Möt Jonathan O’Brien på Mötesplats Offentliga Affärer

I en intervju med SOI´s ordförande Martin Magnusson och med Hexanovas VD Urban Nilsson tidigare i år, berättade bägge om hur samarbetet mellan SOI och Mötesplats Offentliga Affärer utvecklats genom åren. Bland annat sade Martin Magnusson följande: – Behovet av att få mötas och få kunskap och inspiration om den offentliga affären är som sagt var väldigt stort och eftersom våra respektive konferenser ligger på vår och höst är vår känsla att de kompletterar varandra. Och även om många av föreningens medlemmar besöker Mötesplats Offentliga Affärer så är det också en arena för oss att möta personer som kanske inte besöker vår årskonferens. Hela intervjun kan du läsa här.

Med koden SOI25 får du som medlem ett rabatterat pris på 5.500 kr exkl. moms (ord. pris 6.900 kr). Konferensen går  av stapeln på Nacka Strand Möten & Event i Stockholm 24–25 september 2025. Anmäl dig här.

På årets Mötesplats Offentliga Affärer får vi bland annat besök av Jonathan O’Brien, internationellt erkänd expert på strategisk upphandling och författare till flera ledande böcker i ämnet. Han har arbetat med både kommersiella och offentliga organisationer världen över – och kommer nu till Stockholm för att inspirera och utmana vår syn på offentlig upphandling. Här följer en intervju på engelska med honom.

– You talk about unlocking dramatic new value through strategic procurement – what’s the key mindset shift needed in the public sector to get there? 
– I frequently hear people in the public sector say “but we can’t do that, things are different in the public sector.” Clearly there are some differences and we have to work within some unique constraints in order to deliver the right sort of value for the public purse, however in the commercial sector the thing that sets high performing procurement teams apart from the rest is the ability to think like entrepreneurs. This is the key mindset shift needed in the public sector, which is very possible and with creative application of established strategic procurement methodologies can drive dramatic new value from the supply base. 
 
– Based on your experience, what practical steps should public procurement take to move toward “Procurement 2.0”? 
– The big shift is to transform how procurement works to operate more strategically and getting beyond a traditional contracting and tendering only approach to procurement. Doing this requires a program of establishing new strategic methodologies aligned to how the public sector works and then driving in a step change in capability so the team work as one with a common language, common process and common ways of working. Finally,  the senior team need to put in place governance for success in order to realise the outcomes needed. 
 
– You’ve worked across both commercial and public sectors globally, what’s one best practice from the private sector that public procurement professionals often overlook? 
- I mentioned entrepreneurial drive before, and this is highly relevant, but I think coupled with this the single thing that stands out is courage – the courage to challenge what has gone before and do things differently. In practice this means a desire to find a breakthrough and do things different; to examine the fundamental need being fulfilled and question how it could be done differently.
 
– Tech and AI are increasingly part of the procurement toolbox, how do you see their role in enabling smarter public spending? 
– Both tech and especially AI is transforming everything and is set to make a dramatic difference in both commercial and public sector. The tech platforms that are gaining momentum in the commercial sector will naturally filter into the public sector and we can expect automation of routine, non-differentiated spend, greater transparency of supply chains and therefore more data to enable sustainable/social value supply side. As AI powered platforms better integrate with market, supplier, supply chain and geopolitical data we can expect solutions that will drive better decision making and strategy for key sourcing decisions. Procurement is potentially has the most to deliver back to public sector organisations using AI. 
 
–What do you hope participants will take away from your session at Mötesplats Offentliga Affärer? 
– My biggest hope is that I can help delegates see the art of the possible and share some stories about what is making organisations great. I hope that I go some way to overcoming the barrier of ‘but we are the public sector’ and provide some practical ideas for how companies can transform what they do and drive greater value for citizens, pupils, patients, travellers, households etc through transformed procurement.