Procurement & Supply Manager

Domains and learning objectives

A domain’s weighting is its share of the discipline, and the share of the examination paper drawn from that domain. The study material and the examination questions are written to the objectives.

1. Domain 1

   Sourcing Strategy and Market Analysis

   18%

   • 1.1Interpret spend analysis outputs, including Pareto (80/20) breakdowns and category segmentation, to prioritise sourcing effort.
   • 1.2Classify categories of spend by supply risk and profit impact and select a matching sourcing approach for each quadrant.
   • 1.3Distinguish between sourcing routes such as single, sole, dual and multiple sourcing, and evaluate when each is appropriate.
   • 1.4Evaluate a make-or-buy or outsource decision using cost, capability, capacity and risk factors.
   • 1.5Analyse a supply market using demand and supply drivers, competition levels, switching costs and supplier power indicators.
   • 1.6Calculate simple total cost of ownership comparisons that include price, acquisition, operating and disposal costs.

2. Domain 2

   Tendering and Supplier Selection

   22%

   • 2.1Select the appropriate sourcing route (request for quotation, invitation to tender, request for proposal, framework, direct award) for a given value, complexity and risk profile.
   • 2.2Distinguish between conformance specifications and performance or output specifications and evaluate the risks of each.
   • 2.3Construct weighted evaluation criteria and calculate weighted scores to rank supplier bids.
   • 2.4Evaluate supplier financial health using simple ratio indicators such as liquidity, gearing and profitability trends.
   • 2.5Interpret pre-qualification and due diligence findings, including capacity, quality certification and ethical red flags, to shortlist suppliers.
   • 2.6Identify practices that compromise fairness in a tender, such as unequal information, bid manipulation and post-tender changes to criteria.

3. Domain 3

   Contract and Supplier Relationship Management

   20%

   • 3.1Distinguish core contract elements and commercial terms, including price mechanisms, service levels, liability caps, warranties and termination rights.
   • 3.2Select an appropriate pricing mechanism (fixed, cost-plus, indexed, unit rate) for a given demand and market volatility profile.
   • 3.3Interpret service level agreements and calculate service credits or KPI results from performance data.
   • 3.4Evaluate supplier performance using scorecards that combine quality, delivery, cost and responsiveness measures.
   • 3.5Select an appropriate relationship style, from arm's length transactional to strategic partnership, based on category importance and dependency.
   • 3.6Identify escalating supplier risk signals, such as deteriorating delivery, financial distress and key-person loss, and select proportionate responses.

4. Domain 4

   Negotiation for Procurement Professionals

   14%

   • 4.1Distinguish distributive (win-lose) from integrative (win-win) negotiation situations and select the fitting approach.
   • 4.2Calculate and apply negotiation planning values, including target, opening and walk-away positions and the zone of possible agreement.
   • 4.3Evaluate the relative power of buyer and supplier in a scenario and select tactics appropriate to that balance.
   • 4.4Select ethical responses to common supplier tactics, such as artificial deadlines, good-cop bad-cop and last-minute add-ons.
   • 4.5Interpret cost and margin information to identify negotiable cost elements beyond headline price.
   • 4.6Distinguish culturally aware negotiation adjustments from stereotyping when preparing for cross-border negotiations.

5. Domain 5

   Inventory and Logistics Fundamentals

   14%

   • 5.1Calculate reorder point, safety stock (given service factors), economic order quantity and inventory turnover from supplied data.
   • 5.2Classify inventory using ABC analysis and select control regimes appropriate to each class.
   • 5.3Distinguish push and pull replenishment approaches, including periodic review, continuous review and just-in-time, and evaluate their fit to demand patterns.
   • 5.4Interpret the main Incoterms 2020 rule families to determine which party bears cost, risk and clearance responsibility at a given point.
   • 5.5Select transport modes and warehouse practices appropriate to product value, urgency, distance and cost constraints.
   • 5.6Calculate simple landed cost, combining unit price, freight, insurance and duty.

6. Domain 6

   Procurement Ethics, Sustainability and Risk

   12%

   • 6.1Identify conflicts of interest, bribery indicators and fraud red flags in procurement scenarios and select the correct escalation response.
   • 6.2Distinguish gifts and hospitality situations that are acceptable, declarable or prohibited under a typical corporate policy.
   • 6.3Evaluate sustainability criteria (environmental, social and governance) for inclusion in specifications and tender evaluation.
   • 6.4Identify modern slavery and labour rights risk indicators in supply chains and select proportionate due diligence responses.
   • 6.5Interpret supply chain risk assessments and select mitigation approaches such as dual sourcing, buffer stock and contractual protections.
   • 6.6Distinguish genuine environmental claims from greenwashing when evaluating supplier submissions.