Purchasing Management and Cost Reduction Training Course

Duration 10 days 22 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Procurement Managers, Buyers and Purchasing Officers 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-112

Before you join: Participants should have basic experience of purchasing, supplier interaction, requisitioning, contract administration or spend approval.

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

Purchasing teams are expected to reduce total cost while protecting supply continuity, quality, compliance and supplier performance. Price reductions alone rarely produce durable results: specifications, demand patterns, contract terms, inventory policies, market conditions and supplier capability all affect the cost base. Procurement professionals need a disciplined way to analyse spend, identify credible savings opportunities, run fair sourcing events and convert agreements into realised business benefits.

This course develops practical purchasing management and cost-reduction techniques for professionals responsible for goods, services and works. Participants analyse expenditure, segment categories, assess supply markets, build total cost of ownership and should-cost models, develop category strategies, prepare RFQs and RFPs, evaluate bids, negotiate commercial terms and manage supplier performance. The course also addresses contract controls, risk management, sustainable procurement, purchase-to-pay compliance, inventory-related purchasing decisions and benefits tracking.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with procurement cases, spreadsheet-based analysis, group discussions, negotiation simulations and structured application planning. Participants work progressively on purchasing documents and analyses that can be adapted to their own categories after the course. They leave with a category sourcing and cost-reduction plan, supported by a spend baseline, savings case, supplier evaluation approach, negotiation plan, contract controls and implementation roadmap. Successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to purchasing professionals, category buyers, procurement analysts, contract managers and operational managers who influence supplier spend. It is particularly relevant where organisations need better cost visibility, stronger competition, improved purchasing controls or a repeatable approach to supplier and category management.

What you will be able to do

  • Analyse spend data using spend cubes, Pareto analysis and variance analysis
  • Segment categories using the Kraljic matrix and develop category strategies
  • Build total cost of ownership and should-cost models for supplier decisions
  • Develop sourcing documents, specifications and weighted supplier evaluation models
  • Conduct structured negotiations using BATNA, concession plans and bargaining variables
  • Manage supplier performance through scorecards, corrective action plans and governance reviews
  • Track verified savings through baselines, benefits registers and finance validation
  • Present a complete category sourcing and cost-reduction plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce defensible savings cases rather than relying on quoted price reductions
  • Lead supplier negotiations with defined targets, concessions and walk-away points
  • Build category strategies that connect market evidence to sourcing decisions
  • Improve credibility with finance through clear baselines and benefits evidence
  • Apply stronger contract and supplier controls after award

For your organisation

  • Reduced addressable spend through validated demand, specification and sourcing actions
  • Improved purchasing compliance through clearer sourcing routes and approval controls
  • Better supplier competition using consistent specifications and evaluation models
  • Lower supply disruption exposure through structured supplier risk management
  • Greater savings realisation through finance-validated benefits tracking

Course modules

22 modules over 10 days

Participants can map purchasing responsibilities, controls and performance measures within the purchase-to-pay process.

  • Procurement operating model, policies, delegations and approval thresholds
  • Purchase-to-pay process mapping from requisition through invoice resolution
  • Three-way matching controls for purchase orders, receipts and invoices
  • Spend cube dimensions: supplier, category, business unit and transaction
  • Stakeholder roles defined through a RACI responsibility matrix
  • Procurement performance measures linked to service, cost, risk and compliance

Participants can prepare purchasing data and identify expenditure patterns requiring management action.

  • Clean supplier master data using duplicate, parent-child and taxonomy checks
  • Classify expenditure with UNSPSC codes and category hierarchies
  • Pareto analysis identifies high-value suppliers, categories and transaction patterns
  • Calculate price, volume, mix and specification variance drivers
  • Tail-spend analysis isolates low-value, high-volume purchase order activity
  • Create baseline spend dashboards using ERP extracts and pivot tables

Participants can challenge demand and improve specifications before approaching suppliers.

  • Challenge demand through consumption data, specifications and user interviews
  • Distinguish demand management from supplier price reduction initiatives
  • Standardise specifications using value analysis and functional requirements
  • Apply make-buy analysis to internal versus external supply options
  • Forecast requirements using historical usage, projects and seasonal patterns
  • Control maverick buying through catalogue design and approval workflows

Participants can develop category strategies that address value, risk and supply-market conditions.

  • Kraljic matrix positions categories by profit impact and supply risk
  • Develop category profiles covering markets, demand, suppliers and constraints
  • Set category objectives for cost, continuity, quality and sustainability
  • Choose sourcing approaches: aggregation, standardisation, dual sourcing or partnerships
  • Sequence category initiatives through benefits, dependencies and implementation owners
  • Document category strategies in a one-page strategic sourcing plan

Participants can assess supply-market conditions and use evidence in sourcing decisions.

  • Porter's Five Forces assesses supplier power and competitive intensity
  • Map supply markets by capacity, technology, geography and entry barriers
  • Use supplier financial statements to identify distress indicators
  • Benchmark cost drivers against commodity indices and industry data
  • Assess country, logistics and geopolitical risks within supply markets
  • Record market intelligence sources, dates, assumptions and confidence levels

Participants can model supplier costs and compare options beyond unit purchase price.

  • Total cost of ownership captures acquisition, operation, failure and disposal
  • Build should-cost models from materials, labour, overhead and margin
  • Separate fixed, variable, direct and indirect cost components
  • Use cost-breakdown analysis to test supplier quotations and claims
  • Calculate landed cost including freight, duties, insurance and handling
  • Identify cost drivers through activity-based costing and process mapping

Participants can define, prioritise and track credible purchasing savings opportunities.

  • Establish savings baselines using prices, volumes, specifications and currency
  • Distinguish hard savings, cost avoidance, budget reduction and cash release
  • Build a benefits register with owners, timing, evidence and status
  • Quantify specification rationalisation using demand, quality and lifecycle data
  • Evaluate payment-term changes against supplier economics and working capital
  • Prioritise opportunities using value, feasibility, risk and implementation effort

Participants can select suitable sourcing routes and prepare controlled competitive processes.

  • Select RFQ, RFP, ITT or direct award routes appropriately
  • Write scope statements with outputs, interfaces, acceptance criteria and exclusions
  • Create bidder instructions covering timetable, submission rules and clarifications
  • Set evaluation criteria before supplier responses are received
  • Manage clarification logs, addenda and equal-treatment controls
  • Maintain procurement records supporting audit trails and approvals

Participants can write measurable requirements that support competition and contract control.

  • Translate user needs into measurable technical and service specifications
  • Define service levels, KPIs, response times and remedy mechanisms
  • Use output-based specifications to encourage supplier innovation
  • Set acceptance testing, inspection points and defect-handling procedures
  • Include packaging, labelling and delivery requirements within specifications
  • Prevent restrictive specifications through functional requirements and market testing

Participants can assess supplier suitability using consistent capability, risk and compliance criteria.

  • Design prequalification questionnaires covering capability, capacity and financial standing
  • Assess quality management evidence against ISO 9001 requirements
  • Screen suppliers for sanctions, conflicts, beneficial ownership and integrity concerns
  • Evaluate health and safety controls using contractor risk criteria
  • Score environmental and social criteria using ISO 20400 principles
  • Apply pass-fail gates and weighted scores consistently

Participants can evaluate supplier proposals fairly and prepare evidence-based award recommendations.

  • Build weighted scoring models aligned with published evaluation criteria
  • Normalise commercial bids before comparing prices and total cost
  • Conduct technical evaluations without disclosure of competitor information
  • Use consensus scoring to resolve evaluator evidence and variance
  • Complete bidder due diligence before recommendation and award
  • Prepare evaluation reports with rationale, approvals and audit evidence

Participants can prepare and conduct negotiations that improve commercial and operational outcomes.

  • Plan negotiations using objectives, BATNA, walk-away points and concessions
  • Research supplier interests, constraints and likely bargaining positions
  • Use agenda control, questioning and summarising during negotiation
  • Trade variables across price, volume, service, risk and terms
  • Handle deadlocks through conditional proposals and escalation protocols
  • Record agreements, open items and authority limits immediately

Participants can select contract structures and draft core controls for supplier agreements.

  • Select contract types: fixed price, unit rate, cost reimbursable or framework
  • Draft statements of work with deliverables, milestones and acceptance
  • Allocate risks through indemnities, liability caps and insurance requirements
  • Define change-control procedures, pricing rules and approval authorities
  • Specify remedies for late delivery, nonconformance and service failure
  • Align payment schedules with milestones, invoices and acceptance evidence

Participants can manage supplier performance through governance, scorecards and corrective action.

  • Segment suppliers by strategic importance, dependency and performance risk
  • Establish governance calendars for reviews, escalations and executive meetings
  • Build supplier scorecards covering quality, delivery, cost and innovation
  • Run root-cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Agree corrective action plans with dates, owners and verification
  • Manage supplier development without compromising competitive tension

Participants can identify supplier risks and prepare proportionate continuity controls.

  • Create supplier risk registers covering probability, impact, controls and owners
  • Identify single-source exposure through bills of material and supplier mapping
  • Assess business continuity plans for recovery time and alternate capacity
  • Plan contingency actions for disruption, insolvency and transport failure
  • Monitor early-warning indicators including lead times, quality and financial health
  • Escalate supply risks using defined thresholds and response playbooks

Participants can align purchasing decisions with inventory economics and delivery performance.

  • Set reorder points using demand, lead time and safety stock
  • Calculate economic order quantities against ordering and holding costs
  • Apply ABC analysis to differentiate inventory control effort
  • Coordinate purchasing schedules with MRP parameters and production plans
  • Reduce excess stock through disposition, substitution and demand controls
  • Measure supplier delivery performance using OTIF and lead-time variance

Participants can use purchase-to-pay controls and data to improve compliance and visibility.

  • Configure catalogue content with approved items, prices and descriptions
  • Apply purchase order controls to prevent retrospective and unauthorised spend
  • Use e-sourcing platforms for controlled communications and bid submission
  • Match invoices automatically using tolerances and exception workflows
  • Analyse procurement dashboards for compliance, cycle time and savings
  • Define data ownership for supplier records, contracts and classifications

Participants can apply ethical and governance controls throughout purchasing activities.

  • Apply segregation of duties across requisitioning, buying, receiving and payment
  • Recognise conflicts of interest, gifts and supplier inducements
  • Maintain confidentiality during competition, negotiation and supplier selection
  • Document sole-source justifications and emergency purchasing decisions
  • Use audit trails to demonstrate fair treatment and delegated authority
  • Report suspected fraud through established whistleblowing and investigation channels

Participants can include environmental and social factors in purchasing decisions and supplier controls.

  • Apply life-cycle costing to energy, maintenance and end-of-life impacts
  • Include carbon data requirements within supplier questionnaires and contracts
  • Assess modern slavery risks through supplier mapping and due diligence
  • Specify circular procurement options: repair, reuse, remanufacture and recycling
  • Measure supplier sustainability performance using agreed evidence and KPIs
  • Balance sustainability criteria with cost, quality and supply continuity

Participants can secure stakeholder alignment for purchasing decisions and implementation actions.

  • Map stakeholders by influence, interest, requirements and decision authority
  • Develop procurement communication plans for users, finance and legal
  • Facilitate requirement workshops to resolve competing stakeholder priorities
  • Present sourcing recommendations using evidence, options and risk trade-offs
  • Manage resistance to standardisation with data and implementation support
  • Escalate decisions using clear choices, consequences and required approvals

Participants can implement sourcing decisions and track results through accountable delivery plans.

  • Build implementation plans with milestones, dependencies, owners and resources
  • Track sourcing benefits through approved baselines and finance validation
  • Manage transition plans for incumbent exit, onboarding and service continuity
  • Control contract mobilisation through readiness checklists and governance meetings
  • Report savings, risks and delivery status to steering groups
  • Conduct post-award reviews to capture lessons and corrective actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete category sourcing and cost-reduction plan supported by spend analysis, market evidence, savings calculations and implementation controls.

  • Select a category using provided spend, supplier and demand data
  • Develop category strategy, specification approach and sourcing route
  • Construct total-cost baseline, should-cost model and savings case
  • Prepare evaluation model, negotiation plan and contract control points
  • Review implementation risks, stakeholder actions and benefits tracking
  • Present recommendations, defend assumptions and incorporate peer review feedback

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

What you take back to work

  1. Spend analysis and savings baseline template
  2. Category strategy and sourcing plan
  3. Total cost of ownership model
  4. Should-cost calculation worksheet
  5. Supplier evaluation and negotiation plan
  6. Savings implementation and benefits register

Who should attend

  • Procurement Managers — need repeatable methods for controlling spend and supplier performance
  • Buyers and Purchasing Officers — need stronger sourcing, negotiation and cost-analysis techniques
  • Category Managers — need structured category strategies supported by market and cost evidence
  • Procurement Analysts — need to convert purchasing data into savings opportunities and decisions
  • Contract Managers — need clearer commercial controls, supplier scorecards and benefits tracking
  • Operations and Finance Managers — need to work effectively with procurement on demand and cost reduction

Skills and tools covered

Spend analysisCategory strategyCost modellingSupplier negotiationContract managementSavings realisation

Tools and standards

Kraljic Matrix, Total Cost of Ownership, Should-Cost Analysis, ISO 20400

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by procurement cases, spreadsheet-based cost analysis, group work and facilitated discussion. Participants apply spend analysis, category strategy, sourcing, negotiation and supplier-management tools to realistic purchasing situations. Negotiation simulations develop preparation, questioning, concession and agreement-recording skills. Trainers use examples from manufacturing, financial services, public procurement, infrastructure, healthcare and professional services. Application planning connects each method to participants’ own categories, supplier portfolios and current cost-reduction priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic experience of purchasing, supplier interaction, requisitioning, contract administration or spend approval. They should be familiar with common purchasing documents such as purchase orders, quotations, invoices and supplier contracts, and be comfortable working with percentages, spreadsheets and basic cost calculations. Experience using an ERP or purchase-to-pay system is useful but not essential. This is not an introductory course for people with no exposure to procurement. No prior qualification in procurement, accounting, law, data analysis or supply chain management is required.

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 management, contract administration or spend approval. The course assumes familiarity with common purchasing documents but does not require a procurement qualification.

Bring a laptop if possible, as several sessions use spreadsheet-based purchasing analysis and planning tools. You may also bring non-confidential examples of a category, supplier issue or cost-reduction target from your work.

The course is designed for buyers, procurement officers, category managers, procurement analysts, contract managers and managers who influence supplier expenditure. It is best suited to professionals with operational purchasing experience who need stronger commercial methods.

General procurement courses often focus on the full procurement function and its policies. This course concentrates on managing purchasing categories, identifying cost drivers, reducing total cost, running sourcing events, negotiating agreements and realising savings.

Participants leave with reusable templates for spend analysis, category planning, supplier evaluation, negotiation and benefits tracking. These can be adapted to live purchasing categories, supplier reviews and sourcing projects.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part develops purchasing, spend, category and cost-analysis methods; the second part applies these to sourcing, negotiation, contracts, suppliers, implementation and the final capstone plan.

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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