
Purchasing and Procurement Basics
Purchasing and procurement functions are about much more than bringing goods and services into an organization. They are the foundation of strong, collaborative relationships with suppliers. Since many companies source products from around the globe more frequently than ever, a procurement manager needs strong capabilities. These skills cannot just be learned on the job: they need to be taught. As well, the value of procurement is now recognized as an integral part of cost control within the organization.
In this course, you’ll learn the basics of procurement, including what a supply chain looks like, the purchasing cycle, essential tools and strategies for making the best purchasing relationships work, managing bids, and more.
Learning Objectives
This two-day workshop will help you teach participants how to:
- Describe what a supply chain is
- Describe their procurement department’s role within the organization
- Understand the principles of the purchasing cycle
- Apply the steps needed for managing a competitive bid process, from the request for proposals or qualifications through to negotiating the contract
- Identify what it takes to set up a competitive bid for a contract
- Defend their position on why a particular supplier should be selected based on an evaluation strategy
- Be responsible for managing supplier performance, including controlling quality and setting and monitoring standards
- Apply the tools of the procurement trade, from PC-based applications to cloud-based solutions
You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.
Supply Chain Management Basics
The complexities of supply chain management are constantly evolving and they are discussed, along with related terms, in this session.
The Purchasing Cycle
This session covers topics related to the purchasing cycle such as how to introduce predictability, processes, and structure.
Purchasing Toolkit
Stock your students’ toolkits in this session with the items they need to make their way through purchasing. They will learn about essentials such as how to calculate costs and pricing, supplier evaluation methods, negotiation techniques, and interview skills.
Managing Competitive Bids
Getting the best bid for their purchasing requirements is vital for your students. Give them a boost with this session, which looks at using requests for qualifications and proposals. Contract development and ethics also get a thorough consideration here as well.
Improving Efficiency and Accuracy
Help your students find suppliers that are as dedicated to efficiency and fiscal responsibility as they are with the skills covered in this session. Here, they will learn the basics of managing supplier performance, controlling quality, and setting delivery standards.
Analyzing and Reducing Risk in the Supply Chain
This session will help students get comfortable talking about calculated risks and making good decisions in the purchasing process. Agile procurement is covered as well.
Managing Internal Relationships
Procurement should be looked at as an integral part of any business. That concept is looked at here with a discussion of procurement’s role in an organization, and how cross-functional teams can assist in getting the desired results.
Tools of the Trade
Errors, waste, and unnecessary repetition can all be eliminated from the procurement system with the effective implementation of digital tools. In this session, your students are introduced to the helpful tools and e-commerce techniques. They will also learn and how to evaluate their departments for successful efficiency.
Workshop Wrap-Up
At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.

Your Satisfaction
is our Success!

OUR GUARANTEE:
Our high impact and interactive training programs have been skillfully researched and are designed to provide each participant with powerful, specific tools and knowledge. If any participant feels that they did not receive great value, effective tools or skills, they are asked to contact our customer satisfaction department. We will honour a 70% refund to the individual who has expressed (in writing) the reason for their dissatisfaction. We believe that if you have not received what we have promised to deliver, then you are entitled to a refund.

SELF-PACED
ONLINE LEARNING
Learning at your convenience.
If time, geography, or just about any thing else is standing between you and the learning your want or need; our Online Learning may be the perfect solution. Designed for convenience and impact, we have broken down our training topics into simple sessions and sections that provide you the opportunity to start, stop and resume your learning -from anywhere, at any time. Now you get to decide where and when the right time is to expand your knowledge and skills.
$279.00 USD
IN-PERSON
LIVE TRAINING
Delivering a traditional training experience -in-person or virtually!
Hands down Live Training is our most popular and requested format, whether on-site, virtual classroom, or as a lunch & learn. Participants are engaged in an interactive experience with the trainer and other participating team members. Live training sessions range from a single day to a multi-part or ongoing training series. Whichever your choice, Mainstream will craft and tailor your experience to ensure it is specific, relevant and unique to your team.Something you certainly will Not receive is a pre-formatted, pre-scripted, one-size fits all training experience. We know that every team has unique learning needs and situations, therefore your training should be too. Our free program customization service aims to meet unique or custom training needs.Why settle for a program that gives you almost what you need; our team thrives on giving you Exactly what you need.

In Person Training
The traditional classroom style of training remains our Most Popular and Most Requested format. On-site training provides participants with an in-person facilitator who will work directly with the team, whether for a single training session or a training series. The Mainstream team will craft and tailor your experience to ensure that your training session is specific, relevant and unique to your audience while meeting your learning objectives. Why settle for ‘pre-formatted, pre-scripted, one-size fits all’ training programs, when our team is able to customize a program that is just right for you? We know that every team has unique learning needs, situations and that they come from a variety of industries, each having unique customer needs and demands. Our programs can be scaled to accommodate time restraints, unique learning needs and even industry or company nuances and barriers.
Don’t settle for a program that gives you almost what you need; our team wants to give you Exactly what you need.

Virtual Room
Delivering traditional onsite training results …virtually!
We’ve officially changed the rules and redefined what is possible in the world of soft skills learning. Our unique technology, accompanied by honed delivery methodology, have successfully replicated the traditional classroom-style training environment, allowing it to exist online.
Most online training solutions limit participants’ responses to keystrokes or to single person conversations because -with inferior technology- group discussions become distorted and confusing to follow. Our Virtual Room has eliminated those barriers and encourages learning through meaningful instructor feedback, skills modelling and engaging group discussion, without visual or audio distortion
The Virtual Room is for any organization seeking a flexible substitute to traditional onsite training; whether to lower costs, eliminate unnecessary travel or to simply ease the burden of demanding work schedules.

Lunch & Learn
A Lunch and Learn session is an onsite or virtual learning program with a facilitator-led session sharing valuable information and skills on an area of identified learning interest. It’s a great break away from a traditional training program, allowing your team the opportunity to learn while enjoying their lunch. Due to the limited time, the program focuses on specific learning concepts and skills. It is an interactive session that quickly targets and reveals learning objectives that are predetermined by the training organizer. Lunch & Learn sessions are also great as a training series, providing progressive learning programs for developing skills in a ‘bite-sized’ format.


INTERACTIVE
WORKSHOPS & WEBINARS
Quality interactive and engaging training professionally presented.
In today’s workplace, trying to coordinate a single day or location for a group can be a challenge and at times costly. We understand that the needs of our clients are varied so we have made accessing interactive learning as convenient as a click of a button. From single to multi-person registrations this option has provided convenience for many; a live webinar or prescheduled workshop may offer the perfect solution.
Start a Conversation
Contact our team of experts and we will guide you to the perfect training solution for your needs!
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