Description

A focused course, tailored for you

Defence Procurement Compliance for MCIPS Practitioners

Close the gap between your CIPS qualification and what DFARS, CMMC, and export-control clauses actually require on the desk.

Your CIPS qualification taught you sourcing rigour. Defence contracting added a second compliance layer that CIPS never covered: DFARS flow-down clauses, CMMC supplier tiers, ITAR/EAR screening at the point of source selection, and audit-ready documentation that survives a DCAA or DCMA visit. Most MCIPS practitioners discover the gap when a finding lands.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

A DFARS 252.204-7012 flow-down error is not a paperwork issue. It is a contract performance issue that the Contracting Officer notices. CMMC Level 2 requirements are flowing to subcontractors whether or not your qualification checklist reflects them. Export-control screening at source selection is a legal requirement, not a post-award step. And the source-selection rationale that passes an internal review often does not pass a DCMA contract audit. MCIPS training covers ethical sourcing, category management, and commercial negotiation. It does not cover the specific artefacts a government auditor opens first.

What you walk away with

Build a DFARS clause flow-down matrix that maps each applicable clause to the correct supplier tier and revision.
Construct a supplier qualification checklist that satisfies CMMC Level 2 subcontractor requirements.
Create an ITAR/EAR screening log for source-selection decisions that survives a DCMA contract audit.
Write source-selection rationale documentation to the standard a Contracting Officer and DCAA auditor expect.
Design a supplier risk register that captures compliance posture alongside commercial risk.
Implement a continuous monitoring cadence that catches clause-revision changes before they become findings.

The 12 modules

Module 1. How Defence Procurement Compliance Differs from Commercial Best Practice

Maps the gap between CIPS methodology and the defence-specific compliance layer. Covers the regulatory architecture: FAR, DFARS, agency supplements, and how they interact with your contract. Introduces the four artefacts a government auditor opens first: the flow-down matrix, the qualification checklist, the screening log, and the source-selection rationale. By the end you know exactly which gaps your current process has.

Module 2. Reading and Applying DFARS Clauses in Source Selection

Systematic walkthrough of the most-cited DFARS clauses in a typical prime contract: 252.204-7012 (cybersecurity), 252.225-7009 (specialty metals), 252.246-7007 (contractor counterfeit electronic part detection), and the handful that generate the most audit findings. You build a clause-reading template that extracts the supplier-facing obligation from each clause and the evidence an auditor expects to see.

Module 3. Flow-Down Matrix: Which Clauses Go to Which Suppliers

Teaches the logic for determining which FAR and DFARS clauses flow to subcontractors and at what tier. Covers the distinction between mandatory flow-down, discretionary flow-down, and commercial item exemptions. You produce a working flow-down matrix template keyed to your contract's prime clauses, with a column for supplier acknowledgement and a column for audit evidence. The common error patterns that generate DCMA findings are documented alongside.

Module 4. Supplier Qualification for CMMC Level 2 Subcontractor Requirements

CMMC Level 2 flows to subcontractors who handle CUI. This module builds the qualification checklist your procurement team uses before awarding subcontracts on affected programs. Covers how to read a supplier's CMMC assessment scope, what a System Security Plan summary tells you, what it does not tell you, and how to document your due-diligence rationale in the supplier qualification record. Includes the questions to ask in a supplier qualification call.

Module 5. ITAR and EAR Screening at the Point of Source Selection

Export-control screening is required before award, not after delivery. This module covers the ITAR/EAR determination checklist, the red-flag indicators in a supplier profile (foreign ownership, control, and influence indicators; sanctioned-entity name matching; technology-category mismatches), and how to document a negative determination. Builds the screening log template that satisfies a DDTC or BIS audit inquiry and integrates it into your existing source-selection process.

Module 6. Source-Selection Rationale That Survives an Audit

Most source-selection documentation is written to pass internal approval. This module rewrites it to pass external scrutiny. Covers the elements a Contracting Officer wants in a competitive source-selection rationale, the elements DCAA looks for during a forward-pricing audit, and how to document a sole-source determination in a way that withstands protest. You produce a source-selection rationale template with annotated guidance for each section.

Module 7. Supplier Risk Register: Compliance Posture Alongside Commercial Risk

Integrates compliance risk into the commercial supplier risk register your team already maintains. Adds four compliance-risk dimensions: clause-flow-down status, CMMC posture, export-control clearance, and counterfeit-part incident history. Covers the scoring approach, the escalation threshold, and the review cadence. The output is a single register that procurement, contracts, and programme management can all work from without maintaining separate compliance tracking spreadsheets.

Module 8. Counterfeit Electronic Part Controls Under DFARS 252.246-7007

Defence contractors on electronic assemblies face mandatory counterfeit detection requirements. This module covers the approved supplier list criteria, the test-and-inspection protocol, the reporting obligation when a counterfeit is discovered, and the documentation the government expects to see in your purchasing system data. Builds the supplier approval record and the test certificate log that satisfy a DCMA surveillance visit.

Module 9. Specialty Metals and Other Supply-Chain Restriction Clauses

DFARS 252.225-7009 and related clauses restrict the country of origin for specific materials. This module covers which programs are affected, how to verify compliance through the supply chain, how to document the country-of-origin determination at each tier, and how to handle a waiver request when compliant material is genuinely unavailable. Includes the traceability documentation format that satisfies a prime contractor's flow-down audit.

Module 10. Preparing for a DCMA Contract Management Office Review

A DCMA Contract Management Office review covers purchasing system adequacy: your policies, procedures, and records for supplier selection, qualification, and flow-down compliance. This module walks the DFARS 252.244-7001 purchasing system criteria, identifies the twelve most-common deficiencies, and builds the evidence folder structure that lets you respond to a finding within 24 hours. Covers corrective action plan format and root-cause documentation.

Module 11. Continuous Monitoring: Catching Clause Changes Before They Become Findings

DFARS clauses are revised on a rolling basis. A clause that was compliant at contract award may have been superseded by the time of a mid-contract audit. This module builds a monitoring cadence: a quarterly clause-revision scan, a supplier-notification workflow, and a contract-amendment trigger process. Covers the DCSA and DAU notification channels, the search tools for tracking DFARS rule changes, and how to document a proactive correction before a finding is raised.

Module 12. Building the Audit-Ready Procurement File

Assembles everything from the prior modules into a single audit-ready procurement file structure. Covers document retention requirements under FAR 4.703 and DFARS supplements, the evidence an auditor expects to find in each supplier file, and the internal review process that keeps your files audit-ready between formal audits. The final deliverable is a file-structure template and a pre-audit checklist your team can run quarterly.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

Supplier qualification call is tomorrow and you are not sure whether their CMMC Level 2 self-assessment covers the CUI scope your contract requires. Module 4.

A DFARS 252.204-7012 flow-down question came back from a subcontractor and you are not certain which revision applies to your prime contract. Module 3.

Your source-selection rationale was challenged by the Contracting Officer and you need to understand what documentation standard you were being held to. Module 6.

DCMA has scheduled a purchasing system adequacy review and you have two weeks to organise your supplier files. Module 10 and Module 12.

What you get with this course

Twelve written modules covering the full defence procurement compliance stack.
DFARS clause flow-down matrix template with revision-tracking column.
CMMC Level 2 supplier qualification checklist.
ITAR/EAR source-selection screening log template.
Source-selection rationale template with auditor-facing annotations.
Supplier risk register with compliance-posture columns.
Pre-audit procurement file checklist.
Hand-built implementation playbook tailored to your specific role and program context, delivered alongside course access.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.

Before and after

Before

Strong commercial procurement skills, MCIPS credential, but a gap between your qualification and the specific artefacts a DCMA or DCAA auditor opens first. Findings land at audit time.

After

A complete defence procurement compliance layer built into your daily process: flow-down matrix, CMMC supplier qualification, export-control screening, and audit-ready source-selection documentation.

What happens if you do not address this

The next DCMA purchasing system review will surface the gap between your procurement process and the DFARS compliance documentation standard. A finding in the purchasing system triggers a corrective action plan, increased surveillance, and potential withholding of contract payments until the system is deemed adequate.

Who it is for

Senior procurement and supply chain professionals holding MCIPS or working toward it, based at prime contractors, systems integrators, or tier-1 defence suppliers. You are accountable for supplier qualification, flow-down compliance, and source-selection documentation on contracts that carry DFARS clauses and increasingly CMMC requirements. You have strong commercial procurement skills and want to close the defence-specific compliance layer that sits on top.

Who this is NOT for. Commercial procurement professionals with no government contract exposure. Compliance managers focused on internal IT security rather than supply chain. New-entrant procurement coordinators without contract management accountability.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Each module is a focused 30-40 minute session. The full course is completable in a single working week alongside normal duties.

Why $199 is the right number

CIPS continuing professional development covers commercial best practice but not the DFARS-specific compliance layer. Defence acquisition courses from DAU are US government-employee oriented and do not address the supplier-qualification and flow-down documentation obligations of a prime contractor's procurement team. This course is written for the MCIPS practitioner who needs the defence compliance layer, not a repeat of procurement fundamentals.

FAQ

Does this cover UK MOD procurement or US DoD?

The compliance framework is US DoD: FAR, DFARS, CMMC, ITAR/EAR, DCMA. The procurement process principles (qualification, flow-down documentation, risk registers) apply equally to UK and Australian defence contracting, but the specific clause references are US.

Do I need a CMMC background before starting?

No. Module 4 covers the CMMC framework from the supplier-qualification perspective. Prior CMMC knowledge is useful but not required.

Is this relevant for subcontractors as well as prime contractors?

Yes. Tier-1 and tier-2 subcontractors receive the same flow-down clauses and face the same DCMA surveillance as primes. The flow-down matrix and qualification checklist modules are directly applicable.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.