Procurement Best Practices Training

Adding Value to the Strategic Process in Maximising Performance

Please inquire for pricing | Available Online and In-class

Date	Venue	Duration
28 - 30 September 2026	Sandton	3 Days
09 - 11 October 2026	Durban	3 Days

Course Introduction

Procurement has evolved from a transactional back-office activity into a strategic business partner. It’s no longer enough to convert requisitions into purchase orders and wait for delivery—Procurement must actively create value, reduce risk, and support organisational performance.

This Procurement Best Practices practical programme shows you how to implement best practice at four levels—Strategic, Tactical, Operational, and Contingency—so your function consistently delivers quality, cost, service and risk outcomes aligned to business goals. You’ll learn to design a strategic procurement plan, embed robust processes, leverage digital tools (e-procurement and spend analytics), manage suppliers collaboratively, and measure what matters.

Course Objectives

The Procurement Best Practices is designed to empower professionals to:

Explain the evolution of Procurement and its role in enterprise value creation.
Map inputs, outputs and processes across the end-to-end procurement system.
Build a Strategic Procurement Plan aligned to organisational objectives.
Select and apply best-practice methods at strategic, tactical, operational and contingency levels.
Define and track meaningful KPIs (e.g., TCO, on-time delivery, quality, risk, ESG/sustainability).

Who should attend?

Procurement, Purchasing and Contracts professionals (officers to managers)
Category Managers, Supplier Relationship Managers and Sourcing Specialists
Project, Engineering, Operations and Maintenance personnel involved in purchasing/contracting
Supply Chain, Finance, Internal Audit and Risk practitioners interfacing with Procurement
Anyone involved in acquiring goods/services where leadership expects high competence and control

Training Methodology

Our diverse instructional approaches ensure effective learning:

– Lectures & Presentations: Engage with expert-driven, stimulating content.
– Course Material: Access well-crafted supporting resources.
– Group Work: Collaborate on discussions and case studies for practical insights.
– Workshops & Role-Play: Participate in immersive, scenario-based activities.
– Practical Application: Focus on applying theoretical knowledge in real situations.
– Post-Training Support: Receive extensive support after training for skill implementation.

Training Outline

Day 1: Procurement as a Dynamic, Integrated System

Systems vs. traditional functional approach; Procurement’s goal and value levers
Stakeholder mapping and demand management
Strategic Procurement Plan: objectives, categories, governance and policy
Overview of the end-to-end process (Plan → Source → Contract → Order → Receive → Pay)
Procurement within the wider Supply Chain; basics of TCO and cost drivers

Workshop: Baseline your procurement maturity and prioritise improvement areas

Day 2: Strategic Procurement Decisions

Make-or-Buy and outsourcing considerations; vertical integration trade-offs
Category strategies (incl. Kraljic thinking), supplier segmentation and SRM strategy
Alliances/partnerships, inter-company trade, reciprocity/counter-trade (risks and controls)
Coordination strategy and operating model (centralised, decentralised, hybrid)
Organisation design, roles and competencies; governance & ethics

Toolkit: Category strategy template + SRM segmentation matrix

Day 3: Tactical Implementation

Early supplier involvement; value analysis / value engineering
Quality assurance across the supply base; qualification and audits
Supplier selection: weighted criteria, scoring, due diligence and B-BBEE/ESG considerations
Supplier rating, ranking and performance reviews (SLAs, KPIs, scorecards)
Contracting & CLM: contract types, risk clauses, remedies, variations and renewals
IT enablement: e-procurement, ERP integration, e-RFx and e-auctions
Policies & procedures; staffing, capability development and change management

Exercise: Run a mini e-RFx and build a supplier scorecard

Day 4: Operational Excellence in P2P

Choosing the right ordering channel: catalogues, blanket POs, frameworks, P-cards
Three-way match, GRN accuracy, invoice exceptions, and payment terms optimisation
Managing quality issues: NCRs, 8D problem-solving, returns and warranty claims
Expediting and dealing with overdues/backorders
Reducing cost to serve: small-value PO strategies, consolidation and automation
Data quality and master data fundamentals

Quick wins list: 15 levers to improve cycle time, compliance and cost

Day 5: Contingency & Performance Management

Supply risk and continuity planning (ISO 31000 principles)
Contingency playbooks: alternative sourcing, dual/multi-sourcing, buffers and escalations
Crisis scenarios (force majeure, logistics disruption, cyber/fraud) and communications
Measuring what matters: spend analysis, TCO, risk, service, sustainability (ISO 20400 guidance)
Dashboards and reporting cadence for executives and stakeholders

Capstone: 90-day Procurement Improvement Plan with KPIs and owners