Strategic Sourcing Event Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Strategic Sourcing Managers, Category Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-P-067

Before you join: Participants should understand procurement fundamentals, supplier selection, basic commercial terms and the purpose of RFIs, RFPs and RFQs.

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

Strategic sourcing events determine how well procurement teams translate business demand into defensible supplier decisions. Poorly designed RFIs, RFPs and reverse auctions produce unclear requirements, uneven supplier responses, scoring disputes and weak audit trails. In Workday Strategic Sourcing, event managers must configure event structure, supplier communications, scoring rules, approvals and award recommendations so that sourcing activity is controlled, transparent and commercially useful.

This advanced course covers the full sourcing-event lifecycle in Workday Strategic Sourcing: intake, event strategy, supplier invitation, questionnaire design, pricing sheets, weighted scoring, evaluator management, negotiation rounds, auctions, award analysis and post-event handover. Participants learn to select the right event type, translate category requirements into supplier-facing content, build evaluation models, manage supplier participation and use event data to support recommendations. The course also addresses governance, segregation of duties, approval routing, supplier confidentiality and records needed for audit or public procurement review.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with configuration-focused case work, facilitated peer review, sourcing-event simulations and application planning. Cases reflect common procurement situations including technology procurement, facilities services, indirect spend, regulated supplier selection and multi-lot tenders. Participants leave with a reusable sourcing-event design pack containing an intake checklist, event blueprint, weighted scorecard, supplier communication plan, evaluator guidance and award recommendation structure.

The course suits experienced procurement professionals who manage competitive sourcing, category managers responsible for supplier selection, and system users who administer or support Workday Strategic Sourcing events.

What you will be able to do

  • Design RFx event strategies using demand, market, risk and stakeholder analysis
  • Configure Workday Strategic Sourcing events with questionnaires, lots, pricing sheets and timelines
  • Build weighted scoring models with mandatory criteria, evaluator roles and consensus rules
  • Manage supplier invitations, communications, clarifications and submission controls during live events
  • Run reverse auction and negotiation-round processes appropriate to category economics
  • Analyse bid responses using total cost, risk, quality and commercial evaluation criteria
  • Prepare auditable award recommendations supported by scoring evidence and approval records
  • Create post-event handover plans linking awards, contracts, suppliers and implementation actions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Run structured Workday sourcing events with fewer configuration errors
  • Defend supplier recommendations using traceable scoring and documented evidence
  • Choose RFx and auction formats that fit category risk and market conditions
  • Coordinate evaluators, stakeholders and suppliers through defined event controls
  • Build a reusable event-design approach for future sourcing projects

For your organisation

  • Improves consistency of sourcing-event design across procurement categories
  • Reduces scoring disputes through clear criteria and evaluator guidance
  • Strengthens audit evidence for supplier selection and award approvals
  • Shortens event rework caused by incomplete requirements and unclear supplier instructions
  • Produces better award decisions through structured commercial and non-price analysis

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can select and structure a sourcing event that matches the requirement, market and decision risk.

  • Sourcing-event lifecycle from intake through award, contract handover and closure
  • Kraljic positioning used to select competition, negotiation or partnership approaches
  • Demand intake distinguishes business need, scope boundaries, constraints and approvals
  • Event type selection: RFI, RFP, RFQ, reverse auction and negotiation
  • Market analysis identifies supplier capacity, switching costs and competitive tension
  • Stakeholder RACI assigns decision rights, technical input and approval accountability

Participants can configure the core structure, controls and timeline of a Workday Strategic Sourcing event.

  • Workday event workspaces organise schedules, suppliers, content and evaluation activities
  • Configure event owners, collaborators, evaluators and approval participants
  • Timeline design sets release, question, submission, evaluation and award milestones
  • Template selection standardises recurring events while preserving category-specific requirements
  • Lot structures separate awarded packages, optional items and regional requirements
  • Access controls protect confidential pricing, evaluator comments and supplier submissions

Participants can convert business requirements into clear, comparable supplier response content.

  • Requirement decomposition separates mandatory specifications, preferences and supplier differentiators
  • Draft questionnaires using closed questions, attachments and evidence requests
  • Mandatory response rules identify disqualifying certifications, terms and capabilities
  • Pricing sheets define units, currencies, volumes, assumptions and cost breakdowns
  • Should-cost logic tests supplier pricing against demand and market knowledge
  • Plain-language instructions reduce supplier interpretation gaps and clarification volume

Participants can build an appropriate supplier list and manage fair event communications.

  • Supplier segmentation considers capability, risk, incumbent position and market reach
  • Prequalification screens financial standing, compliance evidence and technical capacity
  • Invitation lists balance competitive pressure with manageable evaluation workload
  • Supplier communication protocols define channels, response deadlines and document control
  • Issue clarification responses consistently without revealing competitor information
  • Track participation status, declined invitations and non-response follow-up actions

Participants can create weighted evaluation models that produce defensible supplier rankings.

  • Weighted scoring models combine price, quality, delivery, risk and sustainability
  • Criteria definitions distinguish measurable evidence from subjective preference statements
  • Scoring scales specify anchors for poor, acceptable, strong and exceptional responses
  • Mandatory gates remove non-compliant bids before weighted evaluation begins
  • Evaluator calibration aligns interpretation before independent scoring starts
  • Consensus scoring resolves material differences while retaining documented rationale

Participants can control a live sourcing event while maintaining supplier fairness and schedule discipline.

  • Event launch checks confirm content, suppliers, access rights and deadlines
  • Monitor supplier activity without compromising equal treatment or confidentiality
  • Clarification logs capture questions, answers, ownership and release decisions
  • Addenda control records specification changes, attachments and timeline extensions
  • Submission validation identifies missing responses, exceptions and incomplete pricing
  • Escalation paths address system issues, disputes and material requirement changes

Participants can determine when negotiation rounds or reverse auctions support the sourcing strategy.

  • Auction suitability assesses specification certainty, supplier numbers and price transparency
  • Reverse-auction rules set ranking visibility, decrement values and extension logic
  • Negotiation rounds request targeted improvements after initial bid analysis
  • BATNA preparation establishes walk-away positions, concessions and approval limits
  • Total cost analysis prevents lowest-price selection from masking lifecycle costs
  • Supplier conduct controls address collusion indicators, unfair pressure and confidentiality

Participants can analyse supplier responses and prepare evidence-based award recommendations.

  • Bid tabulation compares pricing, compliance, quality scores and commercial exceptions
  • Normalise bids for currencies, volumes, payment terms and scope assumptions
  • Scenario analysis tests award options, split awards and supplier concentration
  • Risk-adjusted evaluation incorporates delivery exposure, financial health and transition risk
  • Award narratives connect recommendation, evidence, savings assumptions and residual risks
  • Approval packs present decision options, delegated authority and audit documentation

Participants can close sourcing events with clear handover, records and supplier feedback actions.

  • Award communication sequences notify successful and unsuccessful suppliers appropriately
  • Contract handover transfers scope, pricing, commitments and negotiated exceptions
  • Implementation plans assign onboarding, transition, governance and benefit-tracking actions
  • Event records retain approvals, submissions, scoring rationale and correspondence
  • Supplier debriefs explain outcomes without disclosing confidential competitor information
  • Lessons-learned reviews improve templates, timelines, evaluation criteria and stakeholder roles

Participants can prioritise upcoming events and apply consistent controls across a sourcing pipeline.

  • Sourcing pipeline reviews prioritise events by value, urgency, risk and readiness
  • Event dashboards track cycle time, participation, competition and award status
  • Control checklists verify approvals, segregation of duties and record completeness
  • Exception management documents deviations from policy, process and evaluation rules
  • Category feedback loops connect event outcomes to future sourcing strategies
  • Personal application plans define event improvements, owners, dates and evidence

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

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic sourcing event blueprint template
  2. RFx questionnaire and pricing-sheet design checklist
  3. Weighted supplier evaluation scorecard
  4. Supplier clarification and addendum log
  5. Reverse auction readiness assessment
  6. Award recommendation and handover pack

Who should attend

  • Strategic Sourcing Managers — manage competitive events and award decisions
  • Category Managers — convert category strategies into supplier-selection events
  • Procurement Managers — oversee sourcing governance, approvals and commercial outcomes
  • Sourcing Specialists — configure RFx content, scoring and supplier communications
  • Procurement Systems Analysts — support Workday Strategic Sourcing event administration
  • Bid Evaluation Leads — coordinate evaluators and evidence-based recommendations

Skills and tools covered

RFx event designSupplier bid evaluationWeighted scoringReverse auction managementAward governanceWorkday event configuration

Tools and standards

Workday Strategic Sourcing, Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, RACI matrix, Weighted scoring model

How the course runs

Training methodology

Instructor briefings introduce event-management decisions, Workday Strategic Sourcing configuration concepts and governance controls. Participants work through realistic sourcing cases, review event content, compare scoring approaches and manage simulated supplier questions and bid submissions. Group discussions examine trade-offs between speed, competition, confidentiality and evaluation quality. Facilitated simulations cover evaluator calibration, negotiation rounds and award decisions. Each participant develops an application plan and adapts course templates to a category or sourcing event they expect to manage.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand procurement fundamentals, supplier selection, basic commercial terms and the purpose of RFIs, RFPs and RFQs. Experience contributing to sourcing events, bid evaluations or category plans is expected. Familiarity with Workday navigation and organisational procurement policies is useful, particularly for participants who will configure events directly. This course does not require programming, data science, legal qualification or prior reverse-auction experience. It is not an introductory procurement course; participants should already be comfortable discussing specifications, suppliers, pricing and approvals.

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 already understand procurement processes and have experience with supplier selection, RFx activity or category work. The course assumes comfort with commercial requirements, supplier pricing and stakeholder approvals.

Bring a current or upcoming sourcing event, category requirement or supplier-selection challenge if you can share it without disclosing restricted information. This gives you material for adapting the course templates and application plan.

It is designed for strategic sourcing managers, category managers, sourcing specialists, procurement managers and procurement systems staff. It is particularly useful for people responsible for configuring or governing Workday Strategic Sourcing events.

General strategic sourcing courses focus more broadly on category strategy, market analysis and supplier strategy. This course concentrates on designing, running, evaluating and closing sourcing events in Workday Strategic Sourcing, while contract management focuses on post-award obligations and performance.

Participants can use the event blueprint, questionnaire checklist, scorecard and award pack for an upcoming RFx. The course also helps them review existing event templates and strengthen governance controls before the next supplier competition.

The five days include approximately 32.5 contact hours, normally delivered from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided among instructor input, event-design case work, configuration-oriented simulations, evaluation discussions and application planning.

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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