Buying skills that could build you a bright future
DEMAND is growing for purchasing and supply managers, who buy the goods and services that organisations need, such as raw materials and advertising.
Food and nutrition graduate Fleur Carter is now a buyer at Prestige Purchasing, a consultancy that provides procurement and supply services to companies in the food and drink industry.
Fleur says: ‘As part of my degree course I did a placement at a wholesale cheese supplier, and I’d always been interested in a buying career, so this role suited me and I could see a future career pathway.
‘Now I enjoy working in a team to provide the client with the best value and quality for their needs. It is rewarding on the completion of a purchasing project when you have met or exceeded the client’s brief.’
Fleur advises people interested in a purchasing career: ‘You need good communication skills and must be a team player. I recommend starting as a buyer in a purchasing consultancy company, as this provides an insight into a wide range of companies and excellent knowledge and grounding for the future.’
Shaun Allen, chief executive of Prestige Purchasing, says: ‘We look for candidates with strong commercial and financial skills, who are good communicators and ideally have, or are willing to work towards, a formal qualification such as through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).’
Roger Tweedy, for the Association of Professional Staffing Companies, says: ‘Skilled procurement professionals make a crucial contribution to an organisation’s profits, using negotiation and people skills, the ability to recognise fair deals and where value can be added.
‘ Increasingly, employers seek
analytical skills and a good knowledge of contractual partnerships and the broader supply chain.’
Many big organisations have set up graduate and apprentice schemes and it is possible to swap over from roles in areas such as operations, sales or finance.
Salaries start at around £20,000 and can reach £ 100,000. Chief procurement officers and supply chain directors now often have seats on the board.
For details, see cips.org.