Procurement & Strategic Sourcing (formerly: Business - Purchasing)

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Courses - September 2025

Level 1

Course details

Fundamentals for Effective Written Communication
COMM1410

Description:

This course is designed to help students acquire accuracy and clarity in written communication for business workplace settings. The course will also help students develop writing skills that reinforce the use of correct grammar and mechanics. Emphasis will be placed on applying correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling to a variety of business-related documents.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Business Computing Applications I
COMP1056

Description:

During this course, the student will learn to effectively use Windows operating system, apply word processing techniques, create basic business presentations, and explore the power of spreadsheets . Students will also learn the skills necessary to operate effectively within the Conestoga College computing environment. An emphasis will be placed on the development of solutions to business problems using commonly available microcomputer tools.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Conestoga 101
CON0101

Description: This self-directed course focuses on introducing new students to the supports, services, and opportunities available at Conestoga College. By the end of this course, students will understand the academic expectations of the Conestoga learning environment, as well as the supports available to ensure their academic success. Students will also be able to identify on-campus services that support their health and wellness, and explore ways to get actively involved in the Conestoga community through co-curricular learning opportunities.
  • Hours: 1
  • Credits: 0
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Business Mathematics I
MATH1010

Description: The purpose of the course is to provide the student with a mathematical basis for personal and business financial decisions through four instructional modules. The course stresses business applications using arithmetic, algebra, ratio-proportion and graphing. Applications include payroll, cost-volume-profit analysis and merchandising mathematics. This course stresses logical reasoning and problem solving skills. A Texas Instrument BAII “Plus” calculator is required for the course.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Marketing I
MKT1040

Description: Marketing is about knowing the customers and the creative and strategic processes to meet their needs, wants and desires. This highly interactive course introduces you to the world of marketing from both a societal and organizational perspective. You will participate in a variety of hands-on practical activities and projects to immerse yourself in the fundamentals of marketing.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Introduction to Supply Chain and Operations Management
OPER1160

Description:

A Supply Chain is a network of organizations that are involved in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate customer or consumer. Operations Management is one of the three major functions of a business, along with Marketing and Accounting / Finance, and focuses on designing, creating, and improving goods and services. Understanding key Supply Chain and Operations Management foundations is crucial to any company's success and profitability. This introductory course will expose students to topics related to how products and services are created and delivered to the customer.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Purchasing I
OPER1480

Description:

This course is the introductory course in the fundamental nature of purchasing. Students will address how the effective use of this function can assist in the success of an organization. Purchasing is a critical process within the wider scope of Supply Chain Mgmt. This course provides the theoretical foundations, before learning how to apply the tools of Supply Mgmt and strategy, in the second course.

  • Hours: 56
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Level 2

Course details

Introduction to Accounting Principles
ACCT1220

Description:

This course is designed to provide business students with knowledge about financial and managerial accounting. In particular, methodologies of financial measurement for decision-making purposes will be studied. Students will also learn about accounting principles involved in the operation of a business.

  • Hours: 56
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Organizational Behaviour
BUS1021

Description: This course is a study of workplace behaviour at the individual, team and organizational level. The course explores theories of motivation, perceptions, emotions, team effectiveness, decision making, leadership, power, culture, and change. The concepts and application explored will guide students in their application of best practices to strengthen organizations and their overall effectiveness as global citizens.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

College Reading & Writing Skills
COMM1085

Description: This course introduces students to the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills needed for academic and workplace success. Students will analyse a variety of texts and apply the steps of planning, writing, and revising to produce writing that meets the expectations of selected audiences and purposes. The course prepares students for college-level writing tasks, research, and documentation by asking them to produce clear, informed, and purposeful documents relevant to both academic and professional contexts.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Business Computing Collaboration and Productivity
COMP1086

Description:

As the expansion of remote learning and working becomes normalized in today’s business environment, effectively utilizing information technology to work, share and communicate is an essential skill. Business must collaborate with employees, business partners, and other stakeholders across multiple geographic and time zones. The purpose of this course is to provide a foundational skill set to effectively utilize communication, collaboration, productivity, and other Office365 applications within a business context. In addition, its purpose is to expand on the knowledge base acquired previously to utilize a spreadsheet program for the purpose of analysing and reporting on data collections. Upon completion of this course, students will be expected to utilize these tools for collaborating and communicating with all group related activities within the program.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: COMP1056
  • CoRequisites:

Purchasing II
OPER2205

Description:

Building upon the foundation of the first purchasing course, this course will focus on the processes, tools, methods, and strategies applied in the most effective and efficient manner for purchasing activities; like sourcing, tendering, cost management, supplier/contract management & evaluation, and purchasing devolution. All of this will be reinforced through applied exercises and assignments, culminating with an introduction to how purchasing supports the overall organizational strategies and goals of customer satisfaction.

  • Hours: 56
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites: OPER1480
  • CoRequisites:
Electives: General Education
Student must pass 1 Course(s), selected in the Student Portal from available course options

Level 3

Course details

Macroeconomics
ECON1030

Description: This course is a study of the Canadian economy as a whole. It introduces students to principles that are essential to an understanding of contemporary macroeconomic issues facing Canadian society. It examines the structure and performance of the Canadian economy utilizing economic models and aggregate economic indicators such as gross domestic product, employment, unemployment, income and productivity growth, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, balance of payments; and the impact of domestic and international influences and of government fiscal and monetary policies.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Supply Chain Management
OPER1220

Description: This introductory course will provide an overview of the transformation and flow of materials in a supply chain and how they are integrated. Areas of study include forecasting, planning, sourcing, production, and delivery of products and services to customers.
  • Hours: 56
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites: OPER1160
  • CoRequisites:

Applied Business Processes
OPER2020

Description:

The use of enterprise systems is essential to managing the operations of a multi-national organization. Through the applied use of SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, this course will explore the functional structure and process orientation of a business. Process orientation, and its relationship to improved cross-functional interaction, has been discussed by many business thought leaders, including W. Edwards Deming and Michael Porter. This course will conceptualize information systems as the utilization of technical resources to support organizational processes. Students will be engaged in an active learning approach including use of SAP ERP, as well as ERPsim - a game-based ERP simulation. Within this context, students will learn to manage a company’s key business processes in a real-time simulated competitive environment to gain technical skills with SAP and learn how ERP systems facilitate the creation of transactional data and the foundations of business reporting and analysis.

  • Hours: 56
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Introduction to Logistics
OPER2050

Description:

This course is focused on the functions and objectives of a person working in the Logistics field. The major emphasis of the course is to understand the business environment, processes and requirements that support the moving and storage of raw materials, products and information in domestic and global supply chains. Students will investigate modes of transportation and storage, use of technology and regulations that affect logistics. This course will discuss third-party logistics, circular versus linear supply chains and strategies for reducing total system costs, impacts and risks that supply chains can have on the environment.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Procurement Law and Case Study Analysis
OPER2235

Description:

This course will provide the student with a comprehensive study of purchasing and supply management practices and applications. Topics include purchasing organization, supplier management, and price determination.

  • Hours: 56
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites: OPER2200 OR OPER2205
  • CoRequisites:
Electives: General Education
Student must pass 1 Course(s), selected in the Student Portal from available course options

Level 4

Course details

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
BUS2180

Description: Modern corporations can no longer operate as autonomous, single-minded organizations. This course provides students with an introduction to the concepts of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a business context. It examines issues in CSR, emphasizing accountability for, and reporting of, the social and environmental effects of an organization’s economic actions to stakeholders. Without exception, the external environments are complex, dynamic, and unpredictable. Companies today are caught in a crossfire of external (and sometimes internal) demands related to how they manage their responsibilities to a wide range of stakeholders, including employees, investors, suppliers, customers, communities, and national governments where they operate, particularly where long supply chains exist in developing nations. As a result of these conditions, corporations can be seen creating dialogue, relationships, and formal inter-organizational ties to a broad number of other parties and constituencies. In addition, those other parties and constituencies are exerting considerable influence on the formulation and execution of strategies. In large measure, the strategic management of these relationships is a keystone to business
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Manufacturing Purchasing
OPER2060

Description:

Purchasing within the context of a manufacturing organization has a unique set of knowledge, tools, methods, and skills required. When executed effectively purchasing can reduce risks, facilitate innovation, and improve overall value. Students in this course will examine and apply the various approaches to purchasing within a manufacturing or industrial context. They will explore how to reduce total cost of ownership by applying best practices, for acquisition of everything from raw materials to M.R.O. (Mtce-Repair-Operations) to Capital equipment. In addition, they will address issues of Occupational Health & Safety, environmental impacts and regulations (WHMIS-GHS), as well as sustainability. This will require an understanding of manufacturing processes, technical language, interpretation of blueprints and industry specific standards, with required certifications or testing reports.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Negotiation
OPER2080

Description:

Negotiations is about finding out if there are terms for cooperation that are acceptable to both parties. Knowing how to negotiate is a critical skill. Whether between suppliers, customers, other managers, employees or other stakeholders. In this course you will learn negotiation strategies, tactics & ploys, to research, plan, and achieve your objectives in various business contexts. Supplemental factors will be to incorporate an understanding of psychological and cultural differences in global negotiations, along with comparisons to alternative methods of dispute resolution between parties. To help apply the introduction of these tools and methods there will be simulation exercises and case studies for analysis.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Public Purchasing
OPER2240

Description:

Although purchasing is a process, based upon fundamental principles and best practices, there are some very unique differences between public and private sectors. While industrial, commercial and retail buying is directly linked to the generation of profit, public buying enables the delivery of satisfaction to all citizens and the fulfilment of public policy. This is further linked through political direction to influence socio-economic needs, with trade agreements, at all domestic and international levels. Therefore, the content of this course is designed to help the purchasing professional better understand the nature of public buying and the very different drivers which are leading the strategic directions of their organization.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: OPER2230 OR OPER2235
  • CoRequisites:

Retail Buying
OPER2250

Description: From the fundamentals of buying and relevant merchandising mathematics, this specialized course on resale buying focuses on its’ immediate connection to retail customers. The buying function is critical to the success of any retail firm and its’ profits. The materials cover topics in organization, planning, merchandising, profitability, vendor selection, negotiation, buying, technology and Corporate Social Responsibility.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: OPER2230 OR OPER2235
  • CoRequisites:
Electives: General Education
Student must pass 1 Course(s), selected in the Student Portal from available course options

Program outcomes

  1. Collaborate with diverse cross-functional teams to support organizational goals.
  2. Leverage existing procurement and strategic sourcing policies and practices to ensure adherence to legal, ethical, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and other organizational standards.
  3. Facilitate the implementation of plans and schedules across different organizational levels to support procurement and supply chain management effectiveness.
  4. Apply quality management practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of materials and operations management.
  5. Evaluate suppliers and their performance, using a comprehensive set of criteria, to support organizational goals.
  6. Propose value analysis strategies to streamline procurement processes, reduce costs, mitigate risks, and ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
  7. Use business applications of computer information systems to support purchasing and strategic sourcing.
  8. Negotiate terms and conditions with suppliers to deliver optimal business solutions to an organization.
  9. Evaluate the terms and conditions of supplier contracts to support the organization’s supplier selection process.
  10. Develop requests for quotations and tenders to find suppliers that meet business needs.