SoftconCIS, a specialist in purchasing controlling, is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its in-house academy this year. At this training center, SoftconCIS offers seminars and courses on all aspects of purchasing and purchasing controlling. The SoftconCIS Academy is well known in the industry as a training ground for purchasing controlling experts. Course participants and students not only gain important practical knowledge, but also make valuable contacts. To date, more than 1,000 purchasers have attended courses at the SoftconCIS Academy.
A milestone for the academy was the development of the “Purchasing Controlling” certificate course for experienced specialists and managers in purchasing and logistics – in cooperation with the OHM Professional School in Nuremberg. The course covers controlling methods specifically tailored to purchasing – at an academic level: for example, spend and potential analyses and purchasing strategy, key performance indicators, balanced scorecards, purchasing planning, and performance measurement.
“Ten years ago, purchasing controlling was a completely undiscovered area. Purchasing played only a minor role in companies – only the most progressive company bosses had recognized its potential back then,“ recalls Werner Güntner, Managing Director of SoftconCIS. ”We wanted to give purchasers an idea of how purchasing can work much more strategically and demonstrate this to management. We were virtually overwhelmed at the first event.”
In recent years, the role of purchasing has changed. A successful purchaser must be both a specialist and a generalist. They are more numbers-driven than in the past and differ greatly from traditional dispatchers. They are now expected to work strategically. Purchasers are much better trained today, which is why many of the academy’s seminars now have a special focus, such as “Purchasing Controlling in Indirect Purchasing.” In addition, the “Trend Day Purchasing Controlling” takes place regularly with high-caliber presentations and participants.
A lot of money is spent in purchasing, which is why there is huge potential here. If purchasing reduces expenditure by just one percent, this can increase annual profits by up to 20 percent. “But to do this, you need good, perfectly trained people – and that’s where we want to contribute with our academy,” says Güntner.
