The best part of it is, though, you are paid to shop, and that is what most people like about it. When you get purchasing jobs, you usually start out in entry-level positions and work your way up to something like purchasing manager jobs. In some cases, you may even wish to go out on your own as a purchasing consultant. To do that, though, you will probably need to be in the industry first and learn specific skills before you can hang out your own shingle.
Duties of the job
Purchasing managers and purchasing agents buy products either for company use or for resale. In most cases, purchasing managers buy products for their company to use itself. Purchasing agents, on the other hand, may buy products for resale. Regardless of what they do, though, those who are purchasing consultants need to keep their eye on the market so that they get the best deals possible, including from suppliers they use often, as applicable.
Those who purchase for a living must look at technical support, reliability, availability, quality, and price when they make their purchases. They try to get the best deals possible, meaning that they are of the highest quality and lowest price so that they can keep their overhead costs low and therefore save money for their customers, too. Those who are purchasing consultants have to keep abreast of a number of things, including inventory levels, sales records, domestic and foreign suppliers, and general supply and demand trends for needed materials. To be such a consultant, you will also need to have a thorough knowledge of the services or goods you are purchasing.
At industrial organizations especially, you may be given different job titles if you are a buyer or agent versus a purchasing manager. As an agent, you may specialize in a commodity or group of commodities such as cotton, lumber, steel, or petroleum products. You will also keep track of market conditions, pricing, and what pricing is going to be in the future. As a purchasing manager, you may supervise a group of agents or do other more specialized duties such as seek new suppliers and technologies. Purchasing consultants work for the government as well as for private industry.
Purchasing consultants may place or accept bids and post offers on the Internet. Especially if they work for the government, they have to be careful to follow strict regulations and laws so that there are no questions about impropriety.
Some purchasing consultants buy finished goods instead of raw materials for resale. They are employed by retail and wholesale establishments and are known as merchandise managers or buyers. As stated previously, they may also eventually go out on their own and become independent purchasing consultants.
Background and education
To be a purchasing consultant, you will usually need a bachelor's degree with business emphasis. You may need a more advanced degree if the products you deal with are particularly complex, such as in computer programming, engineering or economics. To become a purchasing manager, you may need a master's degree.
When you complete your education, it is easy to apply for jobs online at various job sites. When you begin, you will be trained in the way your employer does business specifically and may begin by selling merchandise yourself as applicable. You will also keep track of inventory and stock, and carry out other mundane duties until you have shown that you can advance. With talent and the desire to succeed, and be given responsibilities, you will be able to move up in your company. Especially when you begin, your company may have a companywide training program where you will learn everything you need to know about your company's purchasing practices and general operations. Eventually, if you wish, you can go out on your own as a purchasing consultant.
Other skills necessary
You will need to be good at communicating and negotiating so that you can get the best price and deals for your company. To be able to do this "on the fly," you will also need good math skills and a thorough understanding of the supply chain and its management so that you can tell when supply and demand is going to affect the price you might pay. Predicting and calculating this is going to make you a much better purchasing consultant. Besides that, you also need to be able to perform financial analysis when you need to, to help you make decisions. Suppliers' bids, too, are going to be important; you will need to analyze them so that you can get the best deal.
You will need leadership abilities, too, because as you move up in your company, it's likely that you are going to be supervising others. You will also be dealing with representatives from suppliers, and you may need to communicate with company executives, too.
Outlook and salary
In general, purchasing consultants at the entry-level earn about $46,000 a year on average. You may be able to earn more if you are an independent buyer. Demand for purchasing consultants is expected to stay the same or drop somewhat, depending on the economy's health in the near future.
