Seizing Opportunities, Understanding Risks, Shaping the Future

The forum’s professional programme will open with a keynote presentation exploring the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and KPIs in Outsourcing Management.

The presentation will focus on the question of how AI is actually affecting the management, quality, compliance and transparency of outsourcing relationships. Rather than broad promises about the future or technological hype, participants can expect a balanced and differentiated perspective: Where does AI create genuine added value? Which processes are undergoing fundamental change? And which challenges remain despite new technologies?

The presentation will bring together practical experience, real-world examples and critical perspectives, providing a solid basis for an open exchange among participants. The aim is to highlight both the opportunities and the limitations of AI and to provide fresh perspectives on the further development of modern outsourcing organisations.

Further information about the speaker and the specific content of the keynote presentation will be announced shortly.

50-minute keynote presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.

What we should really measure when we outsource the customer

Another international perspective awaits participants in the afternoon: Gerti Haxhiu, Chief Executive Officer of Simetrix Solutions, will contribute a 50-minute keynote followed by a Q&A session.

The presentation will be held in English:

“Every outsourcing relationship eventually produces the same moment. The monthly review, every number green. Service level, green. Handle time, on target. Quality, green. And the quiet certainty in your stomach that customers are slipping away anyway. This keynote is about that gap: why the instruments we built measure whether the service ran, never whether the customer was kept, and what to measure instead.”

50-minute keynote, 10-minute Q&A.

After the first two keynotes, it’s time for a short refreshment – and for inspiring conversations. The networking break invites you to exchange ideas with other participants in a relaxed atmosphere, make new connections, and reflect on your impressions. Use this moment to dive deeper into questions, share experiences, or gain new perspectives. Often, it is precisely these encounters that generate the most valuable impulses for the rest of the day and beyond.

Christopher Pagel, Head of Outsourcing Service II at 1&1 Telecommunication, shares a practitioner account at the 8th Exzellenzforum Outsourcing.

In his 30-minute session, Christopher traces how 1&1 has developed its nearshore approach over the past five years — from early pilots through operational challenges to full strategic integration in the service model.

• What worked?
• What didn't?
• And what would they do differently today?

This session is for anyone who refuses to reduce nearshore to a cost lever — and instead sees it as a serious design option for resilient, quality-driven service organisations.

30 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A.

Experiences at OBI next

30 minutes of practical insights into how outsourcing, vendor management and AI-supported management work in the real world – with real decisions, real challenges and real results.

No glossy success stories, no theory. First-hand experience from Matthias Quirmbach, Head of Customer Care Management at OBI next.

30-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.

After an afternoon of strategic discussions, fresh ideas, and open debate, Bernhard Gandolf and Florian Senda highlight the key takeaways:

• What will stay with us?
• What is changing?
• What will we take into Day 2?

Afterwards, we open the doors to the evening programme – the perfect opportunity to continue the conversation, strengthen professional relationships, and exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.

After an intensive first day of the forum, we intentionally create a moment to slow down. Take this time to recharge – whether you'd like to freshen up, catch your breath, or simply enjoy a quiet moment before we come together for the evening programme.

Can we top the experience of the 7th Excellence Forum Outsourcing in Dresden?

Well, we certainly intend to try.

Join us for an enjoyable evening in a relaxed atmosphere, filled with great conversations, new impressions, and a special surprise.

Dinner included.

4 Theses. Top-rated at the 7th Exzellenzforum in Dresden.

Gandolf and Senda set the stage for the BarCamp with their take on the future of outsourcing in the DACH region — thought-provoking, challenging, and designed to spark discussion.

The BarCamp is a central highlight of the Excellence Forum Outsourcing 2026 and stands out clearly from traditional conference formats.

Here, participants shape the agenda themselves, contribute their own topics, questions, and experiences, and create practical, interactive sessions at eye level. The BarCamp thrives on exchange, active participation, and joint idea development – generating impulses that can be applied directly to everyday work.

At the end of the second day, your hosts Bernhard Gandolf and Florian Senda briefly recap the key takeaways and insightsand insights once more – turning inspiration into action.

Because now it’s time to ask:

• What will you take away from the forum??
• What progress are you ready to make?
• Continue thinking together or move forward together.

The Excellence Forum Outsourcing 2026 ends at 1:00 p.m. – with many new impulses, valuable new connections, and practical ideas to take back to your business.