Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) - Foundation Diploma in Purchasing and Supply - Level 4

Fees | Course length | Entry requirements

Why choose this course?

The CIPS Foundation Diploma designed to give you the purchasing skills needed for operational or junior management roles, even if you're new to the profession.
CIPS qualifications are widely recognised as an international benchmark of excellence, enhancing standards of professionalism and performance.
We're a CIPS 'Centre of Excellence'. This means that you'll be taught by specialist tutors with industry experience and you'll get lots of support, as our consistently outstanding exam results prove.

About the course

Many members who have previous business experience or qualifications commence their CIPS studies with Level 4. Together with Level 5 and 6 it is the most common route to reach full Membership and obtain the designatory letters MCIPS.

You'll study five compulsory modules:

Effective Negotiation in Purchasing and Supply
Developing Contracts in Purchasing and Supply
Measuring Purchasing Performance
Managing Purchasing and Supply Relationships
Purchasing Contexts.

Find out more about what subjects and modules you'll be studying...

Effective Negotiation in Purchasing and Supply - this unit is designed to provide you with the ability to apply a variety of theories relating to negotiation in respect of preparation, planning and participating in the negotiation process.

You will undertake activities such as cost and market analysis, using information to support the planning of negotiation with suppliers to achieve value for money (VFM). You should also apply your knowledge of various legal implications affecting negotiations.

Negotiating is often a finely balanced activity which also involves managing a range of complex relationships, and you should be prepared to manage effectively those relationships, avoiding conflict while maintaining the balance of power.

By the end of this unit, you should be able to plan and prepare how to undertake negotiations, and also to understand how they would be able to assess effectiveness.

Developing Contracts in Purchasing and Supply - this unit is designed to help you to gain an appreciation of the legal and commercial issues of contractual arrangements entered into between organisations. The unit provides an underpinning knowledge of the legalities of the formation of contracts as well as the key ingredients of any commercial arrangement - a specification, the contractual terms and relevant key performance indicators.

You will be able to differentiate between a range of contractual terms and apply them, demonstrating an understanding of how they affect both direct and indirect expenditures. You will also be able to describe and apply processes used for tendering from external suppliers through to contract award.

Measuring Purchasing Performance - this unit is designed to help you to measure the effectiveness of the supply chain and its contribution to the competitiveness of the organisation. By the end of this unit, you will be able to apply a range of measurement techniques in order to monitor the performance of suppliers at organisational, functional and individual levels, how they perform financially versus target, compliance to contract/specification, and potential risks that they may present. You will also understand how the performance of purchasing departments and individual buyers can be measured and how targets for improvement can be formulated.

Managing Purchasing and Supply Relationships - this unit is designed to enable you to focus on developing and managing effective relationships, old and new, within the supply chain.

You will be able to review and develop existing relationships and identify opportunities for establishing new relationships that will enhance the performance of the supply chain, while exploring the benefits and risks of establishing such relationships.

By the end of this unit, you will be able to apply a range of tools and techniques to manage relationships, and explain how to exploit opportunities in order to maximise the effectiveness of the supply chain.

Purchasing Contexts - this unit is designed to consolidate the learning from all four units in the CIPS Foundation Diploma in Purchasing and Supply. It is designed to enable you to apply the fundamental principles of purchasing and supply in a variety of different contexts, including a range of private sector organisations, including multinationals and small/medium sized enterprises (SMEs), plus the public sector; national and local government; the NHS; and the not-for-profit sector including charities and the voluntary sector. You will be able to consider the procurement cycle as it applies to a diverse range of purchased products and services including raw materials, commodities, components, utilities and services, both domestically and in an international context.

This unit tackles the different challenges faced by a wide range of organisations and sectors as they strive to achieve value for money (VFM), good quality, effectiveness and competitiveness within the broader supply chain. You will be able to apply sound principles of purchasing and supply management to a diverse range of sectors and organisations utilising
knowledge from across all of Level 4, and will be able to employ and develop transferable best practice where appropriate.

Your career

On completion of the CIPS Foundation Diploma you'll gain confidence and further understanding of your role, as well as a professional qualification.

You can move on to the CIPS Advanced Diploma, which will give you more opportunities for career progression and take you closer to achieving MCIPS - a fully qualified member of CIPS.

Full membership confers the post nominals MCIPS and represents an expression of professionalism associated with achieving the highest recognised global standard of excellence in procurement.

How you'll learn

The five modules are delivered by a combination of morning, afternoon and evening lectures, usually on a Tuesday.

How you're assessed

Assessment is by examination.

Anything else?

Take a look at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply website at www.cips.org.

Apply for this course now

Start dates

If you're from the UK or EU you can apply to study this course in:

September
January

Fees

£510 per module (you usually take 5 of these modules in total).

This price includes the provision of the core text and coffee/tea/water at each session.

*These fees apply if you're starting this course between September 2012 and August 2013. We recommend you check fee details with us though, as they can change. Costs can increase each year and there may be extra costs eg for exams, trips or special modules.