As one of our New Wave companies for 2014, Unimarket is an interesting study in contrasts. On the one hand, the organization has been around for a long time – nearly 2 decades from original conception.
On the other hand Unimarket, like the individuals in the old American Express “Do you know me” commercials, has achieved a perplexing level of anonymity. In short they are in that zone of providing service to a solid customer base but, have not yet experienced the breakout success of a Coupa or a Nipendo.
Do not get me wrong, they are far from being in the realm of a one hit wonder but . . . is where they are in total market share today, commensurate with what they can do for their clients?
In talking with Unimarket’s Daniel Perry the answer to this question might be better answered in a couple months when, as a result of their high profile presence at the recent NAEP conference, they should start reaping the rewards of stepping into the spotlight.
Or to put it another way, being a Presidential Sponsor along with Grainger, Visa and Xerox will put you in elite company, and help to get you noticed. While it may not necessarily be a significant amount to Unimarket, my question however is whether the $20K sponsor fee plus expenses I found listed on the NAEP site, will serve as the desired catalyst that will not only place them but keep them in the winner’s circle in the minds of higher ed decision makers?
Given the NAEP Conference’s Kentucky Derby theme and Unimarket’s pedigree, this is one horse race that is going to be worth watching over the coming weeks and months.
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Procurement Insights 
Daniel Perry
June 9, 2014
I posted a link to this blog on a few different LinkedIn groups with the question:
“Do conference sponsorships affect your perception of vendors?”
The biggest amount of feedback came from the public procurement circles, with everything from positive feedback on sponsorship practices, to outright distain/distrust of the monopolistic methods of some vendors to ensure they are the top dog at major events.
Overall though, there seems to be three types of commenter:
1) Those who oppose outright (with maybe some strictly defined exceptions)
2) Those who agree wholeheartedly
3) Those who agree but caution the extent that sponsorship is able to influence perception
I found it interesting that there is a spread of vendors and buyers in all three camps.
From my perspective, regardless of the camp you’re in, analysis of the timing of your marketing, ensuring you have the right solution/approach and most importantly ensuring you have the right audience, are just as important as deciding what type of sponsorship to participate in (attendee only, booth, additional sponsorship etc.).
We found this particular sponsorship rewarding, in terms of awareness, referrals, word of mouth, booth traffic and so on. It got people talking about us, we were introduced to key influencers and potential customers were referred to us by their peers.
Perhaps the results would have been different if we did not have existing customers to back us up, if the solutions we’re selling (Procure-to-Pay automation, spend management, eContracts etc.) were not on attendees’ radars or if the audience were not our direct target market.
In other words, regardless of your view, the level of sponsorship a vendor chooses may not help them much if they’re trying to sell jet-skis in the Sahara desert.
For the buyers and conference coordinators, I believe there is as much ethical responsibility on their side as there would be conducting an RFP. Sponsorship options and information, should be transparent, and easily accessible.
Thanks again for the chat Jon. Always great to catch up.
piblogger
June 9, 2014
As always Daniel, your perspective on this topic (which has you already know is one that is the subject of continuous discussion) is both interesting and insightful. This is perhaps why this latest conference was so positive for you. It is also why you are one of our New Wave companies for 2014.
Alun@MarketDojo
June 10, 2014
In a lot of ways it is what you make of it. I have seem many stands at conferences manned by people who are quite happy just to sit there and say ‘we attended the conference’. You get out what you put in.
Interestingly I misread the title thinking it was referring to promoting eProcurement in higher education courses rather then the procurement officers in higher education. This is a rather interesting topic as there is so little discussed about procurement in traditional degrees and even MBA’s. We lecture at Greenwich University and the University of the West of England to promote the importance of new procurement technologies but this topic is still very much in the minority. I am not sure how it is covered in the US but this type of action is great for the long term planning for companies such as ours but also slowly increasing the perceived importance of procurement at all levels.
Daniel Perry
June 13, 2014
Hi Alun,
We are long-time supporters of NAEP which is the National Association of Educational Procurement. They provide a number of courses, seminars, webinars, meetings and conferences around the country geared at educating new and seasoned procurement professionals in the higher education sector.
In the UK, I believe the best organization to reach out to would be the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). They provide similar services to NAEP but across all sectors.
As for educating students who have yet to land a job in procurement, I have heard of a few different colleges in the US that have classes in supply chain that also touch on procurement. I’ve good things about what is happening at Florida State University specifically, where Larry Giunipero is the Professor of Marketing and Supply Management and teaches courses on the fundamentals of procurement and spend management.
Alun@MarketDojo
June 13, 2014
Hi Daniel. I am glad to see things moving over there and CIPS is promoting in the UK with many course as well to become a Member of the institute. We have even done a few presentations at their meets. I hope it continues positively as at the moment it does not seem to be quite enough to bring procurement more into the mainstream. As they say, one step at a time.