International Procurement Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Procurement Managers, Senior Buyers 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-106

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience of purchasing, tendering, supplier management or contract administration, ideally including responsibility for a spend category or sourcing event.

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

International procurement teams must secure supply, manage cross-border risk and obtain defensible value while working across different legal systems, currencies, transport terms and supplier markets. Poorly specified requirements, weak supplier due diligence, unsuitable Incoterms rules or incomplete contract controls can cause customs delays, cost escalation, quality failures and disputes. Procurement professionals need a repeatable method for moving from demand definition to supplier selection, contracting, delivery control and supplier performance management.

This course develops the practical methods expected of an international procurement professional. Participants analyse spend and supply markets, develop category strategies, prepare sourcing documents, evaluate bids, negotiate commercial terms and administer international contracts. The syllabus addresses total cost of ownership, Kraljic portfolio analysis, Incoterms 2020, customs documentation, payment instruments, supplier risk assessment, ethical sourcing and performance scorecards. Participants also examine public-sector tender controls and private-sector sourcing approaches where relevant.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with international sourcing cases, document reviews, negotiation simulations, group analysis and individual application planning. Participants progressively build an international sourcing package based on a realistic category, such as medical equipment, engineering spares, IT services or humanitarian relief supplies. They leave with a completed category strategy, sourcing and evaluation plan, commercial risk register, contract administration checklist and supplier performance framework that can be adapted for their employer.

The course suits procurement, supply chain, contract and project professionals who already buy goods or services and need stronger capability in cross-border sourcing. It is relevant to organisations managing global suppliers, imports, donor-funded procurement, multinational operations or regional supply networks.

What you will be able to do

  • Analyse international supply markets using PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces and supplier intelligence
  • Develop category strategies using spend analysis, Kraljic segmentation and total cost modelling
  • Prepare compliant RFIs, RFPs, ITTs, specifications and bid evaluation criteria
  • Evaluate international supplier proposals using weighted scoring, should-cost analysis and due diligence
  • Negotiate Incoterms 2020, pricing, payment, delivery, warranty and dispute-resolution terms
  • Assess cross-border procurement risks through supplier, country, logistics and currency risk registers
  • Administer international contracts using milestones, change controls, claims records and performance scorecards
  • Present a complete international sourcing strategy and award recommendation

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce defensible international sourcing recommendations for management approval
  • Handle Incoterms, payment and delivery discussions with greater commercial confidence
  • Identify supplier and country risks before issuing a tender
  • Improve bid evaluation discipline and award documentation
  • Build reusable category and supplier-management documents for future procurements

For your organisation

  • Lower landed costs through disciplined total cost and Incoterms analysis
  • Reduced disruption from earlier supplier, logistics and country risk assessment
  • More transparent supplier selection supported by documented evaluation criteria
  • Stronger contract controls over delivery, quality, changes and claims
  • Improved supplier performance through measurable service and corrective-action processes

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can map the end-to-end international procurement process and assign decision responsibilities.

  • International procurement lifecycle from demand definition through contract close-out
  • Procurement operating models: centralised, decentralised and centre-led structures
  • Stakeholder roles using RACI for sourcing and contract decisions
  • Three-way match controls across purchase orders, receipts and invoices
  • Segregation of duties within requisitioning, evaluation, approval and payment
  • Procurement policies, delegated authority limits and audit trails

Participants can define procurement demand using spend data, specifications and stakeholder requirements.

  • Spend cube analysis by category, supplier, business unit and geography
  • Clean supplier master data using duplicate and parent-company checks
  • Demand forecasting from consumption, project schedules and inventory records
  • Specification types: functional, performance, technical and outcome-based requirements
  • Value analysis separating essential requirements from preference features
  • Stakeholder interviews that convert operational needs into sourcing requirements

Participants can produce a structured supply market assessment for an international category.

  • PESTLE analysis of political, economic, social, technological, legal factors
  • Porter's Five Forces applied to concentrated international supply markets
  • Supplier landscape mapping by capability, region, ownership and capacity
  • Commodity price drivers, indices and published market intelligence sources
  • Country screening using infrastructure, governance and trade-barrier indicators
  • Market-entry barriers affecting supplier availability, qualification and competition

Participants can create a category strategy that balances value, supply risk and implementation feasibility.

  • Kraljic matrix positioning using profit impact and supply risk
  • Category strategy options: aggregate, standardise, dual-source, localise or partner
  • Make-buy analysis using capability, capacity, cost and strategic control
  • Supplier segmentation aligned with category criticality and relationship needs
  • Category business cases with savings, risk, timing and resource assumptions
  • Implementation roadmaps assigning actions, owners, milestones and governance

Participants can compare international offers using total cost of ownership and price-analysis methods.

  • Total cost of ownership including acquisition, transport, holding and disposal
  • Landed cost calculation incorporating freight, duties, insurance and clearance
  • Should-cost models built from materials, labour, overheads and margin
  • Price benchmarking using indices, historical awards and competitive quotations
  • Currency exposure analysis for foreign-currency purchase commitments
  • Payment-term valuation using discount rates and working-capital effects

Participants can design supplier prequalification criteria and document due diligence findings.

  • Prequalification questionnaires covering capability, capacity, quality and financial strength
  • Beneficial ownership checks and sanctions-screening escalation procedures
  • Financial health review using liquidity, solvency and profitability ratios
  • Quality-system assessment against ISO 9001 certification and audit evidence
  • Site-visit protocols for production capacity, controls and traceability
  • Ethical sourcing checks covering labour, safety and business conduct

Participants can select an appropriate sourcing route and competition approach for a category.

  • Open, selective and single-source procurement route selection
  • Request for information used to test market capability
  • Competitive dialogue for complex requirements and solution development
  • Framework agreements, call-off procedures and volume-commitment structures
  • Direct negotiation justification supported by market and risk evidence
  • Sourcing timetable built around approvals, tender periods and mobilisation

Participants can prepare clear tender documents that obtain comparable international supplier bids.

  • Statement of work defining scope, deliverables, acceptance and exclusions
  • RFP instructions covering submission format, currency and bid validity
  • Technical specifications written without unjustified brand or origin restrictions
  • Commercial schedules for pricing, delivery, warranty and payment terms
  • Tender conditions addressing confidentiality, conflicts and bidder communications
  • Evaluation criteria and scoring guidance published before bid receipt

Participants can conduct a transparent bid evaluation and prepare an award recommendation.

  • Mandatory compliance screening before technical and commercial evaluation
  • Weighted scoring models with evidence-based evaluator comments
  • Consensus meetings that reconcile scores without changing published criteria
  • Commercial normalisation of currencies, delivery terms and pricing assumptions
  • Clarification questions separated from material bid negotiations
  • Award recommendation reports recording rationale, approvals and standstill actions

Participants can plan and conduct supplier negotiations using structured commercial objectives.

  • Negotiation preparation using BATNA, reservation point and target price
  • Issue matrices covering price, delivery, service, risk and governance
  • Interest-based questioning to identify supplier constraints and trade-offs
  • Concession planning with conditional exchanges and approval boundaries
  • Cross-cultural communication patterns affecting authority, pace and relationship-building
  • Negotiation records capturing agreements, open points and follow-up actions

Participants can select Incoterms rules and allocate international logistics responsibilities appropriately.

  • Incoterms 2020 rules grouped by any-mode and sea-waterway use
  • Risk transfer points distinguished from cost allocation responsibilities
  • EXW, FCA, CPT and CIP selection for containerised shipments
  • DAP, DPU and DDP implications for import clearance responsibilities
  • FOB, CFR and CIF limitations for modern container freight
  • Freight forwarder, carrier and customs broker role allocation

Participants can identify core customs documents and trade-compliance checks for international purchases.

  • Commercial invoices, packing lists and bills of lading
  • Harmonized System classification and customs-duty determination
  • Certificates of origin and preferential trade agreement claims
  • Import licences, export controls and restricted-party screening
  • Customs valuation methods and declared-value supporting evidence
  • Document retention schedules supporting audit, claims and customs enquiries

Participants can select payment structures that balance supplier assurance, cash flow and risk.

  • Advance payment, open account and documentary collection risk profiles
  • Letters of credit: parties, documents, discrepancies and bank roles
  • Performance bonds, advance-payment guarantees and retention mechanisms
  • Foreign-exchange risk treatment through pricing, hedging and contingency
  • Tax, withholding and permanent-establishment questions requiring specialist review
  • Invoice controls matching contractual milestones, acceptance and payment evidence

Participants can structure an international procurement contract around clear commercial controls.

  • Contract hierarchy resolving conflicts among schedules, bids and purchase orders
  • Scope, deliverables and acceptance criteria linked to payment milestones
  • Warranty, defect notification and remedy clauses for supplied goods
  • Limitation of liability, indemnities and insurance allocation principles
  • Governing law, jurisdiction, arbitration and dispute-escalation clauses
  • Force majeure and hardship provisions for disruptive international events

Participants can administer supplier contracts through documented delivery, change and claims processes.

  • Contract mobilisation plans confirming roles, records and communication routines
  • Milestone tracking against delivery dates, acceptance and payment conditions
  • Change-control requests assessing scope, price, schedule and risk
  • Claims notices preserving contractual rights and contemporaneous evidence
  • Non-conformance reports documenting defects, corrective actions and closure
  • Contract close-out confirming final deliverables, obligations and records

Participants can establish supplier performance controls and improvement arrangements.

  • Supplier scorecards measuring quality, delivery, cost, service and compliance
  • Key performance indicators defined with formulas, sources and thresholds
  • Quarterly business reviews structured around results, risks and actions
  • Corrective-action plans using root-cause analysis and accountable owners
  • Supplier development plans for capability, process and quality improvements
  • Relationship governance matched to supplier segmentation and criticality

Participants can assess, prioritise and treat cross-border procurement risks.

  • Risk registers capturing cause, event, impact, owner and treatment
  • Probability-impact matrices calibrated for procurement decision-making
  • Supply continuity plans for sole-source, capacity and logistics failures
  • Geopolitical risk indicators affecting sanctions, borders and supplier access
  • Business continuity requirements tested through supplier recovery scenarios
  • Escalation thresholds linking procurement risks to management decisions

Participants can incorporate ethical, environmental and social requirements into sourcing decisions.

  • ISO 20400 principles applied to procurement policy and category decisions
  • Supplier code of conduct covering labour, ethics and environment
  • Environmental criteria addressing emissions, materials, waste and circularity
  • Human-rights due diligence through risk screening and supplier evidence
  • Life-cycle costing used alongside price and technical evaluation
  • Remediation plans for supplier non-compliance and corrective action

Participants can specify procurement data, system controls and reporting for international sourcing.

  • Supplier master-data governance for legal entities, banking and tax records
  • E-sourcing audit trails for invitations, bids, scoring and approvals
  • Spend dashboards tracking savings, compliance, cycle time and concentration
  • Exception reporting for maverick spend, split orders and overdue actions
  • Data-quality checks before supplier, category and cost analysis
  • Access controls protecting tender confidentiality and commercial information

Participants can build, review and present a complete international sourcing strategy and award recommendation.

  • Category profile combining demand, spend, specifications and stakeholder requirements
  • Supply market assessment using PESTLE, Five Forces and supplier mapping
  • Sourcing strategy selecting route, timetable, competition and governance
  • Tender package with evaluation model, commercial schedule and risk controls
  • Award recommendation supported by total cost, due diligence and negotiation outcomes
  • Implementation plan covering contract mobilisation, performance and risk monitoring

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

What you take back to work

  1. International category strategy template
  2. Supplier prequalification questionnaire
  3. Weighted bid evaluation workbook
  4. Total cost of ownership model
  5. International procurement risk register
  6. Contract administration and supplier scorecard pack

Who should attend

  • Procurement Managers — responsible for international sourcing decisions and supplier portfolios
  • Senior Buyers — purchasing imported goods or services under commercial deadlines
  • Category Managers — developing sourcing strategies for regional or global spend categories
  • Contract Managers — administering international supplier obligations, changes and claims
  • Supply Chain Managers — coordinating procurement, transport, customs and inventory decisions
  • Project Procurement Staff — sourcing equipment and services for capital or donor-funded projects

Skills and tools covered

International sourcing strategySupplier due diligenceTotal cost analysisTender evaluationCross-border contractingSupplier performance management

Tools and standards

Incoterms 2020, Kraljic Matrix, ISO 20400, Porter's Five Forces

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor introduces each method through concise briefings, worked examples and procurement documents drawn from international buying situations. Participants analyse supplier markets, compare commercial offers, draft sourcing artefacts and test decisions through facilitated case work. Group exercises cover bid evaluation, negotiation, risk treatment and contract-management decisions; simulations expose trade-offs between price, delivery, quality and risk. Individual application planning connects the methods to participants' own categories, suppliers and current sourcing priorities. Feedback focuses on evidence, commercial logic and document quality.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience of purchasing, tendering, supplier management or contract administration, ideally including responsibility for a spend category or sourcing event. They should be familiar with basic purchase orders, quotations, specifications and supplier communication. Confidence reading commercial documents and working with spreadsheet data is useful. The course does not require a procurement qualification, legal training, customs brokerage experience or advanced finance knowledge. It explains the commercial purpose of legal and trade terms without providing jurisdiction-specific legal advice.

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

You should understand basic purchasing activity, such as obtaining quotations, raising purchase orders or working with suppliers. Prior international procurement experience is helpful but not required; the course builds the cross-border elements from established procurement practice.

Bring a laptop if possible and a non-confidential example of a category, supplier issue or upcoming sourcing requirement. Participants can use it to shape their application plan and reusable documents.

It is designed for buyers, procurement managers, category managers, contract managers and supply chain professionals with active purchasing responsibilities. It also suits project procurement staff managing imported equipment, services or donor-funded procurements.

General procurement courses concentrate on domestic buying processes and foundational purchasing methods. This course focuses on international supplier markets, trade terms, customs, payment instruments, foreign currency, cross-border contracts and supply risk.

Participants leave with structured templates for category strategy, supplier screening, bid evaluation, risk management and contract administration. These can be adapted to a live sourcing event, supplier review or imported-goods category.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part builds the sourcing, market and tendering foundation; the second part addresses trade, contracting, risk, performance management and the final 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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