Strategic Sourcing Training Course

Participants can diagnose category demand and spend patterns before selecting a sourcing approach.

• Spend cube analysis by supplier, category, business unit and location
• Pareto analysis identifies high-value suppliers, categories and demand concentrations
• Demand management separates genuine need from historical purchasing patterns
• Specification analysis identifies unnecessary variety, overengineering and service creep
• Tail-spend diagnosis distinguishes catalogue opportunities from strategic sourcing priorities
• Baseline calculations separate price, volume, mix, currency and compliance effects

Participants can prioritise categories using value, risk and supply-market characteristics.

• Kraljic Matrix positions categories by profit impact and supply risk
• Segmentation criteria include spend, criticality, substitutability, volatility and supply concentration
• Portfolio positions tested against operational dependency and stakeholder tolerance
• Category priority scores combine value potential, urgency and implementation feasibility
• Sourcing waves sequence categories around capacity, contract expiry and market timing
• Executive priorities reconciled with evidence from category and supplier data

Participants can assess supply-market conditions and convert findings into sourcing implications.

• Porter's Five Forces assesses supplier power, entry barriers and substitutes
• Market maps identify producers, distributors, intermediaries and critical subtiers
• Supply-demand balance tested through capacity, lead times, utilisation and inventory
• Commodity indices, exchange rates and freight data inform cost exposure
• Supplier financial health assessed through liquidity, profitability, debt and cashflow
• Market intelligence converted into sourcing timing, competition and negotiation choices

Participants can develop a documented category strategy with clear commercial choices.

• Category strategy structure links business requirements, market facts and sourcing actions
• Strategic options compare aggregation, standardisation, dual sourcing and supplier development
• Make-buy analysis tests internal capability, external cost and control requirements
• Supplier relationship models match collaboration intensity to category criticality
• Strategy-on-a-page communicates objectives, milestones, risks, owners and decisions
• Assumptions register records evidence gaps, dependencies and validation actions

Participants can compare sourcing options using a full-life-cycle cost model.

• Total cost of ownership includes acquisition, operation, failure and exit costs
• Cost trees separate material, labour, overhead, logistics, margin and risk
• Activity-based costing assigns transaction, inspection and inventory handling costs
• Life-cycle costing evaluates capital equipment, maintenance, energy and disposal
• Scenario analysis tests volume, inflation, exchange-rate and service-level changes
• Cost-model assumptions documented for finance review and supplier challenge

Participants can build should-cost estimates and assess supplier commercial positions.

• Should-cost models estimate reasonable supplier costs from cost-driver data
• Clean-sheet costing calculates materials, labour, conversion, overhead and margin
• Learning curves estimate unit-cost reductions from cumulative production volume
• Supplier profitability analysis tests margin sufficiency, capacity incentives and viability
• Open-book costing principles define data access, validation and confidentiality boundaries
• Fact packs prepare price challenges without disclosing competitor information

Participants can incorporate supply risk, resilience and responsible sourcing into category decisions.

• Supply risk registers assess probability, impact, velocity and early-warning indicators
• FMEA prioritises failure modes through severity, occurrence and detection scoring
• Business continuity options compare buffers, dual sourcing, redesign and contingency capacity
• Supplier due diligence covers sanctions, conflicts, labour practices and beneficial ownership
• ISO 20400 principles inform sustainable procurement requirements and supplier engagement
• Risk treatment plans assign controls, triggers, owners and escalation thresholds

Participants can select a sourcing route that fits category economics, risk and stakeholder needs.

• Route-to-market choices include RFQ, RFP, auction, negotiation and direct award
• Competitive tension designed through lotting, bidder numbers and information release
• Lotting strategy balances market access, scale economics and interface risk
• Framework agreements, call-off contracts and dynamic purchasing systems compared
• Supplier prequalification screens capability, financial standing, ethics and capacity
• Sourcing plans define milestones, governance gates, resources and stakeholder inputs

Participants can produce clear RFx documentation that secures comparable supplier responses.

• Statement of work defines deliverables, boundaries, acceptance criteria and interfaces
• Output specifications focus suppliers on outcomes rather than prescribed methods
• RFx instructions set timetable, response format, clarification rules and confidentiality
• Pricing schedules separate fixed, variable, indexed and reimbursable cost elements
• Commercial schedules address service credits, warranties, liabilities and payment terms
• Bidder question management preserves fairness, traceability and controlled information release

Participants can evaluate bids transparently using weighted criteria, evidence and moderation.

• Evaluation criteria distinguish mandatory gates from weighted comparative requirements
• Weighted scorecards align technical, commercial, risk and sustainability assessments
• Scoring anchors define evidence standards for consistent evaluator judgments
• Total evaluated cost combines bid prices with operating and transition costs
• Consensus moderation resolves scoring differences through documented evidence review
• Selection recommendations record rationale, approvals, reservations and unsuccessful-bidder feedback

Participants can use procurement data to improve sourcing insight and control.

• Data quality checks test supplier names, units, categories and duplicate records
• Spend classification combines taxonomy rules, supplier mapping and exception handling
• Dashboards track savings, compliance, competition, cycle time and supplier performance
• Price benchmarking distinguishes index movements, specification differences and commercial terms
• E-sourcing platforms support event control, audit trails and response comparison
• Analytics governance defines data owners, refresh cycles and decision-use rules

Participants can prepare disciplined negotiations with quantified objectives and tradeables.

• BATNA analysis establishes credible alternatives before supplier negotiation begins
• ZOPA assessment identifies feasible settlement ranges and unresolved value gaps
• Negotiation objectives distinguish targets, reservation points and aspirational positions
• Concession plans exchange value deliberately rather than granting unilateral discounts
• Power analysis examines alternatives, information, timing, authority and dependency
• Negotiation agendas sequence issues, participants, decision rights and closing conditions

Participants can conduct value-focused negotiations and document commercially sound agreements.

• Interest-based bargaining separates underlying needs from stated supplier positions
• Package deals trade price against volume, term, risk and service commitments
• Anchoring techniques set disciplined opening positions without damaging credibility
• Information questions test supplier assumptions, constraints, authority and cost drivers
• Deadlock management uses adjournment, escalation, alternatives and issue reframing
• Negotiation records capture agreements, open points, owners and completion dates

Participants can translate sourcing decisions into contract terms that protect expected value.

• Contract award documents align specifications, pricing, governance and agreed assumptions
• Service-level agreements define measures, targets, reporting and consequence mechanisms
• Price-adjustment clauses use transparent indices, formulas, caps and review periods
• Change-control procedures govern scope, price, schedule and approval impacts
• Risk allocation assigns insurable, controllable and shared risks appropriately
• Contract summary sheets highlight obligations, milestones, risks and management actions

Participants can plan supplier onboarding and transition without losing service continuity.

• Mobilisation plans define workstreams, deliverables, dependencies and readiness criteria
• Transition governance coordinates incumbent exit, new supplier entry and stakeholder communications
• Data migration controls protect supplier records, catalogues, pricing and access rights
• Service-readiness reviews test people, systems, inventory, facilities and contingency arrangements
• Exit plans address asset transfer, knowledge capture, final accounts and records
• Hypercare periods intensify monitoring after go-live and early service delivery

Participants can establish supplier governance that sustains performance and improvement.

• Supplier scorecards combine delivery, quality, cost, service, risk and innovation measures
• KPI definitions specify formula, source, frequency, owner and performance threshold
• Governance tiers separate operational reviews, business reviews and executive escalation
• Corrective action plans apply root-cause analysis, owners and due dates
• Supplier development plans target capability gaps affecting cost, quality or continuity
• Relationship segmentation determines meeting cadence, information sharing and executive sponsorship

Participants can secure stakeholder adoption and track realised sourcing benefits.

• Benefits tracking distinguishes negotiated savings, budget savings and avoided costs
• Finance validation defines baselines, evidence requirements, timing and benefit owners
• Compliance plans address preferred suppliers, catalogue adoption and maverick spend
• Stakeholder communication maps messages, channels, concerns and commitment actions
• Implementation roadmaps sequence sourcing actions, contract milestones and benefit capture
• Post-award reviews compare planned outcomes with realised commercial results

Participants can build, review and present a complete strategic sourcing recommendation for a selected category.

• Category brief consolidates demand, spend, specification and stakeholder requirements
• Market assessment summarises supplier economics, competition, risks and timing
• Sourcing strategy states route-to-market, lotting, commercial model and governance
• Evaluation plan specifies bidder gates, weighted criteria and moderation controls
• Negotiation plan quantifies targets, BATNA, tradeables, concessions and approvals
• Implementation plan covers award, mobilisation, performance management and benefits tracking