Some of the personal qualities and skills needed to
succeed in Purchasing
The purchasing and supply management profession is
continuing to grow and expand its influence and there
has never been a better time for Graduates to join this
exciting and ever changing function.
 There
has always been opportunities for Buyers (for Buyers
or Buying read Procurement or Purchasing and vice versa)
but following the swing from a supplier controlled industry
to one that is increasingly becoming more buyer controlled,
employers are finding that the number of talented purchasing
and supply staff is no match for the increased demand
for quality individuals. There will always be great
opportunities out there for good people at all levels,
with the right skills, experience and attitude.
Within purchasing, more and more emphasis is being
placed on buying the right products and services to
fit the longer term needs of the business, with the
expectation of best value, total cost solutions being
achieved rather than a simple quick, price focused fit.
Today, many companies are transforming their Purchasing
& Supply Chain functions in order to unlock even
greater added value. They recognise that Purchasing
should be making more of a contribution to the bottom
line profits and should also be providing a real competitive
advantage. They also recognise that controlling and
containing costs is a vital business imperative.
To be successful, Purchasing not only has to understand
the organisation’s goals and overall strategy,
they also need to understand the requirements of its
own internal customers and be able to face the challenge
of responding to today’s constantly changing business
environment, which is often affected by a range of factors
including new customer needs, changing regulatory requirements
and different ways of working. There is a constant battle
for buyers and suppliers to understand each other’s
needs and expectations and for them to work together
to ensure that they develop the best possible relationships
that will deliver successful business outcomes for both
parties.
Whilst the traditional purchasing skills, such as financial
management, contract management, cost reduction and
basic negotiation, are still key, they are largely ‘learned’
skills and can be acquired by most people these days
through the right training and education programmes
(click on www.cips.org
in order to find out more information regarding training
and qualifications). However in order to succeed in
today’s more ‘strategic’ environment,
good relationship management skills are essential.
The current relationship between partners (suppliers)
is unlike the traditional adversarial one where the
buyer pits one supplier against another, focusing entirely
on unit cost in order to get the best price. In a strategic
purchasing environment, both companies view each other
as relatively equal in terms of the relationship and
work with each other right from the start to share information,
training, support, technical input and ideas etc., in
order to reduce the total overall cost. At the same
time the buyer is also working closely with internal
customers to ensure their needs are met, sometimes having
to ‘sell’ purchasing to the likes of say
Marketing or IT in order to gain their buy-in to the
process.
Good relationship management skills are therefore critical,
yet less easily ‘learned’ in a classroom
environment. Those individuals who are generally most
successful within the purchasing environment understand
just how important it is to develop these ‘softer’
skills that include: listening, understanding, communicating,
empathy, selling not telling, and lots more.
The emergence of the purchasing specialist, largely
as a result of the introduction of Category Management,
now provides more opportunities for the discerning graduate
to consider. Increasingly, purchasing individuals are
now able to choose to specialise in areas such as Marketing,
IT, Consultancy Services, Fleet, Travel, Facilities
Management or Production etc.
The use of technology is also playing an increasingly
important role in enabling businesses to become more
competitive by incorporating new working practices.
E-procurement for instance is designed to help a business
gain control over, and simplify, the process of purchasing
goods and services from multiple suppliers.
Consolidating supplier information within a single
e-platform, providing online contract negotiation and
easy access to management information for supplier analysis,
gives purchasing managers and senior executives the
ability to better manage their vendors and the approval
and transaction processes. Keeping abreast of the changes
in technology as an important purchasing and business
tool is yet another skill to learn and develop.
The Purchasing and Supply Chain profession has undergone
major transformation over the last few years. It provides
an excellent and exciting functional area for graduates
who want to have a real impact. However, you cannot
expect to walk into a purchasing role and have all of
the above skills in your personal toolkit - some of
them will take a substantial amount of time to build
up and develop. What is important however, is being
aware of where your own specific skills gaps are so
that you can work with your manager and team to develop
them, either through formal training programmes or through
a Corporate Purchasing Development route.
Also, take time to understand the organisation you
work in; what’s the culture like and where does
purchasing sit in the grand scheme of things? This will
help you shape future opportunities and make suggestions
for improvements. Understanding what makes a proficient
and successful purchaser at an early stage will help
you build your own successful team in the future.
For more information on a career in purchasing contact
us on: 01423 520080 and speak to one of our experienced
Consultants.
If you need more information about training or qualifications
then visit: www.cips.org
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