Vendor Performance and Contract Compliance Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Procurement Managers, Contract 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-053

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience working with suppliers, purchase orders, contracts, sourcing projects or service delivery.

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

Suppliers can meet initial qualification requirements yet later miss delivery dates, submit inaccurate invoices, fail quality checks or disregard contractual obligations. Procurement teams need more than a signed agreement and periodic meetings: they need clear controls for qualifying suppliers, converting contract terms into measurable obligations, tracking evidence and intervening before poor performance becomes operational disruption, financial loss or a formal dispute.

This course develops the practical discipline required to manage vendors from approval through renewal or exit. Participants learn to apply risk-based qualification tiers, assess financial and compliance evidence, build obligations registers, define service levels and KPIs, run supplier performance reviews, conduct contract compliance checks and manage corrective actions. The course also addresses remedies, escalation, dispute records, supplier development, sustainability expectations and continuity planning.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with procurement cases, group analysis, supplier-review simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect common issues in public procurement, banking services, manufacturing supply chains, facilities management and outsourced technology contracts. Participants leave with a reusable vendor performance and contract compliance management pack containing qualification, scorecard, audit, governance and improvement tools, together with an application plan for priority suppliers.

The course is suited to professionals who already work with suppliers, contracts, sourcing decisions or service delivery and now need a more disciplined approach to supplier governance and contractual control. It is delivered instructor-led over five days in a classroom or live online format, with a certificate of completion.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a risk-based supplier qualification process with approval gates and evidence requirements
  • Assess supplier financial, operational, ethical and legal due diligence evidence
  • Translate contract clauses into an obligations register, compliance matrix and governance plan
  • Build supplier scorecards using defined KPIs, targets, data sources and escalation thresholds
  • Conduct structured supplier performance reviews using trend analysis and corrective action methods
  • Audit contract compliance through sampling, invoice checks, acceptance evidence and nonconformance reporting
  • Apply remedy, escalation and dispute-management procedures while preserving contractual rights
  • Produce a supplier improvement and contract lifecycle plan for priority vendor relationships

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Create defensible supplier qualification decisions supported by documented evidence
  • Run supplier reviews with clearer data, actions, owners and escalation points
  • Identify contract leakage through invoice, pricing and obligation checks
  • Handle underperformance using corrective actions, remedies and dispute records
  • Build a practical management pack for assigned suppliers and contracts

For your organisation

  • Reduces exposure to unqualified, financially weak or non-compliant suppliers
  • Improves service, quality and delivery performance through measurable supplier controls
  • Detects overcharging, missed rebates and unapproved contractual changes earlier
  • Creates clearer accountability between procurement, contract owners and suppliers
  • Strengthens audit evidence for supplier governance, contract compliance and corrective actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can establish risk-based supplier qualification controls and approval requirements.

  • Supplier segmentation using Kraljic matrix, spend data, risk and criticality
  • Qualification gates aligned to technical, financial, ethical and legal requirements
  • Prequalification questionnaires structured around evidence, scoring criteria and expiry dates
  • Due diligence checks for beneficial ownership, sanctions, insurance and references
  • Approval authorities and segregation of duties within supplier onboarding workflows
  • Supplier master-data controls preventing duplicate records and unapproved status changes

Participants can assess supplier evidence and set proportionate requalification requirements.

  • Risk-based qualification tiers matched to spend, criticality and market exposure
  • Financial health review using liquidity, solvency, profitability and cash-flow indicators
  • Sanctions, debarment and adverse-media screening documented before supplier approval
  • Site audit scopes covering capacity, quality systems, labour and safety controls
  • ISO 9001 evidence assessed through procedures, records, corrective actions and audits
  • Requalification schedules triggered by risk ratings, incidents, expiries and changes

Participants can convert contract provisions into measurable supplier and buyer obligations.

  • Statement of work clauses defining outputs, acceptance criteria, milestones and responsibilities
  • Service-level agreements translated into measurable targets, exclusions and reporting rules
  • Pricing schedules checked for rate cards, indexation, volume tiers and taxes
  • Obligations register extracted from contracts, amendments, policies and statutory requirements
  • Contract hierarchy resolves conflicts between agreements, purchase orders and specifications
  • Change-control procedure records scope, price, schedule and approval impacts

Participants can establish governance structures that maintain contract control and accountability.

  • Contract management plan assigns owners, meetings, reports and escalation routes
  • RACI matrix clarifies procurement, business, legal, finance and supplier accountabilities
  • Governance calendar schedules operational reviews, performance meetings and executive forums
  • Document-control rules maintain signed contracts, amendments, evidence and correspondence
  • Delegated authority limits control approvals, waivers, variations and dispute settlements
  • Meeting minutes record decisions, actions, owners, due dates and unresolved risks

Participants can design supplier scorecards with credible measures and decision thresholds.

  • Balanced scorecard links quality, delivery, cost, service, risk and sustainability
  • KPI definitions specify formula, source, owner, target, threshold and frequency
  • On-time-in-full measurement separates supplier-caused failures from internal constraints
  • First-pass yield and defect-rate measures expose quality performance trends
  • Spend and invoice data reconcile charges, credits, rebates and price compliance
  • Data-validation checks test completeness, timeliness, accuracy and auditability

Participants can lead evidence-based performance reviews and control corrective action closure.

  • Supplier performance review packs combine scorecards, evidence, trends and action status
  • Trend charts distinguish common-cause variation from special-cause performance signals
  • Root cause analysis uses 5 Whys, fishbone diagrams and evidence trails
  • Corrective action plans define containment, cause, actions, owners and due dates
  • PDCA cycle tests improvements, verifies results and standardises effective controls
  • Escalation thresholds connect missed targets to remedies, senior review and recovery

Participants can test contract compliance and document findings for corrective action.

  • Compliance matrix maps obligations to evidence, owners, frequency and retention periods
  • Invoice audits test contracted rates, approved changes, taxes and supporting records
  • Milestone acceptance verifies deliverables against specifications, tests and sign-off criteria
  • Audit sampling selects transactions using risk, value, frequency and exception history
  • ISO 19011 principles guide objective, evidence-based management-system audit conduct
  • Nonconformance reports classify findings, evidence, corrective actions and closure validation

Participants can manage supplier failure using contractual remedies and structured dispute controls.

  • Remedy clauses distinguish service credits, liquidated damages, warranties and termination rights
  • Notice provisions control timing, format, recipients and preservation of contractual rights
  • Dispute logs record issue facts, positions, correspondence, costs and deadlines
  • Negotiation preparation identifies interests, BATNA, concessions, authority and settlement boundaries
  • Recovery plans restore service through milestones, resourcing, governance and verification
  • Termination transition planning protects continuity, assets, data and subcontractor arrangements

Participants can improve supplier capability while managing sustainability and continuity risks.

  • Supplier development plans prioritise capability gaps, milestones, support and verification
  • Joint business reviews align improvement priorities, investment decisions and demand forecasts
  • ISO 20400 principles inform sustainable procurement objectives and supplier engagement
  • Modern slavery and labour-risk indicators monitored through declarations, audits and remediation
  • Business continuity plans test alternate sources, inventory buffers and recovery times
  • Relationship mapping identifies decision makers, technical contacts, influencers and escalation paths

Participants can make informed renewal or exit decisions and apply course controls to current contracts.

  • Renewal decisions compare performance history, market options, risk and total cost
  • Make-or-buy analysis tests service model, capability, cost and control implications
  • Contract close-out checklist confirms final deliverables, payments, records and residual obligations
  • Lessons-learned reviews convert incidents and successes into sourcing requirements
  • Annual contract calendar coordinates renewals, audits, reviews, indexation and insurance expiries
  • Individual application plan sets priority suppliers, actions, sponsors and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Risk-based supplier qualification checklist
  2. Supplier due diligence assessment template
  3. Contract obligations register
  4. Supplier KPI scorecard model
  5. Contract compliance audit checklist
  6. Supplier improvement and escalation plan

Who should attend

  • Procurement Managers — responsible for supplier governance, performance and commercial outcomes
  • Contract Managers — need to convert contract terms into monitored obligations and controls
  • Supplier Relationship Managers — lead reviews, escalations and supplier improvement discussions
  • Category Managers — manage vendor risk and performance across strategic spend categories
  • Supply Chain Managers — depend on supplier delivery, quality and continuity controls
  • Internal Auditors — assess evidence that suppliers and contract owners meet required obligations

Skills and tools covered

Supplier qualificationContract compliance auditingKPI scorecard designSupplier performance managementCorrective action controlCommercial dispute management

Tools and standards

Kraljic Matrix, PDCA Cycle, ISO 9001, ISO 19011

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, standards and control points, followed by cases drawn from supplier qualification, outsourced services, manufacturing and public contracts. Participants analyse contract clauses, assess qualification evidence, define KPIs, review scorecards and investigate compliance exceptions. Group exercises and supplier-meeting simulations build confidence in escalation, corrective action and commercial discussion. Each participant develops an application plan and adapts the course templates to a current supplier or contract challenge.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience working with suppliers, purchase orders, contracts, sourcing projects or service delivery. They should be comfortable reading basic contract clauses, interpreting supplier performance data and participating in supplier meetings. Familiarity with procurement processes, approval workflows and spreadsheet reporting is useful. The course does not require legal training, audit certification, advanced financial analysis skills or prior knowledge of ISO standards. It is not an introductory procurement course; participants should already understand the purpose of supplier selection and contractual agreements.

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 work with suppliers, contracts, sourcing activity or service delivery. They do not need legal qualifications or audit certification, but should be able to read basic contract terms and performance reports.

Bring a current supplier or contract issue that can be used for application planning, if confidentiality permits. A redacted contract extract, scorecard or supplier review pack can be useful, but is not required.

It is designed for procurement managers, contract managers, category managers, supplier relationship managers, supply chain managers and internal auditors. It is especially useful for people accountable for supplier performance after contract award.

Sourcing training focuses on market engagement, evaluation and award, while contract drafting focuses on creating legal terms. This course concentrates on controlling supplier performance and proving compliance after a supplier has been appointed.

Participants can use the qualification checklist, obligations register, KPI scorecard and audit checklist with active suppliers. The final application plan identifies priority actions, stakeholders and review dates for a current contract portfolio.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30, providing about 6.5 contact hours and approximately 32.5 contact hours overall. Time is allocated across ten modules, with instructor briefings, case analysis, group work, simulations and application planning distributed throughout.

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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