Procurement Strategy and Policy 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 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-P-089

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience of purchasing, sourcing, contract administration, supplier management or budget ownership.

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 strategy and policy determine how an organisation converts demand into value, continuity of supply, compliant sourcing and accountable supplier relationships. Weak strategies often produce fragmented buying, unclear decision rights, inconsistent competition, unmanaged supplier risk and contracts that fail to reflect operational needs. Procurement leaders need a practical method for linking category choices, sourcing routes, governance and performance measures to organisational priorities.

This course develops the capability to design and implement procurement strategies and policies for direct, indirect, services and project spend. Participants assess procurement maturity, analyse spend and supply markets, segment categories using the Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, define category strategies and select sourcing approaches. They develop policy rules for competition, approvals, evaluation, conflicts of interest, supplier due diligence, contract management and exceptions. The course also addresses public-sector and regulated procurement requirements, sustainable procurement, supplier relationship management, risk controls and procurement performance reporting.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with sector cases, group analysis, sourcing simulations, policy drafting and structured peer review. Participants apply the methods to a realistic procurement portfolio or their own approved business context. They leave with a complete procurement strategy and policy pack containing a maturity assessment, category portfolio, sourcing roadmap, governance model, policy clauses, supplier risk controls and performance dashboard.

The course suits procurement professionals who already understand purchasing processes and now need to shape category direction, governance and operating standards. It is particularly relevant to teams supporting government entities, banks, NGOs, infrastructure programmes, manufacturers, utilities and large corporate functions.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess procurement maturity using a structured capability and governance diagnostic
  • Analyse spend, supply markets and stakeholder requirements to prioritise procurement action
  • Develop category strategies using the Kraljic Portfolio Matrix and total cost analysis
  • Design procurement policies covering competition, approvals, evaluation and exception controls
  • Construct sourcing plans with clear routes to market, timelines and decision gates
  • Apply supplier due diligence, risk segmentation and contract management controls
  • Define procurement performance measures using balanced scorecards and savings validation methods
  • Present a complete procurement strategy and policy pack for senior approval

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build a defensible category strategy for a live spend area
  • Gain practical language for briefing executives and budget holders
  • Write clearer procurement policy clauses and approval controls
  • Improve credibility when challenging non-compliant buying requests
  • Create evidence-based supplier and sourcing recommendations

For your organisation

  • More consistent sourcing decisions across categories, locations and business units
  • Reduced unmanaged spend through clearer policy and approval rules
  • Better supplier continuity planning for critical goods and services
  • Stronger audit trails for competition, evaluation and procurement exceptions
  • Improved value delivery through category plans and tracked benefits

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can position procurement strategy as a contributor to organisational value, control and continuity.

  • Procurement value drivers: cost, quality, resilience, innovation and compliance
  • Business strategy translated into procurement objectives and category priorities
  • Operating models for centralised, decentralised and hybrid procurement teams
  • Procurement lifecycle from demand planning through contract closeout
  • Decision rights between budget holders, procurement and technical evaluators
  • Distinguishing transactional purchasing from strategic procurement management

Participants can assess current procurement capability and identify targeted improvement priorities.

  • Maturity assessment dimensions: process, people, data, governance and technology
  • Scoring procurement capability using evidence-based assessment criteria
  • Gap analysis linking current performance to target operating requirements
  • Procurement pain points mapped across requisition, sourcing and contract stages
  • Prioritisation matrix balancing value, urgency, feasibility and risk
  • Improvement roadmaps with owners, milestones and measurable success criteria

Participants can use spend and demand data to identify category opportunities and control needs.

  • Spend cube analysis by supplier, category, business unit and location
  • Cleaning supplier master data through normalisation and duplicate identification
  • Pareto analysis identifying high-value suppliers and concentrated expenditure
  • Demand management methods: specification challenge, standardisation and consumption controls
  • Tail-spend diagnosis using transaction volume, value and supplier counts
  • Savings baselines separating price, volume, mix and compliance effects

Participants can define stakeholder requirements, accountabilities and governance for procurement decisions.

  • Stakeholder mapping using power-interest analysis and engagement planning
  • Requirements gathering through interviews, workshops and specification reviews
  • RACI matrices for requisition, sourcing, evaluation and contract decisions
  • Procurement steering committees with defined mandates and escalation thresholds
  • Conflict-of-interest declarations for evaluators, approvers and technical advisers
  • Governance calendars aligning procurement decisions with budget and project cycles

Participants can assess supply market conditions and incorporate findings into sourcing choices.

  • Porter's Five Forces applied to supplier market attractiveness
  • PESTLE analysis of regulatory, economic and geopolitical supply conditions
  • Supplier market mapping by capability, capacity, location and ownership
  • Market sounding methods before formal solicitation and competition
  • Should-cost inputs from labour, materials, overheads and margins
  • Supply market reports documenting assumptions, sources and procurement implications

Participants can segment procurement categories and select suitable strategic treatment for each.

  • Kraljic Portfolio Matrix using profit impact and supply risk
  • Classifying strategic, bottleneck, leverage and non-critical procurement categories
  • Category attractiveness assessed through spend, criticality and market competition
  • Risk exposure scored across availability, concentration, quality and switching costs
  • Portfolio positioning challenged with stakeholder and supplier market evidence
  • Category priorities converted into differentiated management approaches

Participants can produce category strategies that define value objectives, sourcing choices and implementation actions.

  • Category strategy charter defining scope, objectives and decision boundaries
  • Value trees linking cost, service, risk and sustainability objectives
  • Strategic options: aggregate demand, redesign specifications, compete or collaborate
  • Total cost of ownership calculations for acquisition and lifecycle decisions
  • Category initiatives sequenced through dependencies, owners and implementation dates
  • Benefits cases with financial, operational, risk and service measures

Participants can select sourcing routes that fit category risk, value and market conditions.

  • Route-to-market selection: direct award, quotation, tender or framework
  • Competitive dialogue and negotiation routes for complex procurement requirements
  • Lotting strategies balancing market access, aggregation and supplier capability
  • Single-source justification supported by market evidence and approval controls
  • Framework agreements, call-off mechanisms and mini-competition procedures
  • Sourcing plans with milestones, gate reviews and accountable owners

Participants can define clear procurement requirements that support fair competition and contract performance.

  • Output specifications focused on outcomes, service levels and acceptance criteria
  • Statement of work structure: scope, deliverables, milestones and responsibilities
  • Functional specifications avoiding unnecessary brand and supplier restrictions
  • Technical standards, tolerances and quality assurance requirements
  • Service level agreements with response, resolution and availability measures
  • Change-control provisions for evolving scope, quantities and delivery schedules

Participants can design fair, transparent and evidence-based supplier evaluation processes.

  • Invitation-to-tender packs with instructions, schedules and contractual terms
  • Evaluation criteria separating mandatory requirements, quality and commercial scoring
  • Weighted scoring models with moderation rules and evidence standards
  • Bid clarification protocols preserving fairness and documented audit trails
  • Abnormally low bid reviews using cost, delivery and capability evidence
  • Award recommendations recording evaluation results, approvals and supplier notifications

Participants can prepare procurement negotiations using structured objectives, alternatives and concessions.

  • Negotiation planning using BATNA, reservation point and target outcomes
  • Supplier cost breakdowns used to identify negotiable commercial drivers
  • Concession strategies linking trade-offs to reciprocal supplier commitments
  • Negotiation agendas covering price, risk, service and contract terms
  • Team roles for lead negotiator, analyst, observer and decision-maker
  • Negotiation records documenting agreements, unresolved issues and follow-up actions

Participants can structure procurement policies that guide compliant and proportionate decision-making.

  • Policy hierarchy: principles, policy statements, procedures and work instructions
  • Procurement thresholds linked to competition, approvals and documentation requirements
  • Delegated authority schedules for commitments, awards and contract variations
  • Policy definitions removing ambiguity around suppliers, conflicts and emergencies
  • Exception procedures requiring justification, approval and retrospective review
  • Document retention schedules supporting audit, dispute and investigation needs

Participants can incorporate ethical, regulatory and responsible procurement controls into policy and strategy.

  • Code-of-conduct clauses addressing bribery, fraud and conflicts of interest
  • Segregation-of-duties controls across requisition, approval and supplier payment
  • ISO 20400 principles for sustainable procurement decision-making
  • Human rights due diligence within supplier onboarding and monitoring
  • Environmental criteria covering emissions, waste, materials and lifecycle impacts
  • Gifts, hospitality and supplier contact rules for procurement personnel

Participants can establish supplier risk controls proportionate to category criticality and exposure.

  • Supplier due diligence covering ownership, sanctions, financial health and capability
  • Risk segmentation using likelihood, impact, velocity and control effectiveness
  • Financial viability reviews using liquidity, profitability and solvency indicators
  • Supply continuity plans for single-source and capacity-constrained suppliers
  • Third-party risk registers with treatment actions and review frequencies
  • Supplier onboarding gates before purchase orders and contractual commitments

Participants can connect sourcing strategy to contract structures, obligations and performance management.

  • Contract type selection: fixed price, time-and-materials and framework agreements
  • Risk allocation through warranties, indemnities, insurance and limitation clauses
  • Contract management plans defining obligations, meetings and reporting cycles
  • Obligation registers tracking deliverables, notices, renewals and expiry dates
  • Variation controls assessing scope, price, risk and approval implications
  • Dispute escalation routes from operational resolution to formal remedies

Participants can establish supplier relationship models appropriate to supplier importance and performance needs.

  • Supplier segmentation by value, dependency, risk and innovation potential
  • Relationship models for transactional, preferred, strategic and partnership suppliers
  • Quarterly business reviews using scorecards, actions and executive escalation
  • Joint improvement plans addressing quality, cost, delivery and service failures
  • Supplier development interventions for capability, process and compliance gaps
  • Exit strategies covering transition planning, knowledge transfer and continuity

Participants can measure procurement performance and validate benefits with finance and operational stakeholders.

  • Procurement balanced scorecards covering value, service, risk and compliance
  • KPIs for sourcing cycle time, competition and contract coverage
  • Savings taxonomy distinguishing hard savings, cost avoidance and demand reduction
  • Benefits validation with finance baselines, assumptions and sign-off
  • Supplier performance dashboards using leading and lagging indicators
  • Management reporting packs highlighting decisions, risks and corrective actions

Participants can define data and system controls that support procurement strategy execution.

  • Procure-to-pay controls from requisition approval through invoice matching
  • Supplier master-data governance for ownership, classification and verification
  • Contract repositories with metadata, alerts and controlled document access
  • Catalogues and guided buying rules supporting compliant low-value purchasing
  • Analytics requirements for spend visibility, compliance and supplier performance
  • Data quality controls for category codes, supplier records and contract values

Participants can plan procurement strategy implementation with clear adoption, communications and control measures.

  • Implementation roadmaps linking strategic initiatives to operational workstreams
  • Change impact assessments for users, approvers, suppliers and procurement teams
  • Communications plans explaining policy changes, responsibilities and effective dates
  • Training needs analysis for procurement processes and delegated authority
  • Pilot implementation criteria, feedback loops and controlled policy revisions
  • Compliance monitoring through sampling, exception logs and management reviews

Participants can build, review and present a complete procurement strategy and policy pack for senior approval.

  • Category portfolio supported by spend, stakeholder and market analysis
  • Procurement strategy setting objectives, sourcing routes and implementation actions
  • Policy clauses covering thresholds, approvals, competition and exceptions
  • Supplier risk controls matched to criticality and due diligence findings
  • Performance dashboard defining KPIs, benefits ownership and reporting cadence
  • Senior review presentation defending recommendations, trade-offs and governance decisions

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

What you take back to work

  1. Procurement maturity assessment template
  2. Category strategy and sourcing plan
  3. Procurement policy clause library
  4. Supplier due diligence checklist
  5. Procurement balanced scorecard
  6. Procurement strategy and policy pack

Who should attend

  • Procurement Managers — need to translate business priorities into category and sourcing strategies
  • Category Managers — need structured methods for supplier market analysis and category planning
  • Strategic Sourcing Specialists — need stronger governance and policy design capability
  • Supply Chain Managers — need procurement plans aligned with supply continuity requirements
  • Contract Managers — need policy controls connecting sourcing decisions to contract administration
  • Programme and Project Managers — need defensible procurement routes for complex project spend

Skills and tools covered

Category strategy designProcurement policy draftingSupplier risk managementSourcing governanceSpend analysisProcurement performance measurement

Tools and standards

Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, Porter's Five Forces, ISO 20400, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by applied procurement cases, facilitated group work, sourcing simulations and individual planning. Participants analyse spend profiles, supplier markets, risk scenarios and policy dilemmas drawn from public, financial services, infrastructure and corporate procurement settings. Trainers demonstrate practical templates before participants adapt them to a selected category or procurement portfolio. Peer review sessions test the clarity of strategy choices, governance arrangements and policy controls. The final capstone brings the work into a board-ready procurement strategy and policy pack.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience of purchasing, sourcing, contract administration, supplier management or budget ownership. They should understand common procurement documents such as specifications, requests for quotation, purchase orders and contracts, and be comfortable working with basic spend data in spreadsheets. Experience of formal tenders, category management or policy writing is useful but not required. No legal qualification, accounting qualification, advanced data analytics capability or prior knowledge of ISO 20400 is required. Participants should bring examples of their procurement categories or policies where organisational rules permit.

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 understand basic purchasing or sourcing activities and common procurement documents. The course does not assume prior category management, tender leadership or policy drafting experience.

Participants should bring a laptop and, where permitted, examples of a procurement category, spend profile, sourcing challenge or existing policy. Sensitive supplier, pricing and personal data should be removed before use.

It is designed for procurement managers, category managers, sourcing specialists, contract managers and supply chain professionals moving into strategic responsibility. Budget holders and programme managers with significant procurement accountability also benefit.

Purchasing courses focus on transactional buying and order processes, while contract management courses focus on administering awarded agreements. This course focuses on setting procurement direction, category choices, policy controls, sourcing governance and performance measures.

Participants can use the templates to assess a category, prepare a sourcing plan, revise policy clauses or establish supplier controls. The final pack is structured for adaptation into an internal strategy or governance proposal.

The first week builds the analytical base through maturity assessment, spend analysis, market analysis, category strategy and sourcing design. The second week develops policy, risk, contract, supplier management, performance and implementation work, ending with 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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