Purchasing Managers

equipment information enterprising policy data procurement manager material plan procedure employee

Materials Manager, Procurement Manager, Purchasing Director, Purchasing Manager

What they do:
Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.
On the job, you would:
  • Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
  • Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales.
  • Prepare bid awards requiring board approval.

Knowledge

Business

  • management
  • customer service

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Safety and Government

  • law and government

Engineering and Technology

  • computers and electronics

Skills

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • talking to others

Social

  • bringing people together to solve differences
  • understanding people's reactions

Resource Management

  • selecting and managing the best workers for a job
  • managing your time and the time of other people

Abilities

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • come up with lots of ideas
  • use rules to solve problems

Math

  • add, subtract, multiply, or divide
  • choose the right type of math to solve a problem

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.

They do well at jobs that need:

  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Cooperation
  • Dependability
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Adaptability/Flexibility

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

  • Microsoft Dynamics Hot Technology
  • Oracle PeopleSoft Hot Technology

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint Hot Technology In Demand

Procurement software

  • Purchasing software
  • SAP Ariba

Education

Education: (rated 4 of 5)
bachelor's degree or
certificate after high school
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future.
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