Innovation in Procurement and Supply (L6M8)

1.0  Understand techniques for supplier development

1.1  Assess cross functional working to achieve improvements in the supply chain

• Cross functional involvement in the development of specifications and requirements
• Simultaneous (concurrent) engineering
• Product and process design

1.2  Evaluate techniques to promote the development of innovation in procurement and supply

• Collaboration with suppliers and customers to promote improvements in innovation
• Early supplier involvement
• The role of innovation councils
• Supplier forums and associations
• The use of technology transfer
• The use of data analytics to assist planning, forecasting, control and decision making
• The use of integration tools in systems technology

1.3  Contrast the developments in technology that can be applied to promote improvements in supply chains

• Forms of e-procurement
• E-catalogues
• E-sourcing
• E-auctions
• P2P (purchase to pay) systems
• Data integrity and integration between organisations in a supply chain
• XML (extensible markup language) and the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) and other integration tools
• Developments in technology such as:
• Cloud computing
• Open source software
• Mobile telecommunications
• Remote working
• Convergence of technology platforms

1.4  Evaluate the use of relationship assessment forsupplier development

• The use of joint performance appraisal systems
• The use of relationship assessment methodologies
• The use of balanced scorecards

2.0  Understand methods to achieve procurement and supply improvement and innovation

2.1  Evaluate influencing styles that can be used in the effective leadership of a supply chain

• Evaluate where technology can be used to improve procurement and supply
• Areas such as:
• Expenditure control
• Data analytics and capture
• Systems integration with suppliers and supply chains
• Organisational systems integration to improve senior management and stakeholder knowledge and information flow
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analysis

2.2 Evaluate tools and techniques which are available to improve procurement and supply

• Tools such as:
• Total quality approaches
• Statistical analysis
• Just-in-Time (JIT)
• Lean thinking and lean supply
• Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
• ERP
• Databases
• The use of business continuity planning to mitigate supply chain interruption

2.3 Assess methods to incentivise improvement and innovation

• Bidding
• Selection
• Contract award
• Contract management
• Setting examples and maintaining standards

3.0  Understand the environmental factors which affect supply chain improvement and innovation

3.1  Assess approaches to environmentally sensitive design

• Lifecycle analysis
• Design for disassembly
• Use environmentally friendly materials
• ISO 14001 – Environmental Standards
• ISO 20400 – Sustainable Procurement Standard

3.2 Assess the impact of green procurement on improvement and innovation

• Impact on strategic policy and planning
• Sustainable procurement
• Low carbon
• Low waste

Select a module below for more information:

Choose three ELECTIVE module to make up the final 18 remaining credits.