Business Cost Management Procurement Tendering

Understand how to reduce and manage business costs. Use procurement and tendering to achieve low ongoing costs.

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.3

- What 'cost' in a business or organisation is and how to manage it
- How to reduce costs using a structured methodology
- The principles of good ongoing cost management

What you'll learn

What 'cost' in a business or organisation is and how to manage it

How to reduce costs using a structured methodology

The principles of good ongoing cost management

What procurement is and how it can help your business

How to run a basic tender process which will deliver lower costs

Strategies for reducing costs and ideas of which costs to cut

* Requirements

* There are no prerequisites
* just a willingness to learn!
* No prior knowledge of the subjects covered is required
* It will be useful if you have a role in a business or organisation where you can put the learning into action
* Some of the PDF resources provided are printable
* Some of the templates provided are in Excel or Word format

Description

A course which provides a structure for management of costs in a business or organisation. It includes the tools and techniques needed for setting up a basic procurement approach and a process to run tenders to achieve low ongoing costs.

Based on the proven Cost Reduction Method, this step by step guide will ensure that effective cost management becomes a day-to-day activity.

The course starts with an introduction to cost reduction and provides a methodology to reduce costs in a business or organisation. This will help you quickly get started and deliver some benefits to your business.

The wider subject of cost management is then covered including the 'softer' side such as leadership and culture. You will learn how company policy and processes can inadvertently lead to higher costs. This holistic approach to managing costs has been proven to deliver lower costs in businesses and organisations.

The course then covers procurement, explaining what benefits a basic approach can bring and highlighting the skills needed.

Finally, you will learn an easy to understand process for running a tender. This will enable you to deliver lower costs in your business by leveraging a competitive approach.

The course is designed to be easy to understand and delivers a lot of learning in a short compact format. It seeks to make best use of your time so that you can get on and deliver the benefits to your business.

After this course, you will be able to deliver ongoing low costs in your business or organisation. The tools, techniques and resources can be used time and time again throughout your career. The templates are all consultancy quality and are worth the cost of the course on their own!

Tim Lawson is a hugely experienced consultant and international speaker. He has been delivering and teaching Cost Reduction and Cost Management to businesses and organisations for over 20 years.

Tim has a knowledgeable and practical teaching style which is based on many years of actual delivery of projects in businesses across various industries.

Summary of Contents

What is 'cost reduction'?
Using the Cost Reduction Method
Why are costs so high?
Cost reduction strategies
Cost management overview
The impact of leadership and culture
Management of costs through policy and process
Procurement
Tendering

This course comes with a 30 day money back guarantee

Who this course is for:

Business managers who want to reduce and manage costs in their organisation
Anyone who is responsible for expenditure and would like to be able to control it better
Team leaders, supervisors and managers who wish to develop their management skills
Owners and directors of small and medium businesses who want to cut and manage their costs
Suitable for non-profit and public sector organisations as well as commercial businesses

Course content

5 sections • 40 lectures

Introduction & Cost Reduction 13 lectures

Introduction & Course Overview Preview 05:14

Brief introduction and overview of the course subjects.

What is Cost Reduction? Preview 06:56

This lecture covers the basic concept of Cost Reduction and why it is important to a business.

Sources of Cost Preview 06:03

Understand what is 'cost' and where is it in a business.

Why are costs so high? Preview 08:41

Explore reasons why costs may be too high.

Why use a methodology? Preview 05:21

Understand why a structured methodology can help with cost reduction and management.

Overview of the Cost Reduction Method Preview 03:22

A short overview of the Cost Reduction Method, a proven methodology for reducing costs in a business or organisation.

Achieving success using the Method Preview 05:17

Understand how your business can be successful in reducing costs by using the Cost Reduction Method.

Action planning: Cost Reduction Method Preview 00:33

Your action plan based on the Cost Reduction Method.

Cost Reduction strategies Preview 04:05

An introduction to the strategies used to reduce and manage costs in a business.

Real examples of cost reduction strategies Preview 01:53

Building on the learning in the previous lecture, see some real life examples of cost reduction strategies being used.

Action planning: Strategies for Cost Reduction Preview 00:25

Your action plan for cost reduction and cost management strategies.

Quiz: Cost Reduction

Reading: Reducing Business Costs Preview 00:31

Set reading of the short ebook 'Reducing Business Costs in 8 Proven Steps'.

Cost Management 11 lectures

Cost Management Preview 05:28

An overview of Cost Management and why it is important.

Action planning: Cost Management Preview 00:29

Your action plan for Cost Management.

Quiz: Cost Management

Test your knowledge of the Cost Management topics by completing this short quiz.

Impact of Leadership & Culture - Part 1 Leadership Preview 04:46

Understand the role that leadership plays in managing costs in a business or organisation.

Impact of Leadership & Culture - Part 2 Culture Preview 04:37

A look at company culture and how it directly can leads to higher costs.

Impact of Leadership & Culture - Part 3 Case Studies Preview 04:28

Real life case studies showing the impact that leadership and culture has on costs.

Action planning: Leadership & Culture Preview 00:28

Your action plan for Leadership and Company Culture.

Policy & Processes impact on Costs - Part 1 Policy Preview 05:33

Understand how company policy can drive up costs.

Policy & Processes impact on Costs - Part 2 Processes Preview 02:53

See how processes and their efficiency can help reduce costs.

Action planning: Policy & Processes Preview 00:20

Your action plan for Policy and Processes.

Quiz: Leadership, Culture, Policy & Processes

Section quiz covering the topics of Leadership, Culture, Policy & Processes

Procurement 6 lectures

What is Procurement? Preview 06:00

An overview of Procurement and its use in a business or organisation.

Procurement principles Preview 03:23

Some key principles of procurement and the contract calendar tool.

Category Management Preview 03:59

See how category management and collaborative purchasing can help manage costs.

Skills needed for Procurement Preview 02:15

A look at the skills needed for procurement and a summary of what we have covered across the lectures.

Action planning: Procurement Preview 00:18

Your action plan for Procurement.

Quiz: Procurement

Test your knowledge of the Procurement topics by completing this short quiz.

Tendering 7 lectures

What is a Tender? Preview 04:13

Understand the basics of what a tender is and how it is used by looking at a real life case study.

The tender process Preview 02:29

An overview of the step-by-step tender process.

Using an RFQ or RFI Preview 03:50

Understand how to use an Request For Quotation and what information it needs to contain.

Tender responses Preview 09:58

Learn how to gather and evaluate tender responses using the provided templates.

Negotiation & award Preview 02:13

See how to conduct final negotiations and award of your tender contract.

Action planning: Tendering Preview 00:23

Your action plan for Tendering.

Quiz: Tendering

Test your knowledge of the Tendering topics by completing this short quiz.

Review & Summary 3 lectures

Course Review & Summary Preview 03:08

A quick summary of the key concepts in the course.

Tools and techniques Preview 03:22

Reminder of the main tools, templates & techniques which have been provided during the course.

Final Lecture Preview 01:16

A review of the learning outcomes which have been achieved.