Logistics and Supply Chain

Strategic Sourcing and Cost Reduction in Purchasing

Purchasing is asked to defend margin against currency movement and import cost inflation without damaging quality or continuity, and the usual response is to squeeze the supplier, which buys one year and costs the next. This course covers the alternatives. Delegates work through spend analysis and finding the categories where money is actually recoverable, cost drivers and the difference between a price increase you must accept and one you should not. Specification and demand challenge follow, since the cheapest saving is not buying something. Consolidation, standardisation and volume leverage are covered. Currency and import cost management including hedging basics, incoterms and landed cost are addressed. Supplier collaboration on cost is treated as a genuine alternative to squeezing. The course closes on tracking savings to the accounts and on protecting continuity while cutting cost.