Mini MBA in Procurement Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Procurement Managers, Category 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-P-065

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to purchasing, sourcing, contracts, supplier management, operations or budget responsibility.

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 leaders are expected to secure supply, improve cost performance, manage supplier risk and support wider business goals while operating within policy, contractual and ethical boundaries. This requires more than running tenders or issuing purchase orders. Procurement professionals need to interpret financial data, understand markets, build category strategies, negotiate commercial terms, manage suppliers and communicate decisions in the language of senior management.

This Mini MBA in Procurement Training Course develops the commercial, operational and management knowledge needed to lead procurement work with greater authority. Participants examine procurement’s role in business strategy, finance, operations, supply chain, risk, sustainability and governance. They apply established methods including spend analysis, the Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, total cost of ownership, should-cost analysis, supplier segmentation, competitive tendering, negotiation planning and balanced supplier scorecards. The programme also addresses contract management, responsible sourcing, digital procurement data and implementation planning.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, procurement simulations and structured application planning. Participants work progressively on a procurement category or sourcing challenge relevant to their employer, using tools introduced during the first week and refining their work during the second. They leave with a completed category strategy and sourcing business case containing spend findings, market assessment, supplier approach, financial rationale, risk controls, implementation actions and performance measures. The course suits procurement professionals moving into category, sourcing, supplier management or procurement leadership responsibilities, as well as managers who work closely with procurement teams.

What you will be able to do

  • Analyse spend data using Pareto analysis, supplier consolidation and demand patterns
  • Develop category strategies using the Kraljic Portfolio Matrix and market intelligence
  • Build total cost of ownership and should-cost models for sourcing decisions
  • Conduct supplier selection through structured prequalification, tender evaluation and due diligence
  • Prepare negotiation plans using BATNA, concession planning and commercial objectives
  • Draft contract management plans with service levels, governance and change controls
  • Design supplier performance scorecards covering cost, quality, delivery, risk and sustainability
  • Present a procurement category strategy and sourcing business case to senior stakeholders

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build the commercial confidence to challenge supplier pricing and internal demand
  • Produce category strategies that connect procurement actions to business priorities
  • Strengthen readiness for procurement manager, category manager or sourcing lead roles
  • Use financial models to explain savings, cash flow and total cost decisions
  • Present procurement recommendations credibly to finance, operations and executive stakeholders

For your organisation

  • Improved sourcing decisions based on total cost, supply risk and market evidence
  • Clearer category plans linked to demand management and business priorities
  • More consistent supplier selection, evaluation and contract governance practices
  • Earlier identification of supply, commercial, ethical and continuity risks
  • Stronger savings cases supported by documented assumptions and implementation actions

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain how procurement creates commercial, operational and strategic value.

  • Procurement operating models and accountabilities from transactional buying to category leadership
  • Value creation through cost, cash, quality, innovation and supply assurance
  • Stakeholder mapping across finance, operations, legal, engineering and business units
  • Procurement maturity assessment using process, capability, data and governance dimensions
  • The procurement value chain from demand definition through supplier exit
  • Make-or-buy decisions using strategic control, capability and total cost criteria

Participants can interpret financial measures and construct commercially sound procurement cases.

  • Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow implications of procurement decisions
  • Working capital effects of payment terms, inventory and supplier financing
  • Total cost of ownership model covering acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal
  • Should-cost analysis using materials, labour, overheads, margin and volume assumptions
  • Savings classification for budget reduction, cost avoidance and value improvement
  • Net present value applied to multi-year sourcing and investment decisions

Participants can convert spend data into prioritised sourcing and demand actions.

  • Spend cube construction by supplier, category, business unit and geography
  • Pareto analysis identifying high-value suppliers, categories and expenditure concentrations
  • Data cleansing rules for duplicate suppliers, coding errors and fragmented descriptions
  • Tail-spend analysis using transaction frequency, value thresholds and buying channels
  • Demand challenge techniques for specification, consumption, volume and compliance
  • Baseline development using historic spend, inflation, foreign exchange and demand forecasts

Participants can assess supply market conditions and their implications for sourcing choices.

  • Porter's Five Forces applied to supplier power and market attractiveness
  • PESTLE analysis of regulatory, economic, technology and geopolitical supply factors
  • Supply market mapping by capacity, concentration, barriers and switching costs
  • Cost-driver analysis covering commodities, energy, labour, freight and currency
  • Supplier financial health indicators from liquidity, debt, profitability and cash flow
  • Market intelligence sources including trade data, indices, annual reports and benchmarks

Participants can define requirements that support competition, value and operational performance.

  • Voice-of-customer interviews translating stakeholder needs into measurable requirements
  • Functional specifications separating required outcomes from preferred technical solutions
  • SMART acceptance criteria for quality, safety, service and delivery requirements
  • Value engineering reviews challenging cost without reducing required functionality
  • Standardisation opportunities across sites, users, product lines and service processes
  • Demand forecasting methods using historical usage, drivers and planned changes

Participants can create category strategies aligned with risk, market conditions and business needs.

  • Kraljic Portfolio Matrix positioning categories by profit impact and supply risk
  • Category strategy choices for leverage, strategic, bottleneck and non-critical purchases
  • Strategic sourcing options including aggregation, dual sourcing, insourcing and redesign
  • Category opportunity assessment covering cost, demand, process, risk and sustainability
  • Stakeholder engagement plan with decision rights, consultation points and escalation routes
  • Category roadmap sequencing analysis, sourcing events, contracting and benefits delivery

Participants can identify capable suppliers and screen them using proportionate criteria.

  • Supplier market scanning through industry directories, trade bodies and referral networks
  • Request for information design capturing capability, capacity, geography and credentials
  • Prequalification questionnaires covering financial stability, safety, quality and compliance
  • Supplier due diligence checks for ownership, sanctions, adverse media and conflicts
  • Site assessment criteria for production controls, traceability and workforce practices
  • Supplier diversity assessment using ownership evidence and capability requirements

Participants can run a defensible sourcing process from solicitation through award recommendation.

  • Request for proposal structure covering scope, pricing, terms and response instructions
  • Evaluation criteria weighted for quality, commercial value, risk and implementation
  • Bid evaluation matrix using scoring guidance, evidence notes and moderation rules
  • Clarification management distinguishing factual clarification from material bid changes
  • Competitive dialogue principles for complex requirements and solution development
  • Award recommendation papers documenting process integrity, value and approval rationale

Participants can prepare and conduct negotiations that protect value and supplier relationships.

  • BATNA analysis establishing alternatives, walk-away points and negotiation authority
  • Negotiation planning using objectives, issues, interests, trades and concession limits
  • Supplier cost breakdowns used to test price movements and margin claims
  • Anchoring, framing and silence used ethically during commercial discussions
  • Concession strategy linking each movement to a reciprocal supplier commitment
  • Negotiation close documenting agreed terms, open points, owners and deadlines

Participants can select and manage contract terms appropriate to sourcing risk and value.

  • Contract structures for goods, services, frameworks, call-offs and managed services
  • Incoterms 2020 allocation of delivery, risk, insurance and customs responsibilities
  • Payment terms covering milestones, retention, invoicing, tax and dispute handling
  • Service level agreements with measures, targets, remedies and reporting rules
  • Liability, indemnity and insurance clauses assessed against commercial risk exposure
  • Change control procedure defining scope, pricing, approval and audit trail

Participants can establish supplier relationships with clear governance and performance expectations.

  • Supplier segmentation by strategic importance, dependency, performance and development potential
  • Relationship charters defining shared objectives, behaviours, governance and information exchange
  • Supplier review meetings structured around scorecards, actions, risks and decisions
  • Joint business plans covering improvement priorities, innovation and investment commitments
  • Escalation paths for recurring service failures, disputes and executive intervention
  • Supplier development plans addressing capability gaps, quality failures and process controls

Participants can identify supplier risks and plan proportionate continuity controls.

  • Supplier risk register covering financial, operational, geopolitical, cyber and ethical exposures
  • Risk heat maps scoring likelihood, impact, velocity and control effectiveness
  • Business continuity requirements for critical supply, recovery time and contingency stock
  • Single-source risk assessment using substitutability, tooling, capacity and intellectual property
  • Scenario planning for supplier failure, port disruption, shortages and price shocks
  • Early-warning indicators from delivery data, credit alerts, news and market signals

Participants can include environmental, social and ethical requirements in procurement decisions.

  • ISO 20400 principles applied to procurement policy, planning and supplier engagement
  • Supplier code of conduct covering labour, safety, corruption and human rights
  • Carbon assessment using activity data, emission factors and supplier disclosures
  • Life-cycle costing incorporating energy use, maintenance, waste and end-of-life treatment
  • Modern slavery due diligence using risk screening, supplier evidence and remediation
  • Circular procurement options including reuse, repair, remanufacture and take-back clauses

Participants can define data, system and control requirements for effective digital procurement.

  • Source-to-pay process mapping from requisition through invoice matching and payment
  • Three-way matching controls for purchase orders, goods receipts and invoices
  • E-procurement workflow design using approval thresholds, catalogues and delegated authority
  • Master data governance for suppliers, categories, units and payment details
  • Procurement dashboards using spend, compliance, savings, delivery and risk indicators
  • Data quality controls for completeness, accuracy, timeliness and authorised access

Participants can design governance arrangements that support controlled and timely purchasing decisions.

  • Centralised, decentralised and hybrid procurement models matched to business requirements
  • RACI matrices clarifying authority for specifications, approvals, awards and contracts
  • Delegated authority schedules linked to spend thresholds and risk levels
  • Procurement policy controls for competition, exceptions, conflicts and record keeping
  • Segregation of duties across requisitioning, sourcing, receiving and payment activities
  • Internal audit evidence including approvals, evaluation records, contracts and performance reports

Participants can measure procurement performance and track realised benefits after award.

  • Procurement balanced scorecard covering financial, customer, process and capability measures
  • Savings tracking register with baselines, owners, timing, validation and status
  • Purchase order compliance measured against contracts, catalogues and approved suppliers
  • Supplier performance trends analysed through quality, delivery, service and cost data
  • Benefits realisation governance involving finance validation and operational accountability
  • Management reporting that distinguishes forecast benefits from realised financial outcomes

Participants can align procurement choices with inventory, logistics and service requirements.

  • ABC inventory analysis linking item value, controls and replenishment priorities
  • Economic order quantity assumptions for ordering cost, holding cost and demand
  • Safety stock calculations using demand variability, lead time and target service
  • Supplier lead-time mapping from order release through production, transport and receipt
  • Logistics cost analysis covering freight, duties, warehousing, handling and demurrage
  • Supplier delivery schedules aligned with production plans and customer service targets

Participants can plan adoption activities that secure compliance with procurement decisions.

  • Stakeholder analysis identifying influence, concerns, required actions and communication needs
  • ADKAR change model applied to new contracts, processes and buying channels
  • Implementation plans with milestones, owners, dependencies, training and contingency actions
  • Compliance communications explaining approved suppliers, catalogues and purchasing procedures
  • Resistance management through evidence, consultation, pilot feedback and issue resolution
  • Post-implementation reviews measuring adoption, benefits, defects and corrective actions

Participants can communicate procurement recommendations clearly to senior decision-makers.

  • Executive summaries stating decision required, value case, risks and recommendation
  • Business case structure covering options, costs, benefits, assumptions and approvals
  • Waterfall charts explaining price, volume, mix and productivity movements
  • Risk communication using concise heat maps, scenarios and mitigation ownership
  • Board-level procurement reporting focused on material decisions and exceptions
  • Presentation techniques for handling challenge, disagreement and evidence-based questions

Participants can build, review and present a complete category strategy and sourcing business case.

  • Category scope statement defining demand, stakeholders, suppliers and commercial objectives
  • Spend baseline and opportunity analysis supported by validated procurement data
  • Market assessment combining supplier intelligence, cost drivers and competitive forces
  • Sourcing strategy selecting route-to-market, supplier model and negotiation approach
  • Financial case using total cost, savings assumptions, investment and cash impacts
  • Risk, sustainability and implementation plan with controls, milestones and owners

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

What you take back to work

  1. Category strategy template
  2. Total cost of ownership model
  3. Supplier prequalification checklist
  4. Tender evaluation matrix
  5. Negotiation planning worksheet
  6. Supplier performance scorecard

Who should attend

  • Procurement Managers — need broader commercial and leadership capability for category decisions
  • Category Managers — need structured methods for market analysis and category planning
  • Strategic Sourcing Specialists — need stronger financial, negotiation and contract management skills
  • Supplier Relationship Managers — need performance, risk and governance methods for key suppliers
  • Contract Managers — need procurement context for commercial decisions and supplier engagement
  • Operational Managers — need to work effectively with procurement on demand, supply and value

Skills and tools covered

Category strategy developmentCommercial cost analysisSupplier relationship managementContract governanceProcurement risk managementSourcing negotiation

Tools and standards

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

How the course runs

Training methodology

The programme uses short instructor briefings to introduce procurement and business-management concepts, followed by case work based on sourcing, supplier and contract decisions. Participants analyse spend data, assess markets, prepare commercial models, review tender evidence and negotiate supplier scenarios in groups. Facilitated discussions compare approaches used in public, private and regulated procurement settings. Individual application planning links each method to a current category or supplier challenge. The final sessions are devoted to building, reviewing and presenting a complete procurement strategy and sourcing business case.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to purchasing, sourcing, contracts, supplier management, operations or budget responsibility. They should be comfortable reading basic business documents such as quotations, invoices, spend reports and supplier proposals. Experience of formal tendering or category management is useful but not essential. No degree, professional procurement qualification, advanced finance background or prior MBA study is required. Participants should bring a current procurement category, supplier issue or sourcing requirement that they can use as a reference 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 procurement, purchasing, supplier management, contracts, operations or budget responsibility. Formal procurement qualifications and MBA study are not required.

Bring a current category, sourcing requirement, supplier challenge or spend issue where possible. Participants may use anonymised data or a realistic substitute case if confidential information cannot be shared.

It is designed for procurement managers, category managers, sourcing specialists, supplier relationship managers and contract managers. Operational and finance managers who work closely with procurement also benefit.

This programme addresses sourcing and contracts, but also covers finance, business strategy, supply chain, governance, risk, sustainability and leadership communication. It is intended for people who need wider business judgement alongside procurement methods.

Participants build components of a category strategy and sourcing business case throughout the programme. The templates can be adapted for live sourcing, supplier performance or demand-management work after the course.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes commercial, sourcing and supplier-management methods; the second develops risk, governance, performance, implementation and the capstone business 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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