Planning is both the most critical and the most challenging phase of any procurement operation. It provides direction towards how the function intends to secure the supply security of the organization. When it comes to bid management, a sound procurement plan will help balance the often conflicting goals of generating savings and satisfying internal customers. In this course, we provide a thorough explanation on how to approach the planning of procurement objectives and initiatives. We delve into the different qualitative and quantitative forecasting techniques as they relate to inventory planning and we demonstrate how different vendor integration strategies can be applied to help sustain operations and projects.

Course Methodology

This course uses a variety of individual exercises, team exercises, case studies and videos.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Write strategic procurement objectives and initiatives to support long term directions
• Arrange 'spend items' into categories that support planning of go-to-market strategies
• Apply demand forecasting techniques to improve planning of procurement activities
• Generate vendor integration strategies to ensure supply security
• Evaluate vendor bids in a scientific manner to support selection decision making

Target Audience

Purchasing and supply chain professionals at all levels of the organization who are involved in planning, sourcing, buying and bid selection activities, as well as personnel who are involved in the purchasing process.

Target Competencies

• Procurement planning
• Business analysis
• Structured thinking

• Business forecasting
• Inventory planning
• Performance evaluation

Course Outline

• Strategic procurement planning
  • Setting procurement mission and objectives
  • Selection of improvement initiatives
    • Structure-related initiatives
    • Systems-related initiatives
    • Workstreams-related initiatives
    • Culture-related initiatives
  • Performance measures and targets
  • Communication of procurement plan
  • Stakeholder engagement
• Spend category planning
  • Spend category profiling
  • Spend impact analysis
    • Financial impact
    • Vendor segmentation
  • Market risk analysis
    • Value chain analysis
    • SWOT analysis
    • Porter’s five forces
    • Risk heat maps
    • Vendor risk scores
  • Category report consolidation
• Forecasting and demand planning
  • The soft side of forecasting
    • Tetlock’s foxes and hedgehogs
    • Taleb’s black swan
  • Principles of demand planning
  • Quantitative forecasting techniques
  • Qualitative forecasting techniques

This Course will teach you the various techniques for effectively managing workplace stress, to improve productivity and personal well-being.

A comprehensive stress management training course, offering practical solutions to reduce and manage workplace stress.

For Whom

• For employees to raise employee awareness of their personal stress levels and to help manage stress more effectively.
• For team leaders, supervisors and line managers who wish to reduce and manage work-related stress.

Course Objectives

By the end of this one-day training course, the participants will have:

• Identified the costs and benefits of dealing with stress
• Defined what stress is and started to recognise the signs of stress
• Tried out some personal stress management strategies and techniques
• Recognised the legal obligation of the employer to reduce work-related stress
• Reviewed the main work areas that can lead to stress and identified ways to address work-related stress throughout the organisation
• Considered the critical role and skills of an effective manager of stress and drawn up their own action plan to address the most prominent issues in managing stress in the workplace

Course Contents

• Costs and benefits of reducing work-related stress
  • Impact and costs of stress on the organisation
  • Benefits of tackling workplace stress
  • Small group exercise and facilitated group discussion
• What is stress/stressors and controls
  • An introduction to stress awareness
  • The fight or flight response
  • Is all stress bad for you?
  • Presentation and group discussion
• Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress
  • The four sources of stress – emotional, mental, physiological and behavioural
  • The long term effects of stress
  • Identifying your personal stress map
  • Small group exercise with presentation feedback and group discussion, individual questionnaire and exercise
• Stress management toolkit
  • Review of current stress management techniques being used by the group
  • Coping strategies and tips for managing stress
  • Presentation, individual practical activity and facilitated group discussion
• The legal case for dealing with work-related stress
  • The legal obligation of the employer to reduce work-related stress
  • 5 Steps to Risk Assessment
  • Presentation and facilitated group discussion
• The HSE Management Standards Approach
  • The Risk Assessment approach to reducing stress in the workplace
  • Ways to encourage employers and employees to work in partnership to address work-related stress throughout the organisation
  • Six areas of work that can lead to stress – a review of the standards and what can be done in the participants workplace to manage stress
  • Presentation, small group exercises and facilitated group discussion
• Skills of an effective Stress Manager
  • Critical role of the line manager
  • Stress management skills and competencies
  • Small group exercise, individual reflective and action planning exercise