E-learning Short Courses

Continuous Improvement also known as 'Kaizen' means 'change for the better' and encompasses all people, products, services and processes in an organisation. It consists of making continual small improvements rather than big changes at irregular intervals, requiring close monitoring and control and ideally inbuilt in the organisations culture.

Quality management in procurement and supply

Developing the contract allows both parties to fully understand their obligations and key success criteria as part of the agreement, forming the foundation to manage the contract and relationship effectively.

Contract terms
Contracts with external organisations
Developing a standard purchase order for goods or services
Formation of contracts
Fundamentals of specifications and key performance indicators
Implications of contractual non-performance
Interpreting data relating to the workflow involved in procurement and supply
Legal issues relating to the formation of contracts
Performance improvement
The main approaches in negotiating commercial agreements with external organisations
The main components of contractual agreements
The main performance measure of the supply chain
The procurement process
Understand the legal aspects relating to the performance of contracts
Understand the main approaches to achieve the management of contracts

E-Commerce systems are an effective and efficient way of communicating and a convenient way of conducting business. They are widely used by organisations to buy and sell products and can utilise technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems and automated data collection systems.

The impact of technology on procurement operations
The main sources of information on suppliers and customers
The main types of systems for supplier selection, ordering and payment

Efficiency is the degree to which something is done well or without wasted energy or effort. By definition it is therefore typically a measurable concept, quantitatively determined by the ratio of output to input.

The rights of procurement

A business does not exist in isolation and can be influenced by other factors outside of their control; this is typically referred to as their ‘external environment’. The external environment consists of competitors, the economic, social, monetary system and the political/legal system.

Compliance within the sourcing process
Formation of contracts
The external environment and its impact on procurement and supply
The main regulations in procurement and supply

Operations Management is responsible for the design and management of products, processes, services and supply chains.

It is their responsibility to ensure that business operations run efficiently, using as few resources as possible whilst achieving their customer requirements. Operations management controls the process that converts inputs such as material, labour and energy into outputs in the forms of good and/or services.

Improving operations management
Planning and control in operations management
The concept of operations management
The design of operations management
The main approaches to achieving timely deliveries of products and services
The main implications of purchasing and supply inventory
The main methods for the storage and movement of inventory
The main techniques used for ordering supplies
The principles of transportation in logistics

People are the key and most important resource in the organisation and translate other resources into added value. Organisations achieve their objectives through people therefore strategic and operational management and development of this resource is crucial to ensure people feel valued and businesses retain the right skill set.

Approaches to managing work groups or teams
Communication and influencing
Contracting issues for major programmes and projects
Creating a sourcing or category plan
Implementation planning
Leadership skills and behaviours
Leading change in the supply chain
Managing individuals
Managing skills and knowledge requirements
Marketing procurement and competitive advantage
Overcoming challenges when managing procurement and supply
Project management and risk
The main approaches for conflict resolution in procurement and supply
The main approaches to the control of major programmes and projects
The main approaches to the planning of major programmes and projects
The main financial aspects that affect supply chains

Looks at issues including supply chain governance and carbon/climate.

	Approaches to managing work groups or teams
	Delivering effective customer service to improve workflow in procurement and supply
	Ethical codes of practice in procurement and supply
	How products and services are received from suppliers and delivered to customers
	Management and organisational behaviour
	Managing individuals
	Managing skills and knowledge requirements
	Procurement and organisational relationships
	Procurement in different sectors
	Structuring and supporting the procurement function
	The main approaches for conflict resolution in procurement and supply
	The main elements of a procurement and supply function
	The main market factors that impact on a procurement and supply function
	The main stakeholders in procurement and supply
	The main types of organisation and how they operate
	The role of procurement and supply within organisations

Risk management within the procurement arena involves understanding risks that can impact an organisation and implementing strategies to mitigate and manage those risks.

	Ethical codes of practice in procurement and supply
	Identifying and evaluating risks
	Processes for managing risks
	Project management and risk

Supplier relationship management (SRM) involves managing the interfaces between organisations supplying goods and/or services to an organisation in order to maximize their value. Supply chain management (SCM) involves managing the flow of goods.

Commercial relationships
Effective supply chain management
How procurement and supply chain management adds value
Planning supply chain advantage
Relationships in supply chains
Supplier development
Supply chain design and strategy
Supply chain improvement
Supply chain management
The dynamics of supply chains
The main aspects of the corporate environment and their impact on supply chains
The main implications of globalisation on supply chain management
Understand the main techniques for the management of contracts and suppliers

A procurement policy refers to a statement or set of guiding rules or principles covering how procurement should be managed within an organisation.

A procurement strategy is an action plan from which the direction of resources will be organised and utilised to implement that policy and achieve the desired objectives.

	Aligning strategic supply chain management and corporate strategy
	Conducting commercial negotiations
	Developing the business case for sourcing requirements from external suppliers
	Fundamentals of specifications and key performance indicators
	Leading change in the supply chain
	Overcoming challenges when managing procurement and supply
	Preparing for negotiations with external organisations
	Procurement in different sectors
	Strategy formulation
	Structuring and supporting the procurement function
	The concepts of corporate strategy
	The main approaches in negotiating commercial agreements with external organisations

Supplier evaluation is a procurement process of evaluating and approving existing and potential suppliers by quantitative assessment against specific business criteria.

Effective and efficient administration of purchases made with external suppliers
Preparing to source from external suppliers
Sourcing processes
The procurement process
Understanding options for sourcing

Sustainability in procurement terms takes into account social, economic and environmental factors alongside the typical price and quality considerations when procuring products and services. Sustainable procurement helps organisations to eliminate waste, become more energy efficient and inevitably save money.

Ethical codes of practice in procurement and supply

It is integral for procurement to understand the needs of the business and the status of the supply market, an in depth internal analysis and market analysis is therefore required.

Approaches to strategic sourcing and category management
Compliance within the sourcing process
Creating a sourcing or category plan
Fundamentals of specifications and key performance indicators
Implementation planning
Market forces that impact on procurement and supply
Preparing to source from external suppliers
Sourcing processes
The main sources of information on suppliers and customers
The main stages of the sourcing process
The main tasks associated with each stage of the sourcing process
The rights of procurement
The workflow involved when making agreements with suppliers
Understanding options for sourcing
Understanding outsourcing