Next Level Purchasing Association
Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) is a Durham, North Carolina-based procurement education provider offering a four-tier Certified Procurement Operations (CPO) credential series, online courses, membership subscriptions, and consulting services to individual procurement professionals and corporate procurement teams globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersDurham, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Next Level Purchasing Association does
Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA), founded in 2000 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, is a procurement and supply chain education provider operating as a subsidiary of The Certitrek Group. The organization delivers a four-tier Certified Procurement Operations (CPO) credential series — CPO Specialist, CPO Professional, CPO Manager, and CPO Executive — alongside full-length courses, express courses, on-demand webinars, articles, whitepapers, templates, case studies, and a salary benchmarking report. Its technology stack is centered on a Moodle-based Learning Management System served from lms.nextlevelpurchasing.com, supplemented by an e-commerce storefront (store.nextlevelpurchasing.com), Certitrek-hosted account/credential dashboards, and a credential verification portal.
NLPA serves two primary customer segments: individual procurement and supply chain professionals seeking career advancement through certification, and organizations pursuing procurement maturity, cost reduction, and process optimization through team training and consulting engagements. Distribution is product-led and self-serve for individuals, with consultative selling for corporate team packages and bespoke consulting. The monetization model blends one-time certification fees, recurring membership subscriptions (Standard and Premium tiers with gated content), online course sales, and professional services consulting. Geographic scope is declared global, with active LMS localization into English (US and International) and Spanish (International and Mexico).
The business is structured as Next Level Purchasing, LLC, a privately held North Carolina LLC, with no disclosed institutional investment, funding rounds, or M&A activity in the source data. Brand identity, certification trademarks, and proprietary course/exam materials are protected under copyright and trademark law. The most recent observable strategic activity is a co-marketing webinar with CobbleStone Software scheduled for November 5, 2025, focused on integrating procurement and contract management.
Next Level Purchasing Association firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Next Level Purchasing Association
- Legal name
- Next Level Purchasing, LLC
- Website
- https://nextlevelpurchasing.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) is a Durham, North Carolina-based procurement education provider offering a four-tier Certified Procurement Operations (CPO) credential series, online courses, membership subscriptions, and consulting services to individual procurement professionals and corporate procurement teams globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Next Level Purchasing Association industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Education and Training
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Procurement & Strategic Sourcing (BPAHAHAB)
Keywords
Where Next Level Purchasing Association is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Durham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Next Level Purchasing Association business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Certification Programs: Revenue generated from procurement certification exams and credentials including CPO Specialist, CPO Professional, CPO Executive, and CPO Manager programs. These are one-time or per-certification fees for individuals seeking professional credentials.
- Online Course Sales: Self-paced online courses, full-length courses, and express courses sold to individuals and teams. Pricing options available for group enrollments and bundled registrations with exclusive savings for organizations.
- Membership Subscriptions: Standard and premium membership tiers providing access to on-demand webinars, whitepapers, articles, templates, worksheets, case studies, and the NLPA Salary Report. Members receive ongoing content and professional development resources.
- Procurement Consulting Services: Expert consulting services helping organizations optimize procurement processes, implement best practices, and deliver measurable cost savings and operational improvements through tailored organizational solutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Course Pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Membership |
| Hybrid | Annual | Corporate Team Packages |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Next Level Purchasing Association product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) delivers globally recognized procurement certifications through its four-level Certified Procurement Operations (CPO) series, self-paced online courses, and tiered membership subscriptions, complemented by expert procurement consulting services for organizations seeking process optimization and cost reduction.
Product overview
NLPA offers a comprehensive procurement education ecosystem centered around its Certified Procurement Operations (CPO) certification series, which includes four progressive levels: CPO Specialist (CPOS), CPO Professional (CPOP), CPO Manager (CPOM), and CPO Executive (CPOE). The organization delivers training through its Moodle-powered Learning Management System (NLPA Learning), offering full-length courses, express courses, and on-demand webinars covering topics such as supply strategy, digital transformation, supplier management, cost optimization, and contract management. Additional resources include articles, whitepapers, templates, worksheets, case studies, and the NLPA Salary Report, with tiered access based on membership level. NLPA also provides expert procurement consulting services for organizations seeking to optimize processes and improve operational outcomes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CPO Specialist (CPOS)
Companies that use Next Level Purchasing Association
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Next Level Purchasing Association technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Next Level Purchasing Association partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- CobbleStone SoftwarecoreCobbleStone Software and NLPA co-host a webinar on November 5, 2025, titled 'Uniting Procurement & Contract Management for Strategic Success.' The partnership focuses on exploring how integrating procurement and contract management can enhance enterprise performance, eliminating silos, streamlining operations, and reducing risks through best practices and technology solutions.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Next Level Purchasing Association competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Skillsoft: Skillsoft is a large enterprise corporate learning platform offering thousands of courses including procurement and supply chain content; broader and more diversified than NLPA, but competes for the same enterprise L&D budget for procurement upskilling.
- Coursera: Coursera partners with universities and companies to offer online courses and certificates, including supply chain and procurement programs from schools like Rutgers and Arizona State — directly competing for the same learner persona seeking recognized credentials.
- LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning offers a broad catalog of business courses including procurement topics, bundled with LinkedIn Premium subscriptions; competes with NLPA for individual learners and corporate training budgets at significantly broader scale.
Direct peers
- Procurement Leaders: Procurement Leaders operates a subscription research, events, and training community for senior procurement executives, overlapping with NLPA's executive-tier training and consulting offerings for similar CPO/Chief Procurement Officer audiences.
- Institute for Supply Management (ISM): ISM is a US-based professional association for supply management professionals offering certifications (CPSM, CPSD) and training, directly competing with NLPA in procurement certification and continuing education for the same buyer personas.
- Procurious: Procurious is an online professional network and learning platform specifically for procurement and supply chain professionals, directly comparable to NLPA's online certification and community-focused education model.
- Sourcing Industry Group (SIG): SIG is a membership organization providing procurement, sourcing, and outsourcing education, events, and resources — closely aligned with NLPA's professional development and certification focus for procurement practitioners.
- Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS): CIPS is a global professional body offering procurement and supply chain qualifications and memberships, directly comparable to NLPA's CPO certification series and membership tiers. It serves the same buyer persona (procurement professionals) with similarly tiered credentials, though it is a larger UK-headquartered chartered body.
Emerging players
- APQC (American Productivity & Quality Center): APQC is a member-based nonprofit providing benchmarks, research, and education on operational best practices including procurement, partially overlapping with NLPA's research resources and consulting practice.
- Art of Procurement: Art of Procurement operates a podcast, community, and training events focused on procurement leadership, adjacent to NLPA's webinars and executive education offerings for the same CPO buyer persona.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Next Level Purchasing Association social profiles
Digital presenceNext Level Purchasing Association financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Next Level Purchasing Association leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Next Level Purchasing Association funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Next Level Purchasing Association M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Next Level Purchasing Association
What does Next Level Purchasing Association do?
Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) delivers globally recognized procurement certifications through its four-level Certified Procurement Operations (CPO) series, self-paced online courses, and tiered membership subscriptions, complemented by expert procurement consulting services for organizations seeking process optimization and cost reduction.
Is Next Level Purchasing Association a public or private company?
Next Level Purchasing Association is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Next Level Purchasing Association founded?
Next Level Purchasing Association was founded in 2000. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Next Level Purchasing Association based?
Next Level Purchasing Association is headquartered in Durham, United States, in the North America region.
How does Next Level Purchasing Association make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Certification Programs are the primary driver. The others are online Course Sales, membership Subscriptions and procurement Consulting Services.
Who are Next Level Purchasing Association's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Skillsoft, Coursera and LinkedIn Learning. Direct peers are Procurement Leaders, Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Procurious, Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) and Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS). Emerging players are APQC (American Productivity & Quality Center) and Art of Procurement.
Does Next Level Purchasing Association have an API?
No public API is recorded for Next Level Purchasing Association.
What industry is Next Level Purchasing Association in?
Next Level Purchasing Association's product category is Professional Education and Training. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAHAB, Procurement & Strategic Sourcing. Its SIC code is 8600.