Course Overview

Within every successful international operation, there is a need for an efficient and productive Procurement Function. It is therefore imperative that anyone working within such a unit is trained to a high level on the best practices that should be adhered to in order to maximize efficiencies and deliver results.

And what benefits to the organization of developing such a strong Procurement department? With the modern advances of purchasing including the ability to source raw materials, goods and services from any corner of the globe, the actual function of a Procurement Manager has shifted entirely and now involves a completely new set of skills.

What should you be focusing on as a Procurement professional in the ever-changing world of purchasing?  This course will take you through the latest technological advances in your field and help you gain a competitive advantage through understanding what the best in the business does and how they do it so well.

This Zoe training course will empower you with all the necessary tools that you will need to lead, maintain or operate within a successful Procurement division. It will take you through each stage of the Procurement process and explain in detail what you will need to successfully complete and graduate from each stage.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to –

• Explain in depth the changing face of procurement and understand fully how this aligns with your organization
• Understand global trends and be able to work to apply these within your own department
• Work on improving efficiencies within your own department by developing your own unique processes and tailored KPI’s based on best practice methods
• Produce and present a clear business case for all procurement decisions that you make
• Develop an effective strategy for sourcing and building relationships with key suppliers and have a framework for how this should be done
• Understand the importance of applying best practice for strategic and operational functions and how to implement effective benchmarking for each
• Be able to accurately describe the systems and strategies that you use within your daily role and come up with a 3-month roadmap for how to improve in each of these areas.

Training Methodology

This course will be taught as an interactive training program and will provide you with plenty of opportunities to learn from and engage with other learners. You will experience –

• Seminars and Presentations
• Lectures and guest lectures
• Group work and group discussions
• Graded assignments
• Case studies and real-world best-practice methodologies

Organizational Benefits

By sending your employees to participate in this course you will be impacting your organization in the following positive ways –

• Streamlining of best practices within the procurement division
• Cost-cutting and efficiencies by developing modern and effective ways of working
• Encouraging better relationships between your Procurement Department and suppliers
• Benchmarking and KPI processes that will allow you to keep spending on track
• A fully tailored Procurement program that is specifically designed with the needs of your organization in mind
• A better trained, more efficient and productive workforce, and higher engagement within your key departments

Personal Benefits

By taking part in this course, you will be able to enjoy the following benefits –

• Increased awareness and understanding of your current role
• Improved efficiencies within your department and the creation of a playbook which will enable everyone to stay on track
• Improved understanding of how performance is measured, and the ability to develop a progress plan for you to improve results in your department over the coming months
• Greater job satisfaction
• Ongoing commitment towards your personal development that will be recognized by your employer and will stand you in good stead for future growth opportunities that may arise
• The chance to connect and learn from other Procurement professionals

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideally aimed at anyone who works within a Procurement function but would also be very suitable for –

• Procurement Managers
• Department Heads involved in the supply chain management
• Small Business Owners
• Suppliers and contractors
• Purchasing Personnel

Course Outline

Module One – What is Procurement?

• The workings of a modern procurement department
• Roles and responsibilities
• Identifying different outlooks and strategies
• An in-depth look at the wider supply chain

Module Two – The Advanced Procurement Function

• Building partnerships and relationships for success
• The fundamental principles of Procurement
• Existing within the modern supply chain
• Identifying and understanding key strategies within your department
• A wider analysis of technological advances in the procurement field

Module Three – Defining Procurement Decisions

• Analysis of what constitutes a sound purchasing decision
• Risk analysis for suppliers
• Developing robust policies
• Fully understanding the business need for each procurement decision
• Creating the playbook for your own department
• Implementing a structured and effective training program
• Different types of trading and how to develop effective strategies for each

Module Four – Staffing and running your Procurement Department

• How to make effective staffing decisions
• Preparing and utilizing a thorough working policy
• Training guides and on the job training
• Teaching your team to address issues
• Helping your team build quality relationships
• Encouraging negotiating tactics
• Benchmarking for success

Module Five – Operational Efficiencies

• How to deal with and overcome any discrepancies that might arise
• Maintaining good relationships with suppliers
• Effective reporting and analysis of the profitability of key products
• Partnership training and negotiation program
• Building effective relationships within your own organization
• Cost analysis and budgeting basics
• Building in contingency management and ensuring streamlined processes

Module Six – Strategic and Tactical Best Practice

• Implementing best practice within both strategic and tactical areas
• Assessing how to choose the best strategy for your business
• Looking at opportunities and tactical advantages

Module Seven – Contingency Building

• Building in strong contingencies for your department – analyzing each of the potential contingency situations in detail
• Utilizing forecasting software to make accurate contingency plans
• Working in coordination with other departments in order to make best practice decisions in this area
• Disaster planning and best case scenario models

Module Eight – Procurement Performance Measurement

• How to perform an accurate spend analysis
• Looking at performance management metrics for all suppliers and partners
• Adapting your information to provide outcomes such as Total Ownership Cost
• Guidance on how to build and develop partner relationships that can be guided by performance management
• How to deal with difficult conversations with underperforming suppliers and partners