E-Procurement Private and Public Sector

Effective Procurement and Supplier Selection

Course Description

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the importance of the procurement function in an organization. The course provides an in-depth coverage of principles and application of procurement within an organization. It also aims at making the delegates appreciate the relationship between the procurement function and other corporate functions as well as upstream and downstream players in the overall supply chain. Thus, the course seeks to equip participants with tools, techniques and skills that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public procurement at the workplace. Concomitantly, the course highlights the importance of regulatory and legal frameworks, institutional arrangements in relation to procurement methods. It links public procurement effectiveness to public finance management performance, the use of information technologies, inventory and warehouse management, the role of the market and opportunities for corruption.

  • Professionals involved in procurement and supply chain management
  • Public sector officials who need to improve their understanding of public sector procurement
  • Any professional responsible for purchasing at a mid to senior level who seeks to further enhance their skills
  • Suppliers of goods and services to public entities

By the end of this course, participants should:

  • Understand procurement definitions, concepts and terms
  • Conversant with the anatomy of the procurement process
  • Know public sector procurement regulatory environment and relevant applicable procedures
  • Acquire analytical skills to interrogate principles governing public procurement
  • Realise how efficiency and effectiveness can be achieved using suitable procurement methods
  • Appreciate the role of procurement in supply chain management
  • Be familiar with the main institutional arrangements
  • Be aware of the procurement cycle and understand its stages and processes
  • Understand characteristics of different contract types and the potential consequences of adopting each
  • Be able to align the procurement, finance and other organisational functions for optimal efficiency
  • Understand inventory and warehouse management
  • Overview, conceptualisation and definition of issues
  • Public financial management and procurement
  • Supply chain management and procurement
  • Basic supply chain ethics in the public sector
  • Purchasing and the evolution of procurement
  • Procurement cycle
  • Public sector procurement fundamentals
  • Methods of procurement in the public sector
  • Tenders
  • Role of markets in public procurement
  • Public procurement legal framework: international, regional and domestic laws
  • Impact of regulatory and legal framework on procurement
  • Procurement stakeholders
  • Procurement in the context of supply chain management
  • Procurement function and other organizational functions
  • Procurement descriptions and specifications
  • Role of standardization in procurement
  • Understanding suppliers and supply markets
  • Appraising potential suppliers
  • Motivating suppliers to take part
  • What options do we have to realise value?
  • What performance measures should be included in the contract to drive good performance and outcomes?
  • Types of benefits from strategic sourcing
  • Selection and performance evaluation of suppliers: the right supplier
  • Purchasing price determination and cost analysis
  • Strategic sourcing
  • The importance of source selection
  • Supplier policies and strategies
  • Development and maintenance of supplier base
  • Supplier partnerships and alliances
  • Selection of the source of supply.
  • Techniques of price forecasting (Thumb rule technique, Extrapolation)
  • Supplier Evaluation
  • The Bidding Process
  • Negotiating Strategies
  • Steps in Negotiating
  • Tools in Negotiating
  • Types of Negotiations
  • Supplier Contracting
  • Contract Principles
  • Contract Drafting
  • Types of Purchasing Contracts
  • Why contracts matter
  • What can go wrong in transition
  • What is a Contract?
  • Elements of a Contract
  • Duties and Obligations to a contract
  • Legal execution of a contract
  • Stores management
  • Flight management
  • Asset Management
  • General principles of law and contract
  • Different types of contracts and their application
  • Contract awarding and effective management
  • Considerations when entering into large procurement contracts
  • Contractual rights and obligations
  • Contract administration, control and exit strategies
  • Source of spend data
  • Who are our stakeholders?
  • What are the outcomes/objectives we want to achieve?
  • How can the procurement process create value?
  • The sourcing process and the sales process; how they differ
  • How do market approaches differ
  • Pro’s and con’s of different sourcing strategies (e.g. direct negotiations, closed tender, open tender)
  • Selecting the most appropriate sourcing strategy using a value risk approach – factors to consider
  • Probity considerations -Why good governance matters
  • Importance of ‘smart’ evaluation criteria
  • Tips, tricks and traps in selecting the best supplier 
  • Inventory management and activities
  • Codification and identification of stock
  • Inventory or stock valuation
  • Stores management and activities
  • Materials handling
  • Information systems for inventories and stores
  • Global issues in procurement
  • Challenges of global procurement
  • International Commercial Terms (Incoterms)
  • Designing e-procurement system
  • Capabilities of e-procurement system
  • Challenges of e-procurement
  • Special purchases
  • Green procurement
  • Ethics & Fraud in procurement

The training approach is highly interactive. It uses a mixture of presentations by the facilitator and by participant(s), group or individual exercises, use of case studies and role plays. These proven learning techniques enhance understanding and retention of covered issues.