berlin’s Hotel de Rome to discuss faster and more strategic procurement, geopolitical dependencies, digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence.

A key insight from the approximately 25 forums, workshops and best-practice dialogues was that procurement today goes far beyond price and procedure. It influences how quickly new technologies are adopted within the public sector, how effectively the state can respond to change, and how efficient public organisations are overall.

At the same time, the discussions highlighted areas where further action is needed: procurement procedures must become simpler and faster, digital processes must be integrated more consistently, and new technologies such as AI must be meaningfully integrated into procurement and contract award. There is also a need for procurement organisations to work more strategically and make better use of existing legal and organisational scope.

We are taking these insights with us as we prepare for the 28th Procurement Conference 2027, which will take place on 20–21 September 2027 in the conference centre of the Hotel de Rome. Next year, too, we intend to discuss – together with the federal government, the Länder, local authorities, academia, the legal sector, consultancy firms and industry – what progress has been made, where new challenges have arisen, and how public procurement can become an even stronger driving force for government modernisation.

What began in 1997 as an event for companies from the new federal states is now a key strategic dialogue on the future within the German procurement community. We look forward to continuing this dialogue with you in 2027.

Many thanks to all participants, speakers and partners for two intensive days at the conference. I look forward to seeing you again in 2027.

Yours,
Oliver Lorenz
CEO, Wegweiser Media & Conferences GmbH