CPO Outlook 2026
From Strategy to Practice: Making Procurement Transformation Real
Every CPO is expected to lead on AI, ESG, supplier risk and transformation — with the same team and budget as last year. That gap doesn’t close from listening alone.
Two days of real exchange with Nordic peers and experts — roundtables, panels and keynotes built around what you’re working on now.
Who you’ll learn from
Lena Sellgren
Where Nordic companies are sourcing, investing and expanding — what the data is actually saying
Despite geopolitical turmoil, Nordic companies keep performing internationally — but the playbook is being rewritten in real time. Lena opens the day with the view from outside in: where Nordic companies are sourcing, investing and expanding over the next three years — and where the assumptions in many strategy decks no longer match the data.
Three CPOs who read the cases — and the room
Björn, Anna and Johan sit on the jury for the Nordic CPO Award — senior procurement leaders evaluating nominees against the conditions they actually operated in. They join CPO Outlook on stage to share what the process surfaced: a clearer picture of what meaningful progress looks like when it’s measured against real constraints rather than ambition, the difference between a function that claims transformation and one that can show it, and an honest read on where the bar actually sits.
Robert Liljeblad
How the evaluation works — and why the framework matters as much as the verdict
Robert facilitates the jury’s evaluation through the structured framework behind the award. He takes the audience behind the process: how nominations are assessed, how independence and conflicts of interest are handled, and why a transparent method is what gives the result its weight.
Where the real work happens
Day 1 runs on labs — small-room sessions where peers compare design choices in real time rather than follow a fixed playbook. Each lab is hosted by a practitioner working the problem inside their own organisation. More hosts are confirmed in the weeks ahead.
From gate to shaper — designing AI that delivers
Most organisations are past whether to adopt AI; the question is how the function should. EBG’s 2025–2026 procurement surveys show a consistent pattern — most sit at “developing” maturity, few report material hours back, spending is up while outcomes stay modest. This lab puts the CPO-level question on the table: is procurement positioned to ask the design questions early, make the trade-offs visible, and tell the CEO what the function is getting back.
From digitalization to decision-making — designing risk solutions at scale
Orkla has consolidated seven siloed risk processes into one system across 45,000 legal entities — and is now adding AI to triage supplier forms, validate documents and monitor suppliers. This lab compares how the supplier risk process is organised and how AI is applied to manage risk at scale. As Orkla’s own team notes, the field moves fast — this is a room to compare design choices in real time, not a fixed playbook.
Missed 2025?
See what happened at CPO Outlook 2025
The conversations, the connections, the insights — all in one place.
View CPO Outlook 2025 WrappedWhat an incredibly well-organized event. I have been to several similar ones, both in Sweden and internationally, and this truly held a level I have not seen before.
This Isn’t Another Conference
The agenda comes from the room — survey input from Nordic procurement leaders and sixteen years of running this format. Not from a programme committee guessing what matters.
What you take home isn’t slides. It’s how others have solved — or failed to solve — what you’re working on now.
Partnering with Industry Leaders
Leading organizations that support the Nordic procurement community and contribute to meaningful discussions at CPO Outlook.
Partner with CPO Outlook 2026
Nordic Procurement Intelligence
Surveys, webinars and analysis from the Nordic procurement community — the same input that shapes the agenda.
Annual Survey
Findings from 144 Nordic procurement leaders on what’s working and what isn’t.
Read the findingsExpert Webinars
On-demand sessions on AI, supplier management and what’s moving the function forward.
Watch webinarsFeatured Articles
Practical analyses on organizational change and procurement identity — through a behavioral science lens.
Explore articlesEBG | Xperience
Spring focus days for 30 procurement leaders. Peer and expert exchange. Rated 5.5/6 in 2025.
Learn moreReady to join CPO Outlook 2026?
Limited seats for senior procurement professionals. Connect with Nordic peers and experts, compare what’s working, and leave with conversations that keep paying off.