A Seminar in Sustainable Procurement

- Wittenborg postgraduate student Zoleka Skweyiya reports -

Recently, students of Wittenborg University attended a seminar on Sustainable Procurement presented by Antoinette Smal and Wim Vriend.  At the start of the seminar the students briefly explained their expectations of their learning outcomes for the day ahead before immersing themselves in the subject matter.

Quickly, the students were able to distinguish the difference between the act of purchasing and procuring. While getting to grips with the major contemporary challenges and issues faced by procurement officers in multinational corporations, the students learnt the importance of businesses improving the ‘balance’ between people, planet, and profit in this rapidly changing world where innovation, flexibility, volatile financial markets, and new competitive strategies are the new norms faced by businesses.

During the seminar the students gained an appreciation for the necessity to incorporate socially responsible practices, adopt the right global sourcing strategies, analyse corporate spend with a view to greater control of category management, nurture supplier relationships, and improve contract management within the supply chain.

Before the seminar wrapped up the students also learnt about major purchasing risks in different industries and how big corporations control this purchasing risk. The day proved to be a fun and interactive day of learning about the numerous developments in business practices advanced by globalisation and sustainability.