Cambridge
Academy
In London

Introduction

Strategic sourcing and category management help procurement reduce costs, improve quality, and secure reliable supply by using structured analysis and planned supplier strategies. This practical program builds core skills in spend analysis, category segmentation, market and supplier assessment, sourcing planning, and measuring results using simple tools and templates.

Course Objectives

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

·        Explain strategic sourcing and category management concepts

·        Analyze spend and identify sourcing opportunities

·        Segment categories and choose suitable strategies

·        Run a simple sourcing process from plan to award

·        Track supplier and category performance after award

Target Audience

This course is designed for:

·        Procurement specialists and buyers

·        Category managers and sourcing analysts

·        Contract and vendor management staff

·        Finance and operations staff supporting sourcing decisions

·        Anyone involved in sourcing planning and supplier selection

 Course Outlines

Day 1: Strategic Sourcing and Category Basics

·        Source-to-pay overview and where sourcing fits

·        Category management purpose and lifecycle

·        Category segmentation basics (critical vs routine, etc.)

·        Defining category scope and stakeholders

·        Activity: Segment your categories using a simple matrix

 Day 2: Spend Analysis and Opportunity Identification

·        What to collect: spend, volumes, suppliers, contracts

·        Cleaning and grouping spend (simple rules)

·        Identifying savings levers: demand, price, process, specs

·        Quick-win vs strategic opportunity selection

·        Workshop: Build a basic spend dashboard and insights list

Day 3: Market and Supplier Analysis

·        Supply market overview: structure and key trends

·        Supplier mapping and capability assessment

·        Risk basics: single source, lead time, quality, compliance

·        Make/buy and standardization considerations

·        Activity: Create a market and supplier profile for one category 

Day 4: Category Strategy and Sourcing Plan

·        Choosing strategies: consolidate, dual-source, framework, etc.

·        Sourcing plan steps: requirements, timeline, evaluation, approvals

·        RFx design: specs, pricing templates, evaluation criteria

·        Negotiation planning basics and award recommendation

·        Case study: Draft a category strategy one-pager

Day 5: Implementation and Performance Management

·        Transition planning: onboarding, communications, change control

·        Contracting basics: SLAs, KPIs, service credits (overview)

·        Supplier performance scorecards and review cadence

·        Benefits tracking: savings, avoidance, service improvements

·        Final project: Present a category plan + sourcing timeline + scorecard