About three months ago we ran a sourcing event for one of our clients that, in light of recent moves in the world price for oil, delivered seriously good value – even if it might not have seemed so at the time. 

It’s easy for organisations to get wrapped up in the notion that, unless your event has generated a % saving well into double figures, it somehow hasn’t been worth it. On this basis, the event we ran for a million litres of diesel that generated only a pretty marginal saving could have been seen as a flop. 

But in reality, whilst the client did generate a saving of some five times the cost of the event, the real value came in securing a 12 month fixed price for a commodity in a constant state of flux. 

And given the direction that prices have moved since the event, that value has been escalating at breakneck pace. 

So while some may tell you that there is little you can do to set or control the price of fuel, don’t you believe it.  

A well managed and planned event can drive best value even in a volatile commodity, bringing just as much benefit – albeit clothed in a less sexy wrapper – than a 20% or 30% saving in the cost of the usual suspects like temporary labour or IT.