Effective Procurement Skills Training Course

Duration 10 days 19 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Buyer, Purchasing Officer and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-P-105

Before you join: Participants should have basic experience of purchasing goods or services, raising purchase requisitions or orders, obtaining quotations, working with suppliers, or supporting tender activity.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Procurement professionals are expected to secure supply, improve value, manage supplier risk and protect contractual position while working with demanding internal stakeholders. The effective buyer must do more than obtain quotations: they must clarify the requirement, select an appropriate sourcing route, analyse total cost, negotiate terms, document decisions and manage supplier performance after award. Weak specifications, poorly structured competition and undocumented negotiations can create avoidable cost, service failures and governance exposure.

This course develops the practical disciplines used by capable buyers managing goods, services and project procurement. Participants learn to convert business needs into specifications, segment spend and suppliers, assess markets, build sourcing strategies, issue RFIs, RFQs and RFPs, evaluate bids, negotiate commercially, draft key contractual provisions and manage supplier relationships. The programme also addresses ethics, conflicts of interest, competition rules, records management, expediting and performance improvement. Participants apply tools including the Kraljic Matrix, total cost of ownership analysis, weighted evaluation models, BATNA planning and supplier scorecards.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with procurement cases, document reviews, group analysis, negotiation simulations and individual application planning. Participants progressively build a procurement package based on a realistic requirement, such as facilities maintenance, IT services, production materials or humanitarian supplies. They leave with a reusable sourcing and supplier-management toolkit, including templates and decision records that can be adapted to their own category or project.

The course suits buyers, purchasing officers, category staff and contract personnel who already handle purchasing activity and need a more disciplined commercial approach. It is equally relevant to technical, operations and project staff who contribute to specifications, bid evaluations or supplier meetings.

What you will be able to do

  • Develop a category sourcing strategy using spend, supply-market and risk analysis
  • Write measurable specifications, statements of work and supplier qualification criteria
  • Prepare RFQ and RFP documentation with clear commercial and evaluation requirements
  • Calculate total cost of ownership and compare supplier offers using weighted models
  • Conduct structured supplier negotiations using BATNA, concession planning and closing techniques
  • Produce bid evaluation records, award recommendations and procurement decision trails
  • Manage supplier performance through KPIs, review meetings and corrective action plans
  • Present a complete sourcing package from requirement definition through contract mobilisation

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence leading supplier conversations and commercial negotiations
  • Reusable methods for analysing spend, bids and total acquisition cost
  • Stronger evidence for award recommendations and stakeholder challenge
  • Practical templates for sourcing events and supplier review meetings
  • Clearer progression toward buyer, category or contract-management responsibilities

For your organisation

  • Better sourcing decisions supported by documented evaluation and approval records
  • Lower avoidable cost through total cost of ownership analysis
  • Reduced supply disruption through supplier risk assessment and performance controls
  • More consistent competition, negotiation and contract handover practices
  • Improved stakeholder confidence in procurement decisions and supplier outcomes

Course modules

19 modules over 10 days

Participants can define buyer responsibilities, decision rights and commercial priorities for a purchasing requirement.

  • Procurement's contribution to cost, continuity, quality, innovation and risk control
  • Buyer responsibilities from requirement intake through supplier performance review
  • Separating operational purchasing, tactical buying and strategic sourcing decisions
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies users, budget holders, technical experts and approvers
  • The purchase-to-pay cycle from requisition through invoice matching
  • Commercial judgement balanced with fairness, confidentiality and documented decisions

Participants can apply governance controls and ethical standards to routine procurement decisions.

  • Delegated authority limits matched to spend thresholds and approval routes
  • Conflict-of-interest declarations completed before supplier selection or negotiation activity
  • Segregation of duties across specification, evaluation, approval and payment
  • Competition law risks in supplier communications, pricing and market intelligence
  • Audit trails retain requirements, quotations, evaluations, approvals and correspondence
  • Gifts, hospitality and supplier relationships managed under organisational policy

Participants can challenge and translate stakeholder needs into a clear procurement requirement.

  • Requirement intake questions expose business need, constraints, timing and budget
  • Demand management distinguishes essential requirements from preference-driven requests
  • Stakeholder interviews capture technical, operational, financial and service expectations
  • Scope boundaries prevent unpriced assumptions and uncontrolled requirement expansion
  • Make-or-buy analysis tests internal capability against external supply options
  • Requirement briefs document objectives, deliverables, dependencies, risks and approvals

Participants can write specifications and statements of work that support fair supplier comparison.

  • Output specifications define measurable results rather than prescribed supplier methods
  • Statements of work describe deliverables, milestones, acceptance and governance
  • Technical specifications use standards, tolerances, drawings and performance criteria
  • Service levels establish response times, availability targets and escalation requirements
  • Acceptance criteria link inspection, testing, documentation and payment release
  • Change-control procedures manage scope, price, schedule and approval consequences

Participants can analyse spend data and produce an initial category profile.

  • Spend cubes classify expenditure by supplier, category, business unit and location
  • Data cleansing removes duplicate suppliers, miscoded categories and missing values
  • Pareto analysis identifies high-value suppliers and concentrated expenditure patterns
  • Price variance analysis separates volume, specification and supplier-rate differences
  • Tail-spend review identifies low-value transactions suitable for aggregation or catalogues
  • Category profiles combine demand, spend, contracts, stakeholders and supply risks

Participants can assess market conditions and their implications for a sourcing approach.

  • Porter's Five Forces assesses supplier power, rivalry and entry barriers
  • Market research examines capacity, lead times, cost drivers and technology
  • Supplier financial checks identify liquidity, debt, profitability and solvency warning signs
  • PESTLE analysis identifies regulatory, economic and geopolitical supply exposures
  • Should-cost models separate material, labour, overhead and margin assumptions
  • Supply-market reports convert findings into sourcing risks and response actions

Participants can select sourcing strategies using supply risk and business impact analysis.

  • Kraljic Matrix positions purchases by profit impact and supply risk
  • Strategic items require relationship plans, continuity controls and executive governance
  • Bottleneck items require risk reduction, alternatives and inventory contingencies
  • Routine items suit process automation, catalogues and transaction-cost reduction
  • Competitive items support aggregation, specification challenge and market testing
  • Sourcing strategies define route, timing, competition, negotiation and risk treatment

Participants can choose a sourcing route and build a defensible procurement plan.

  • Sole-source justification tests compatibility, urgency, rights and market availability
  • Competitive quotation suits defined requirements and lower-value purchase decisions
  • RFI processes gather supplier capability before formal competition design
  • RFQ documents seek priced offers against fixed specifications and terms
  • RFP processes assess solution quality, methodology, team and commercial offer
  • Procurement plans sequence approvals, market engagement, evaluation, award and mobilisation

Participants can assess supplier suitability before invitation or contract award.

  • Prequalification questionnaires test capability, capacity, experience and compliance evidence
  • Financial due diligence reviews accounts, cash position and adverse filings
  • Reference checks verify delivery performance, technical competence and relationship conduct
  • Site visits assess production controls, facilities, workforce and quality systems
  • Sanctions screening identifies restricted parties and prohibited transaction risks
  • Due-diligence findings inform supplier selection, mitigations and approval decisions

Participants can prepare clear solicitation documents that obtain comparable supplier responses.

  • Instructions to bidders specify deadlines, submission rules and clarification procedures
  • Pricing schedules separate unit rates, fixed fees, options and assumptions
  • Evaluation criteria distinguish mandatory requirements from scored differentiators
  • Draft terms identify liability, payment, warranty, confidentiality and termination positions
  • Bidder questions managed through controlled clarifications shared with all bidders
  • Document issue registers preserve version control and auditable communications

Participants can evaluate supplier offers consistently and prepare an award recommendation.

  • Compliance checks confirm mandatory documents, signatures, validity and eligibility
  • Weighted scoring models assess technical, commercial, quality and delivery criteria
  • Consensus evaluation reconciles panel evidence without averaging unsupported opinions
  • Clarification requests resolve ambiguities without permitting material bid revisions
  • Abnormally low bids tested against scope, cost assumptions and delivery feasibility
  • Award reports document process, scores, risks, approvals and recommendation rationale

Participants can compare offers using total cost, price analysis and commercial risk assessment.

  • Total cost of ownership includes acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal
  • Land ed cost calculations combine purchase price, freight, duty and handling
  • Cost breakdown analysis tests supplier estimates against materials, labour and overheads
  • Price benchmarking compares quotations, indices, historical prices and market intelligence
  • Payment terms affect working capital, supplier risk and negotiated value
  • Sensitivity analysis tests cost exposure under volume, currency and demand changes

Participants can prepare a structured negotiation plan with targets, alternatives and authority limits.

  • Negotiation objectives distinguish must-haves, tradeables, targets and walk-away points
  • BATNA analysis establishes alternatives when agreement cannot be reached
  • Reservation points set maximum cost and minimum acceptable contractual outcomes
  • Concession plans exchange value rather than make unilateral price reductions
  • Supplier motivation analysis identifies pressures, interests, constraints and decision makers
  • Negotiation briefs assign roles, authority limits, agenda and approval routes

Participants can conduct commercial negotiations and document agreed terms accurately.

  • Opening positions frame objectives, process, agenda and expected meeting conduct
  • Questioning techniques test assumptions, cost drivers, capacity and supplier priorities
  • Active listening identifies interests behind stated positions and objections
  • Package bargaining trades variables across price, service, risk and term
  • Deadlock management uses breaks, escalation, alternatives and conditional proposals
  • Closing summaries confirm agreements, owners, deadlines and unresolved contractual points

Participants can identify and negotiate key contractual terms for common procurement arrangements.

  • Contract formation requires offer, acceptance, consideration, authority and clear terms
  • Scope clauses define deliverables, exclusions, dependencies and acceptance responsibilities
  • Payment clauses address invoices, milestones, retention, taxes and disputed amounts
  • Liability provisions allocate loss, indemnities, caps and insurance requirements
  • Intellectual property terms distinguish background rights, deliverables and licences
  • Incoterms 2020 allocate delivery, transport, insurance and customs responsibilities

Participants can establish supplier governance that improves performance and resolves issues early.

  • Supplier segmentation determines relationship intensity, governance and executive sponsorship
  • Supplier scorecards combine quality, delivery, cost, service and risk indicators
  • Business review meetings examine results, trends, actions and strategic priorities
  • Performance dashboards distinguish leading indicators from lagging service measures
  • Joint improvement plans assign corrective actions, owners, dates and evidence
  • Relationship maps identify operational contacts, decision makers and escalation paths

Participants can administer contracts, manage variations and address supplier underperformance.

  • Contract mobilisation confirms deliverables, governance, contacts, systems and milestones
  • Purchase orders align authorised spend with contract pricing and terms
  • Service-level reporting verifies performance against agreed measures and evidence
  • Non-conformance notices record failures, impact, remedy and response deadlines
  • Variation control assesses scope, cost, schedule and contractual authority
  • Expediting techniques monitor critical orders, production status and delivery recovery

Participants can identify procurement risks and incorporate resilience and responsible sourcing controls.

  • Risk registers assess likelihood, impact, ownership, controls and residual exposure
  • Supply continuity plans address single sourcing, inventory, capacity and transport disruption
  • Dual sourcing assesses qualification cost, allocation rules and volume commitment
  • Supplier business continuity evidence tests recovery plans and incident communication
  • Responsible sourcing criteria address labour, environment, safety and ethical conduct
  • Risk treatment plans define prevention, contingency, monitoring and escalation actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete sourcing package for a defined procurement requirement.

  • Requirement brief defines objectives, scope, stakeholders, budget and critical constraints
  • Category profile summarises spend, demand, supplier market and procurement risks
  • Sourcing strategy selects route, competition model, timeline and governance controls
  • Solicitation pack includes specification, pricing schedule, terms and evaluation criteria
  • Evaluation model records weighted scoring, commercial analysis and award rationale
  • Negotiation and mobilisation plan sets targets, controls, milestones and supplier KPIs

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Category sourcing strategy template
  2. Specification and statement-of-work checklist
  3. Supplier prequalification questionnaire
  4. Weighted bid evaluation workbook
  5. Negotiation planning brief
  6. Supplier performance scorecard

Who should attend

  • Buyer — improve sourcing decisions, negotiations and supplier follow-through
  • Purchasing Officer — apply consistent RFQ, evaluation and award processes
  • Procurement Specialist — build stronger category and supplier-management plans
  • Contract Officer — connect sourcing decisions with contract administration controls
  • Category Manager — structure spend analysis and competitive sourcing activity
  • Project Manager — procure project goods and services with clearer commercial requirements

Skills and tools covered

Strategic sourcingCommercial negotiationBid evaluationSupplier relationship managementContract administrationProcurement governance

Tools and standards

Kraljic Matrix, Total Cost of Ownership, BATNA, Incoterms 2020

How the course runs

Training methodology

Short instructor briefings introduce each procurement method before participants apply it to realistic buying situations. Cases cover goods, services and project purchases, with attention to specifications, supplier markets, bid evaluation and contract performance. Group exercises test sourcing choices and evaluation evidence; negotiation simulations develop preparation, questioning, concession and closing skills. Participants review sample procurement documents, identify weaknesses and improve them. Application planning links each method to an active category, supplier issue or upcoming sourcing event.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic experience of purchasing goods or services, raising purchase requisitions or orders, obtaining quotations, working with suppliers, or supporting tender activity. They should understand common commercial terms such as price, delivery date, invoice and contract, and be comfortable working with spreadsheets and written business documents. Prior formal procurement training is not required. The course does not assume legal qualifications, advanced finance knowledge, public procurement certification or prior negotiation training. Participants gain most value by bringing a current or recent purchasing requirement to consider during application planning.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have some exposure to purchasing, supplier contact, quotation requests or contract support. No formal procurement qualification or legal training is required.

Bring a current or recent purchasing requirement, supplier issue or category challenge if confidentiality permits. Participants may use it as the basis for application planning and the capstone sourcing package.

The course is designed for buyers, purchasing officers, procurement specialists, contract staff and category personnel with existing purchasing responsibilities. Project, operations and technical staff involved in supplier selection also benefit.

This programme assumes familiarity with everyday purchasing activity and focuses on stronger commercial judgement. It covers category analysis, sourcing strategy, bid evaluation, negotiation, contract terms and supplier performance management.

Participants receive reusable templates for sourcing, evaluation, negotiation and supplier review activity. The application planning process links these tools to an active procurement requirement or supplier-management issue.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part develops requirement, market and sourcing disciplines; the later modules focus on evaluation, negotiation, contracts, supplier management and the capstone presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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