To provide those with experience of purchasing practice who have now reached management positions in the function and who need to: -

Develop their inter-personal management skills to derive the maximum benefits from the purchasing function for which they are accountable

Develop their people in purchasing management skills

• Characteristics of a ‘winning’ supply chain function
• Effective supply chain techniques
• The materials scene and current thinking
• ‘Lean thinking’
• Concept of the supply chain
• Developing supply chain objectives
• Constructing strategies for achieving the objectives – a way forward
• Profitability and purchasing
• Competitiveness improvements
• Partnership sourcing – myth or reality?
• The concept of ‘Value’
• Identifying ‘value-adding’ opportunities
• Eliminating ‘non-value adding activity
• Defining waste
• Working ‘smarter rather than harder’ in your procurement activities
• ‘Usage Value’ Techniques
• Pare to analysis
• Managing inventory and stores administration
• Reducing capital tied up in stock
• Using your suppliers to improve stock management processes
• Creativity and continuous improvement applications in the procurement process
• Using suppliers to achieve improvements in purchase cost
• Kaizen methods
• Measuring techniques to manage the supply function better
• If you don’t measure you can’t manage
• 50+ performance measurements in procurement will be reviewed
• Managing vendor relationships
• Partnership
• Are suppliers an asset or liability
• Managing the performance of purchase and supply people
• Setting objectives for staff
• Mentoring and monitoring performance