Procurement Planning Practice Exam

About Procurement Planning
Procurement planning is the process of deciding what to buy, when and from what source. During the procurement planning process the procurement method is assigned and the expectations for fulfilment of procurement requirements determined.

The goal of a procurement plan is to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the procurement process. The document specifically describes how products or services will be acquired and how vendors will be managed during the project. It includes information such as the types of contracts that will be used, the planned delivery or implementation dates for the contracted products or services, the types of metrics that will be used to evaluate the vendor's performance and an explanation of how the procurement process will be performed.

Creating a procurement plan helps an organization avoid surprises and last-minute considerations. The document helps leaders decide what to buy, when to buy it and what sources to purchase from. A procurement plan also allows project planners to determine if their expectations and requirements are realistic and can be completed in the proposed project timeline.

Why is Procurement Planning important?
Procurement Planning is important because:
•    It helps to decide what to buy, when and from what sources.
•    It allows planners to determine if expectations are realistic; particularly the expectations of the requesting entities, which usually expect their requirements met on short notice and over a shorter period than the application of the corresponding procurement method allows.
•    It is an opportunity for all stakeholders involved in the processes to meet in order to discuss particular procurement requirements. These stakeholders could be the requesting entity, end users, procurement department, technical experts, and even vendors to give relevant inputs on specific requirements.
•    It permits the creation of a procurement strategy for procuring each requirement that will be included in the procurement plan. Such strategy includes a market survey and determining the applicable procurement method given the requirement and the circumstances.
•    Planners can estimate the time required to complete the procurement process and award contract for each requirement. This is valuable information as it serves to confirm if the requirement can be fulfilled within the period expected, or required, by the requesting entity.
•    The need for technical expertise to develop technical specifications and/or scope of work for certain requirements can be assessed, especially where in-house technical capacity is not available or is non-existent.
•    Planners can assess feasibility of combining or dividing procurement requirements into different contract packages.

Who should take the Procurement Planning Exam?
•    Procurement or purchase professionals
•    Business owners or Entrepreneurs
•    Anyone who wants to assess their skills
•    Procurement or purchase managers and senior executives
•    Procurement or purchase consultants
•    Team leaders
•    Professionals working in Supply Chain/Procurement/Purchasing Warehousing/Distribution/Logistics Industry

Knowledge and Skills required for the Procurement Planning

Good planning and communication skills enables candidates to gain quick success in  procurement planning career.

Procurement Planning Practice Exam Objective

Procurement Planning exam focuses on assessing your skills and knowledge in vendor management, purchase management and procurement forecasting and planning.

Procurement Planning Practice Exam Pre-requisite

There are no prerequisites for the Procurement Planning exam. Candidate who are well versed in purchase or procurement can easily clear the exam.

Procurement Planning Certification Course Outline
1. Procurement Management
1.1 What is Procurement Management
1.2 The Procurement Process
1.3 Make or Buy Analysis
1.4 Supplier Management
1.5 Contract Basics
1.6 Global Sourcing
1.7 E-procurement

2. Cost and Value Analysis System
2.1 Value Analysis
2.2 Tools for Value Analysis
2.3 Cost Analysis
2.4 Cost Analysis Techniques

3. Negotiation Skills
3.1 Basic Approaches for Negotiation
3.2 Strategy and Planning for Negotiation
3.3 Tactics of Effective Negotiation

4. Purchase Management System
4.1 What is Purchasing
4.2 Purchase Department
4.3 Methods of Purchasing
4.4 Purchasing Performance
4.5 JIT Purchasing

5. Vendor Management
5.1 System of Vendor Evaluation
5.2 Parameters for Evaluation of Vendors Performance
5.3 Social Audit
5.4 Tender and Negotiation Guidelines
5.5 Purchase Review

6. Materials Planning
6.1 Materials Planning Need
6.2 Factors Affecting Materials Planning
6.3 Tools of Materials Planning
6.4 Principles and Procedure for Materials Planning
6.5 MRP (Material Requirements Planning)
6.6 MRP Processing
6.7 Other Planning Techniques
6.8 Materials Budgeting
6.9 Materials Budgeting Concepts
6.10 Materials Budgeting and Accounting

7. Procurement Planning
7.1 Demand and Price Forecasting
7.2 Supply Chain Management
7.3 Distribution
7.4 Logistics
7.5 Spend Analysis
7.6 Kraljic’s Matrix
7.7 Measuring KPIs
7.8 Supplier Performance Assessment
7.9 Supply Chain Risk
7.10 Contract Management
7.11 Hedging
7.12 Green Supply Chain Management
7.13 Strategic Sourcing
7.14 Global Sourcing
7.15 Procurement fraud

Exam Format and Information
Certification name – Procurement Planning Certification
Exam duration – 60 minutes
Exam type - Multiple Choice Questions
Eligibility / pre-requisite - None
Exam language - English
Exam format - Online
Passing score - 25
Exam Fees  - INR 1199