Get ready for DPRTE 2018 and join the defence discussion

February 7, 2018

Anticipation is building for DPRTE 2018 with a number of keynote speakers announced to appear at the UK’s premier defence procurement event of the year.

The Ministry of Defence, DE&S, Dstl, DASA and ISS are just some of the organisations that will be sharing their business opportunities and insights at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Tuesday 27 March.

Defence Procurement, Research, Technology & Exportability (DPRTE) 2018 will bring together buyers, suppliers and defence thought leaders in an engaging environment where they can network and discuss the latest market developments and opportunities.

Don’t miss out

To be at the forefront of the discussions by attending, sponsoring or exhibiting at DPRTE 2018, book now at www.dprte.co.uk/book-now.

Attendees will have access to the DPRTE Product Showcase Exhibition (featuring over 125 suppliers), Live Keynote Arena, four Knowledge Transfer Zones and five Networking and Collaboration Zones.

Live Keynote Arena

The DPRTE 2018 Live Keynote Arena will host a range of the leading and most influential speakers from across the defence procurement and supply chain marketplace.

Attendees will have an invaluable opportunity to hear directly from those personnel who are actively engaged in both setting and delivering the direction of the UK’s defence procurement and supply chain strategy.

Chairing the Live Keynote Arena this year will be Commercial Strategies Ltd CEO and former Ministry of Defence Commercial Director Les Mosco.

The MOD’s Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Forzani, will provide his expertise; he will be followed by Jeegar Kakkad, Chief Economist and Director of Policy at leading defence trade association ADS, and the new Chief Executive of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Gary Aitkenhead. Mr Aitkenhead’s new role sees him lead an organisation of over 3800 scientists and engineers providing specialist, and in many cases world-leading, expertise across a wide range of disciplines.

Technology & Innovation Knowledge Transfer Zone

The Technology & Innovation Knowledge Transfer Zone will host a series of training sessions aimed at providing participants with an insight into the latest developments and opportunities within this area. These sessions will encourage a greater level of collaboration with industry, academia and allies, in order to target new providers to boost the competitive advantage of UK defence and find answers to the most pressing national security questions from across sectors at pace.

Further business opportunities will be outlined in the Technology & Innovation Knowledge Transfer Zone address from Research Fellow in Global Defence Acquisition at Cranfield University, Richard Fisher, titled ‘Understanding the UK Defence Ecosystem’.

The Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) will also delve into the topic of ‘Open Innovation – What Defence Can Learn from the Commercial Sector’.

The zone will also host a techUK session tackling the topic of ‘Defining the True Value of Information and Digital Capabilities in Defence’.

Supply Chain & Partnering Knowledge Transfer Zone

The Supply Chain & Partnering Knowledge Transfer Zone will provide attendees with the chance to hear directly from prime contracting and supporting organisations such as Raytheon and Cammell Laird, as to how they can engage and actively pursue new business development opportunities across the wider supply chain.

SME spend made up 19.4% of all MOD third-party spend in 2014/15. This figure equates to almost £4 billion spent both directly and indirectly with SMEs; of which direct spend was £822 million with over 5400 different suppliers. However, the MOD wants to build upon this success and has set a new target of directing 25% of its third-party spend to small and medium-sized enterprises by 2020.

Appearing within the Supply Chain & Partnering zone at DPRTE 2018 will be Defence Contracts International (DCI) Marketing Manager Scott Ferguson, who will talk about ‘Accessing International Opportunities’; while Jon White, Business Lead for MOD and Europe at GE Aviation, will discuss ‘Supply Chain Opportunities with GE UK and GE Aviation’.

The Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP), meanwhile, will talk about implementation of the Cyber Security Model (CSM) into all new MOD requirements and contracts means for defence suppliers.

Export & Business Growth Knowledge Transfer Zone

Supported by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the Export & Business Growth Knowledge Transfer Zone will provide exhibitors and visitors with specialist export advice and practical assistance, enabled through DIT’s Defence & Security Organisation (DSO) and its close working relationship with the MOD and the Export Control Organisation (ECO).

Delegates have the opportunity to visit the DIT DSO stand to meet civilian and military advisers and to attend a number of seminar sessions aimed at the UK SME defence and security community.

The zone launches with Head of the Small Business Unit (SBU) at DIT DSO Howard Gibbs presenting on ‘Defence and Security Exports: Support for SMEs’.

Training continues with sessions from other DIT DSO experts on areas such as ‘Military Support for Defence and Security Exports’, ‘Doing Business with the United States Department of Defense’ and ‘Export Licensing’.

Buyer Excellence in Procurement Knowledge Transfer Zone

In addition to accessing this wealth of industry expertise, DPRTE attendees can also visit the Buyer Excellence in Procurement Knowledge Transfer Zone, where Principal PASS Consultant Eddie Regan will be leading on procurement best practice and advice which defence buyers can utilise to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their procurement exercises.

These sessions will cover ‘Top Tips on Market Engagement’, ‘Implementing the Selection Process’, ‘Contract Management and the Regulations’ and ‘Tips on Creating a Good Tender Specification’. Stuart Young, Head of the Centre for Defence Acquisition at Cranfield University, will also discuss ‘Developing the Professional Skills to Underpin the Strategic Importance of Procurement.’

To be at the forefront of the discussions by attending, sponsoring or exhibiting at DPRTE 2018, book now at www.dprte.co.uk/book-now

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Buyer Excellence in Procurement Knowledge Transfer Zone Defence Procurement Department for International Trade DPRTE 2018 Exportability Research Supply Chain & Partnering Knowledge Transfer Zone technology Technology & Innovation Knowledge Transfer Zone