Purchasing and Procurement Basics Open Course, Birmingham or London

Purchasing and Procurement Basics

Purchasing and Procurement functions are about much more than bringing goods and services into an organisation. The value of procurement is now recognized as an integral part of cost control and cost reduction within the organisation.

Procurement are the foundation of strong, collaborative relationships with suppliers. Since many companies source products from around the globe more frequently than ever, a Procurement Manager needs strong commercial and inter-personal capabilities. These skills cannot just be learned on the job: they need to be taught.

In this course, you’ll learn the basics of procurement, including fundamental procurement terminology, the procurement cycle, essential tools and strategies for making the best purchasing relationships work both internally with stakeholders and externally with the supply chain and more.

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

• Key essential terms such as procurement, supply chain, logistics
• The procurement departments role within the organization
• The principles of the procurement cycle.
• The steps needed to manage a competitive bid process, from liaising with stakeholders, through putting together a tender request, to negotiating and managing a contract.
• How to organise spend into categories and develop appropriate strategies.
• How to manage supplier performance through setting and monitoring standards.
• How to become a role model for ethical and professional standards in procurement

WHAT TOPICS ARE INCLUDED

• Basic procurement terminology
• The role of Procurement in controlling and reducing cost
• The Procurement cycle
• Working with internal stakeholders
• Category Management
• Managing suppliers
• The standards of a Procurement professional.

COURSE OUTLINE

You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

Procurement Basics

The complexities of procurement terminology are constantly evolving and they are discussed, along with related terms, in this session. A glossary of terms will be provided.

The Role of Procurement

Here we explore ‘the Purchasing Proposition’ and how to add value to the organisation. It covers the scope of Procurements involvement, the difference between cost and price, how to control costs, the importance of maintaining quality and managing risk.

The Procurement Cycle

This session covers topics related to the purchasing cycle process, from working with stakeholders to establish what the business needs at the outset, through drawing up a tender request and evaluating responses, to finally placing and managing the contract successfully.

Category Management

This is a hot topic within the procurement world. We will cover how to organize spend into relevant categories and how to use this insight to leverage advantage in the marketplace.

Managing Suppliers

Good suppliers are the key to great performance. Here we discuss how to pick a good supplier and how what tools to use to manage them to best effect.

The Standards of a Procurement professional

Maintaining high ethical standards, keeping within the law on environmental standards and money laundering among others should be the DNA of the Procurement professional. We will discuss the need for maintaining ethical high standards and what this might mean in day to day situations.

Workshop Wrap-Up

At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.

The sessions will be interactive, with opportunity to discuss real life examples from the student’s experience.

The course is suitable for anyone working in Purchasing, procurement, supply chain or simply people that would like to learn the basics and have a better understanding.

No previous experience is necessary.

Certificate of completion

Digital certificate - Included