Fundamentals of Purchasing and Vendor Management

Course details

Purchasing and vendor management are important organizational functions. An organization's purchases account for a large share of its total costs. The changing nature of today's business environment and the move toward decentralization have extended the purchasing function to departmental levels so that it also includes non-purchasing professionals. Regardless of their specific roles, many managers and team leaders have purchasing and vendor management responsibilities. These individuals must understand the purchasing process and have a general knowledge of common purchasing considerations and strategies and their impact on purchasing activities at the departmental level. Equipping purchasing personnel in this way can help organizations save on purchases and build more rewarding vendor relationships. This course provides an overview of the purchasing and vendor management functions within an organization, introduces the stages of the general purchasing process, and discusses how to develop a purchasing strategy within the context of a corporate strategy.

• identify ways in which purchasing personnel add value to the organization
• sequence the stages of the purchasing process
• recognize how a corporate purchasing strategy impacts the purchasing decisions of functional managers
• recognize appropriate content for a purchasing strategy
• identify the required elements of a purchasing strategy