Healthcare Supply Chain Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 19 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Healthcare Supply Chain Managers, Procurement Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-SCM-040

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to purchasing, stores, pharmacy supply, logistics, clinical operations or supplier management in a healthcare-related setting.

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

Healthcare providers depend on medicines, devices, consumables, laboratory supplies, food, linen and clinical services arriving in the right condition, at the right point of care and within budget. Failures create stock-outs, cancelled procedures, expired inventory, cold-chain breaches, invoice disputes and avoidable clinical risk. Supply chain teams must balance patient safety, service continuity, regulatory control, working capital and supplier performance while responding to demand variation and disruption.

This course develops the practical management skills needed to plan, source, store, distribute and control healthcare supplies. Participants work with demand and consumption data, inventory policies, procurement categories, supplier specifications, contract controls, logistics flows and performance measures. The course addresses pharmaceuticals, medical devices, personal protective equipment, laboratory materials and high-use clinical consumables. It also covers traceability, quality requirements, cold-chain management, recalls, emergency procurement and ethical sourcing.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with healthcare cases, group analysis, calculations, supplier-management scenarios and application planning. Participants progressively build a supply chain improvement case using their own organisation or a realistic hospital, clinic, public-health programme or healthcare distributor scenario. They leave with a structured supply chain improvement plan, supported by demand analysis, inventory parameters, sourcing actions, supplier measures and implementation priorities.

The course is designed for professionals who already work with healthcare purchasing, inventory, logistics, pharmacy supply, clinical supplies or operational services and need stronger end-to-end supply chain management capability. It is suitable for public hospitals, private providers, ministries of health, NGOs, laboratories, insurers, medical distributors and manufacturers supporting care delivery.

What you will be able to do

  • Map end-to-end healthcare supply flows using SCOR process categories and service requirements
  • Analyse consumption, demand variability and forecast error using healthcare inventory data
  • Set reorder points, safety stock and order quantities for clinical supply categories
  • Develop category strategies using spend analysis, Kraljic segmentation and supplier-market assessment
  • Write measurable healthcare specifications, service levels and supplier performance scorecards
  • Apply traceability, cold-chain, recall and quality-control requirements to healthcare distribution
  • Assess supply risks using FMEA, risk registers and continuity planning methods
  • Present a costed healthcare supply chain improvement plan with implementation controls

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible inventory decisions using demand, lead-time and service-level data
  • Manage medicine and device suppliers through measurable contractual performance controls
  • Recognise cold-chain, traceability and recall failures before they affect patient care
  • Build credible business cases for stock reduction and service-improvement initiatives
  • Contribute confidently to cross-functional discussions with clinicians, finance and suppliers

For your organisation

  • Fewer stock-outs of critical medicines, devices and clinical consumables
  • Lower expiry, obsolescence and emergency-purchase costs
  • Clearer supplier accountability for quality, delivery and corrective actions
  • Improved traceability and response readiness for recalls and product incidents
  • Prioritised supply chain improvements linked to patient service and financial control

Course modules

19 modules over 10 days

Participants can define a healthcare supply chain operating model aligned with patient service requirements.

  • Patient safety, availability and stewardship as supply chain performance objectives
  • End-to-end flows from manufacturer through point of care consumption
  • SCOR Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return process categories
  • Clinical, pharmacy, finance and procurement accountabilities across supply decisions
  • Centralised, decentralised and hybrid healthcare supply operating models compared
  • Service segmentation for emergency, routine, elective and programme supplies

Participants can classify healthcare supply categories by clinical, regulatory and logistical requirements.

  • Medicines, devices, consumables and laboratory materials classified by handling needs
  • Controlled drugs and high-value products requiring enhanced custody controls
  • Cold-chain products with temperature ranges, excursion procedures and monitoring
  • Sterile supplies, implantables and shelf-life sensitive clinical inventory
  • Criticality matrix combining patient impact, substitutability and supply vulnerability
  • Product master data fields supporting ordering, storage and traceability

Participants can create practical demand forecasts from healthcare consumption and activity data.

  • Consumption-based forecasting using issue history and stock adjustment records
  • Service-activity drivers linking procedures, admissions and tests to demand
  • Moving averages and seasonal indices for recurring healthcare demand patterns
  • Forecast error measured through mean absolute percentage error calculations
  • Outlier treatment for outbreaks, campaigns, stock-outs and emergency purchases
  • Forecast review cadence involving clinicians, pharmacy and programme managers

Participants can set inventory parameters that protect availability while controlling excess stock.

  • ABC analysis separating high-value items from lower-value routine supplies
  • VEN analysis identifying vital, essential and non-essential healthcare items
  • ABC-VEN matrix used to establish differentiated control priorities
  • Safety stock calculated from demand variability and replenishment lead time
  • Reorder points combining average demand, lead time and safety stock
  • Economic order quantity assumptions tested against storage and expiry constraints

Participants can design controlled storage and handling processes for healthcare inventory.

  • FEFO issue rules for expiry-dated medicines and clinical consumables
  • Warehouse zoning by temperature, security, hazard and picking frequency
  • Cycle counting plans based on ABC-VEN classification and discrepancy risk
  • Quarantine procedures for damaged, expired, recalled and suspect products
  • Receiving inspections matching quantities, condition, documentation and specifications
  • Storage capacity calculations using pallet positions, bin locations and throughput

Participants can prepare procurement plans linked to demand, budgets and supply risks.

  • Annual procurement plans derived from forecasts, stock and budget positions
  • Procurement lead-time mapping from requisition through supplier delivery acceptance
  • Framework agreements for frequently purchased standard clinical supply categories
  • Lotting strategies balancing competition, supplier capability and supply continuity
  • Make-or-buy analysis for sterilisation, logistics and clinical support services
  • Emergency procurement triggers with approval, documentation and post-event review

Participants can build category strategies for priority healthcare spend areas.

  • Spend analysis cleansing supplier, item, contract and purchase-order data
  • Kraljic matrix positioning routine, leverage, bottleneck and strategic categories
  • Supplier-market analysis covering capacity, concentration, regulation and switching barriers
  • Total cost of ownership for devices, reagents and service contracts
  • Category strategy choices including standardisation, aggregation and supplier development
  • Clinical standardisation committees reducing unnecessary product variation and spend

Participants can develop fit-for-purpose specifications with clinical and technical stakeholders.

  • Outcome-based specifications defining required clinical performance and acceptance criteria
  • Technical specifications avoiding unnecessary brand references and restrictive features
  • User requirement documents developed with clinicians, engineers and laboratory staff
  • Standardisation decisions supported by evidence, compatibility and lifecycle costs
  • Sample evaluation protocols for consumables, devices and laboratory materials
  • Acceptance criteria covering documentation, functionality, sterility and packaging integrity

Participants can conduct structured supplier evaluations that balance price, quality and continuity.

  • Prequalification checks for licensing, quality systems, capacity and financial standing
  • Weighted evaluation models scoring technical, commercial and service submissions
  • Bid clarification controls preserving fairness, auditability and procurement integrity
  • Life-cycle costing comparisons for equipment, maintenance, training and consumables
  • Due diligence on authorised distribution, counterfeit risk and product registration
  • Award recommendations documenting evaluation evidence, approvals and negotiation outcomes

Participants can manage supplier performance through service measures, reviews and corrective actions.

  • Service-level agreements defining fill rate, delivery time and order accuracy
  • Supplier scorecards combining quality, cost, delivery, responsiveness and compliance
  • Quarterly business reviews structured around trends, root causes and actions
  • Corrective and preventive action plans following recurring supplier failures
  • Contract change controls for price, specification, volume and delivery amendments
  • Supplier development plans for strategic categories and continuity requirements

Participants can plan healthcare distribution flows that maintain product condition and availability.

  • Distribution network design balancing central stores, regional hubs and facilities
  • Route planning using delivery frequency, vehicle capacity and service windows
  • Proof-of-delivery controls confirming quantity, condition and authorised receipt
  • Chain-of-custody records for controlled medicines and high-value devices
  • Last-mile delivery planning for remote clinics and outreach programmes
  • Transport qualification covering temperature, cleanliness, security and contingency measures

Participants can control temperature-sensitive products from receipt through final delivery.

  • Temperature mapping identifying storage hot spots and cold spots
  • Data logger selection based on range, accuracy and recording intervals
  • Excursion management using product stability data and quarantine decisions
  • Passive packaging qualification for transit duration and ambient temperature profiles
  • Alarm response procedures assigning escalation, investigation and disposition duties
  • Cold-chain performance indicators tracking excursions, losses and response times

Participants can establish traceability and recall controls for healthcare products.

  • GS1 barcodes supporting product identification, batch tracking and expiry capture
  • Unique device identification records linking implants to patients and procedures
  • Batch and serial number traceability from receipt through patient issue
  • Recall workflows covering notification, quarantine, reconciliation and disposal evidence
  • Counterfeit detection controls for medicines, devices and authorised supply channels
  • Incident investigation using five whys and corrective action documentation

Participants can assess healthcare supply risks and prepare proportionate continuity actions.

  • FMEA scoring failure modes by severity, occurrence and detectability
  • Risk registers documenting owners, controls, triggers and residual exposure
  • Single-source dependency analysis for critical medicines, devices and reagents
  • Business continuity plans for supplier failure, disruption and demand surges
  • Substitution protocols approved before shortages affect clinical treatment decisions
  • Crisis command structures coordinating procurement, pharmacy, logistics and communications

Participants can adapt supply chain controls for emergencies, outbreaks and humanitarian operations.

  • Emergency supply kits configured from caseload assumptions and treatment protocols
  • Pipeline monitoring showing stock, shipments, commitments and projected shortages
  • Rapid procurement controls balancing urgency, competition and documentation requirements
  • Donor-funded commodity management with reporting, segregation and audit trails
  • Outbreak demand scenarios using attack rates, treatment rates and buffers
  • Prepositioning decisions based on hazard exposure, access constraints and shelf life

Participants can identify supply chain cost drivers and quantify improvement opportunities.

  • Working capital measured through inventory value, turnover and days on hand
  • Purchase price variance separated from usage, waste and mix effects
  • Expiry and obsolescence analysis by category, location and root cause
  • Cost-to-serve analysis for delivery routes, facility types and order patterns
  • Value analysis methods reviewing clinical equivalence and non-price cost drivers
  • Savings tracking distinguishing validated reductions from avoided future expenditure

Participants can define useful data controls and performance reporting for healthcare supply operations.

  • ERP master data governance for items, suppliers, units and locations
  • Electronic procurement workflows controlling approvals, commitments and purchase orders
  • Dashboard design using availability, expiry, fill rate and inventory measures
  • Data quality checks for duplicate items, unit errors and missing attributes
  • Exception reports identifying stock-outs, overdue orders and temperature breaches
  • Balanced scorecards linking patient service, cost, quality and risk indicators

Participants can convert supply performance findings into a prioritised improvement roadmap.

  • Current-state process maps exposing delays, hand-offs and control failures
  • Root cause analysis separating symptoms from process, data and capability causes
  • Pareto analysis prioritising stock-outs, waste and supplier performance failures
  • Improvement charters defining scope, benefits, owners and success measures
  • RACI matrices assigning accountability across clinical, procurement and logistics teams
  • Implementation roadmaps sequencing quick wins, system changes and governance actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete healthcare supply chain improvement plan supported by data, controls and implementation priorities.

  • Problem statement connecting supply failure to patient, service and financial impact
  • Demand, inventory and supplier data analysed for priority improvement opportunities
  • Target operating model defining processes, roles, controls and performance measures
  • Sourcing, inventory and distribution actions integrated into one improvement plan
  • Risk register and continuity controls addressing critical implementation dependencies
  • Costed roadmap presented with milestones, owners, benefits and review cadence

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

What you take back to work

  1. Healthcare supply chain diagnostic template
  2. Demand forecasting and inventory parameter workbook
  3. Kraljic category strategy template
  4. Supplier scorecard and corrective action tracker
  5. Cold-chain excursion response checklist
  6. Healthcare supply chain improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Healthcare Supply Chain Managers — responsible for service continuity, inventory and supplier performance
  • Procurement Managers — need stronger category, sourcing and contract controls for clinical spend
  • Pharmacy and Medical Stores Managers — manage medicines, consumables, expiry dates and controlled storage
  • Hospital Operations Managers — depend on reliable supply flows to protect patient services
  • Logistics and Distribution Managers — coordinate warehousing, transport, traceability and delivery performance
  • Public Health Programme Managers — procure and distribute essential commodities under donor or public controls

Skills and tools covered

Healthcare demand planningClinical inventory controlStrategic sourcingSupplier performance managementCold-chain assuranceSupply risk management

Tools and standards

SCOR Digital Standard, GS1 Standards, Kraljic Matrix, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by healthcare supply cases, spreadsheet-based analysis, facilitated group work and operational simulations. Participants examine demand patterns, stock records, supplier data, temperature excursions, delivery failures and recall scenarios. Teams apply methods to hospital, laboratory, public-health and medical-distribution cases before transferring the tools to their own setting. Daily application planning connects course methods to current supply issues. The final capstone brings the work together into a reviewed improvement proposal.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to purchasing, stores, pharmacy supply, logistics, clinical operations or supplier management in a healthcare-related setting. They should be comfortable reading basic spreadsheets containing quantities, prices, stock balances and delivery dates. Familiarity with local procurement rules, medicine regulation or hospital procedures is helpful but not essential. The course does not require a degree in logistics, advanced mathematics, prior use of enterprise resource planning systems or formal procurement certification. Participants may bring non-confidential examples of supply, stock or service issues from their workplace.

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 healthcare procurement, pharmacy supply, inventory, logistics or operations. They do not need formal supply chain qualifications or advanced spreadsheet skills, but should be comfortable working with basic operational data.

Bring a laptop if possible, along with non-confidential examples of stock reports, supplier issues, procurement plans or service problems. Course cases and templates are provided, so workplace documents are helpful but not required.

It suits professionals managing or supporting the supply of medicines, devices, consumables, laboratory products and clinical services. It is particularly relevant to hospital, public-health, NGO, laboratory, distributor and healthcare manufacturing teams.

The course focuses on healthcare-specific controls such as product criticality, expiry management, cold chain, traceability, recalls, clinical specifications and regulated product supply. It connects procurement decisions directly to patient service and product safety.

Participants build an improvement case throughout the course using a workplace issue or realistic healthcare scenario. The resulting plan can be used to review stock policy, supplier performance, service failures, distribution controls or continuity arrangements.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part establishes demand, inventory, sourcing and operational controls; the later sessions focus on risk, quality, performance reporting and the final improvement case.

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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