Project Management and Purchasing: Improving Performance

Access this expert-led webinar instantly, available anytime on-demand.

Included in All-Access Membership
Live Webinar - no upcoming date
Customer Satisfaction Guarantee Learn with confidence. If you're not happy, we'll make it right. That's our guarantee.

Purchase Options

Select an attendee quantity to add to cart.

Recorded Webinar Only

$219.00
or

All Access Membership

The Aurora All Access Membership is designed to provide you with the training that you want when you want it. You will have 100% access to every live webinar, on demand webinar, professional alert, and podcast that Aurora Training Advantage offers with no additional cost.

Learn More About Our All Access Membership
$599.00
All Access Membership

Do your purchasing projects suffer from delays, unpleasant surprises and lack a true organization? Do you wish you could create a professional project plan and then actually adhere to the plan, satisfying the needs of your company?

To consistently lead purchasing projects to successful conclusions involves learning and applying proven project management principles. This seminar will provide you with the tools to successfully manage today’s purchasing projects.

Your Benefits of Attending:

  • Learn how to create standard project documents like "work breakdown structures" and appropriate charts to aid in keeping your project on track.
  • Gain insight into identifying the most significant project risks using structured tools.
  • Understand the five phases of projects and how to employ them.

Join Mike Gozzo as he introduces you to Project Management walks you through how to apply those principles towards purchasing.

Level: Basic
Format: Group Internet Based
Instructional Method: QAS Self-Study (Traditional)
NASBA Field of Study: Management Services (2 hours)
Program Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: No
  1. Introduction
  2. Outline 00:01:28
  3. Objective 00:02:26
  4. Introduction To Project Management -  Section One 00:03:58
  5. What Is A Project? 00:04:10
  6. What Is Project Management? 00:05:38
  7. Why Is There A Need? 00:06:19
  8. Project Manager 00:07:29
  9. What Are The Elements? 00:09:32
  10. PDCA Activities 00:10:28
  11. Ten Key Success Factors 00:13:19
  12. Section Two - Overview Of The Elements 00:16:02
  13. Initiating Process 00:16:15
  14. Project Manager’s Role 00:17:58
  15. Identifying Stakeholders 00:19:04
  16. Stakeholders Contributions 00:20:57
  17. GOAL - Guidelines 00:21:54
  18. Defining The Project 00:24:18
  19. Project Charter 00:25:53
  20. Project Charter Continued 00:28:04
  21. Project Planning 00:29:09
  22. Why Plan? 00:30:26
  23. Develop Scope Statement 00:32:20
  24. Statement Of Work 00:32:54
  25. Example - SOW For Assembly & Inspection of Sanded, Unfinished Table 00:33:29
  26. Project Scope 00:35:23
  27. Planning Tool Flow 00:36:52
  28. Work Breakdown Structure 00:37:37
  29. Organization Breakdown Structure 00:38:54
  30. Responsibility Assignment Matrix 00:39:29
  31. Project Schedule 00:41:39
  32. Quality Plan 00:43:17
  33. Risk Management 00:45:30
  34. Project Management Plan Contents 00:48:43
  35. Eight Points For A Good Plan 00:49:57
  36. Execution Phase - Putting It All Together 00:51:00
  37. Project Managers Role 00:51:15
  38. Stakeholder Reviews 00:52:13
  39. The Challenge 00:53:33
  40. Five Stages Of Team Development 00:55:26
  41. Effective Meetings 00:57:38
  42. Monitoring & Control 01:01:28
  43. Control Point Identification Chart 01:02:20
  44. Milestone Chart 01:04:45
  45. Status Reporting 01:05:53
  46. Closing The Project - Formal Closure 01:10:57
  47. Closure Phase 01:11:16
  48. The Closure Meeting 01:15:38
  49. Procurement Application Areas 01:18:18
  50. Contracting Plans 01:18:55
  51. Plan Contracting 01:19:14
  52. Inputs 01:20:43
  53. Tools 01:21:55
  54. Plant Contracting Output 01:24:02
  55. Contract Administration (CA) 01:27:09
  56. CA - Description 01:27:37
  57. Inputs - CA 01:29:43
  58. Tools & Techniques 01:31:33
  59. Outputs - CA 01:35:25
  60. Contract Closure 01:37:12
  61. Recap 01:38:14
  62. Question & Answer 01:41:39
  63. Presentation Closure 01:41:58
  • Michael W. Gozzo

    Michael W. Gozzo

    Michael W. Gozzo provides consulting and training services to all levels of management and is a Supply Chain Specialist including Purchasing (Supplier Collaboration), Inventory Control and Production/Operations Management.  With many years of practical international experience, he offers a supe [...]

    View Full Profile

ATAPU Credit

Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in purchasing.

CPE Credit

Continuing Professional Education

Aurora Training Advantage is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, and cancellation please contact our offices at 407-542-4317 or [email protected].

You must answer all questions during the webinar, view the recording completely and pass the test at the end with 70% correct answers to receive CPE credit.

  • Audit 01:12:03
  • Inventory 00:05:17
  • Metrics 01:08:25
  • Project Management 00:08:04
  • Project Schedule 00:41:39
  • Quality Plan 00:43:17
  • Risk Management 00:45:30
  • Statement Of Work (SOW) 00:24:43
  • Stakeholders 00:13:42
  • Supplier 00:05:15

Audit: A formal examination of an organization's or individual's accounts or financial situation

Inventory: A company's inventory typically involves goods in three stages of production: raw goods, in-progress goods, and finished goods that are ready for sale. Inventory or stock refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilization.

Metrics: is a quantifiable measure businesses use to track, monitor, and assess the success or failure of various business processes.

Project Management: is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters.

Project Schedule: A list of activities and their planned completion dates that collectively achieve project milestones.

Quality Plan: To assure that the output of the project will do what it was intended to do.

Risk Management: is the process of identifying, understanding, and grading risks so they can be better managed and mitigated.

Stakeholders: A stakeholder is a party that has an interest in a company and can either affect or be affected by the business. The primary stakeholders in a typical corporation are its investors, employees, customers and suppliers.

Statement of Work (SOW): A statement of work is a document routinely employed in the field of project management. It is the narrative description of a project's work requirement. It defines project-specific activities, deliverables, and timelines for a vendor providing services to the client.

Supplier: A supplier is an entity that supplies goods and services to another organization. A supplier is usually a manufacturer or a distributor. A distributor buys goods from multiple manufacturers and sells them to its customers. Similar Terms. A supplier is also known as a vendor.

Customer Satisfaction Guarantee
Invest in your future with confidence! Our Customer Satisfaction Guarantee eliminates all risk, letting you focus purely on mastering new skills and advancing your career. If you're not completely satisfied, we'll ensure you are. Your satisfaction is not just a promise; it's our guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Purchasing professionals who apply project management principles to their procurement activities gain a structured, disciplined approach that reduces delays, surprises, and cost overruns. Key project management tools that directly improve purchasing performance include work breakdown structures (WBS) that decompose procurement activities into manageable tasks, project charters that define the scope and objectives of complex purchasing initiatives, and risk management frameworks that proactively identify and mitigate supply chain and supplier risks. The five phases of project management — initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing — provide a consistent lifecycle framework for managing purchasing projects from supplier selection through contract closure. Purchasing professionals trained in these disciplines are better equipped to manage vendor relationships, meet organizational expectations, and deliver on commitments.
A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of a project's total scope into smaller, more manageable components. In a purchasing context, the WBS breaks down a complex procurement initiative — such as a supplier selection process or contract renegotiation — into discrete work packages with clear ownership and deliverables. For example, a WBS for a sourcing project might include market analysis, RFP development, supplier evaluation, contract negotiation, and onboarding as top-level phases, each further broken down into specific tasks. The WBS serves as the foundation for scheduling, resource planning, and progress tracking. It ensures that nothing is overlooked and that all team members have a shared understanding of what the project entails. Purchasing professionals who use WBS methodology consistently produce more organized, on-time, and on-budget procurement outcomes.
The five phases of project management — Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing — provide a complete lifecycle framework for managing purchasing projects. During Initiation, the purchasing project's purpose, scope, and stakeholders are defined in a project charter. Planning involves developing the procurement plan, timeline, WBS, quality plan, and risk assessment. The Executing phase is where the actual purchasing work occurs: supplier outreach, negotiations, contract development, and purchase order issuance. Monitoring and Controlling runs concurrently with execution, tracking progress against the plan through milestone charts, status reports, and control point identification charts. Closing involves formal contract closure, lessons learned documentation, and supplier performance review. Applying this framework to purchasing ensures that procurement projects are managed with the same rigor as any other major organizational initiative.
Risk management in purchasing project management involves proactively identifying, assessing, and developing mitigation plans for events that could disrupt procurement outcomes. Common purchasing risks include supplier financial instability, sole-source dependency, geopolitical disruptions to supply chains, specification ambiguity leading to contract disputes, and regulatory compliance failures. Structured risk management tools — such as risk registers, probability-impact matrices, and FMEA — help purchasing teams identify the most significant risks and prioritize their mitigation efforts. Risk responses may include qualifying backup suppliers, negotiating performance bonds or liquidated damages clauses, building buffer lead times into schedules, or requiring financial transparency from key vendors. Incorporating risk management into every purchasing project, from a simple purchase order to a complex multi-year contract, is a professional discipline that reduces costly surprises.
A Statement of Work (SOW) is a formal document that defines the specific activities, deliverables, timelines, and performance standards a vendor is expected to meet under a contract. In purchasing, the SOW is one of the most important documents in a contract package because it establishes the precise scope of what is being purchased — eliminating ambiguity about what the supplier must deliver. A well-written SOW includes detailed descriptions of deliverables and acceptance criteria, project milestones and deadlines, quality requirements, communication expectations, and any constraints or assumptions. Vague or incomplete SOWs are a leading cause of contract disputes and cost overruns. Purchasing professionals who develop strong SOW writing skills reduce supplier misalignment, streamline acceptance processes, and create contracts that hold vendors accountable for clear, measurable outcomes.