APICS PRINCIPLES OF PURCHASING FOR BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE BUYERS
Course Description
This course provides the concrete and practical information needed to thrive in today’s Purchasing/Procurement work environment. Students will learn about the fundamentals of purchasing, sourcing strategies, and supply chain performance measurements. Course materials emphasize essential vocabulary, application of principles and concepts, strategic and tactical methods of implementation, and understanding the roles of interdepartmental relationships.
Audience
The course offers an exciting classroom-based, instructor-led educational opportunity for people new to purchasing/procurement or for those with experience who want to gain additional insight and expand their skills. Participants gain practical, essential skills that help them become more effective and productive in their jobs as planner/buyers, buyers and procurement agents.
Prerequisites
None
Topics and Course Content
Fundamentals of Purchasing
- Purchasing Function
- Categories of Purchasing
- Strategic Responsibility of Purchasing
- Structure of Purchasing
- Purchasing’s Role with Other Business Functions
- Explore Centralized vs. Decentralized Purchasing
- Explore Buyer/Planner Role
- Make/Buy Decision-Making
- Create an Effective Purchasing Strategy
- Financial Impact of Purchasing and Negotiation Techniques
Sourcing Strategies
- Sourcing Proces
- Tactical vs Strategic
- Make/buy Process
- Effective Spend Analysis and Cost Avoidance Analysis
- Supplier Relationships Including Execution of a Sole Source vs. Multi-Source Strategy
- How to Score and Select Suppliers, Pricing Alternatives, and Negotiations
- SRM (Supplier Risk Management)
- Elements of Contracts Including Sourcing Partnerships, and Contract Law Considerations
PO Management and Performance Measurement
- Manage the Procurement Database Including Explore the Details of Various PO Methods, Timing of PO Release, MRP, ROP (Re-Order Points), Kanban, VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory), and Transportation
- PO Performance
- Supplier Performance, and Cost of Poor Quality
Learning Goals and Results
At the conclusion of the course, the participants will be able to:
- Understand the scope and importance of the purchasing functions both within purchasing and throughout the entire organization and supply chain
- Analyze and devise a strategy for make/buy decisions
- Improve the supplier base by applying data to select and score suppliers and work with problem suppliers to improve their scores
- Understand contract language and negotiating techniques
- Manage the purchasing database elements to improve their impact on replenishment systems such as ERP, Kanban, and re-order points
- Apply concepts and strategy to align operational goals with their supplier base performance
Time Investment
This class is 40 hours of classroom time taken in 4-hour sessions over a period of 10 weeks.