A recent survey of European event planners, procurement officials, and event agencies conducted by the European chapter of Meeting Professionals International shows striking differences between meetings and procurement professionals.

Procurement folks who responded to the survey said return on investment is the most important factor when inviting a supplier to bid, and personal relationships are the least important. Event planners said just the opposite. Also, budget control and negotiations are the two qualities that procurement people felt they brought to the meeting-buying process, while planners said they bring experience and an understanding of events. The most frustrating part of working with procurement, planners said, is lengthy processes and poor communication. Procurement officials said they're frustrated by a lack of adequate lead time when working with planners.