Core Certificate: Foundations of Warehousing and Inventory Management

Description

Oftentimes over looked in favor of the more traditional responsibilities, the warehousing and inventory management apparatus of the public procurement function is a critical standard through which procurement professionals provide value to their larger governmental entities. Empowering learners with the foundation to ensure goods and materials are handled efficiently, effectively, and safely, NIGP’s Foundations of Warehousing and Inventory Management Core Certificate provides learners with the actions they need to succeed when providing support to their entity’s warehousing functions. Addressing working with internal and external stakeholders, asset control, waste reduction, storage utility, and maximum return on investment, Foundations of Warehousing and Inventory Management empowers public procurement professionals with actionable opportunities and best-practice guidance, promoting effective warehousing functionality to the logistic and economic benefit of all stakeholders.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of the certificate, the certificate holder will be able to:

• Analyze the requirements for a procurement and determine which transportation and logistics processes provide the best solutions for the entity.
• Increase service to internal customers to provide faster warehousing turnaround.
• Define freight and logistics terms and conditions with internal and external stakeholders.
• Identify warehousing and logistics issues or concerns, to include the storage, movement, and delivery of commodities throughout the life of their usage in order to best meet entity needs.
• Track the precise location and distribution points of goods and assets at any point in the process.
• Discuss various techniques for safely and effectively managing inventories and optimizing inventory supply services to stakeholders.
• Develop processes and procedures to ensure safe, efficient, and ethically-aligned disposal of surplus, excess, or obsolete commodities.
• Decrease on-site physical injury through effective safety protocol.
• Reduce waste and risk of security breaches through effective commodity evaluation and disposal methodology.

Intended Audience

This certificate is targeted to individuals who meet or exceed the following professional demographics:

• Public procurement and central warehouse professionals who serve as assistants, coordinators, buyers, or equivalent functions within their respective entities.
   
• Non-procurement managers and supervisors who are responsible for either the procurement function or staff who provide procurement functions under delegated authority.
   
• Professionals who are employed by governing entities and special authorities (such as K-12 and higher education, publicly-owned utilities, transportation providers, and other publicly-funded or created organizations) that either serve within or manage the procurement function.
   

• Suppliers or representatives of suppliers seeking to understand the public procurement function from a holistic level, including the policies, standards, and procedures by which public entities must function. 

Pre-Work

Prior to entering the classroom environment, students will be enrolled in the following self-paced courses to learn and practice necessary concepts.

NIGP has not currently identified if pre-work is necessary for this core certificate. Should pre-work be identified, learners will receive the materials two weeks prior to the physical start date. Contact hours will be adjusted to include pre-work.