purchasing managertopurchaser
A purchasing manager already meets 48% of what the purchaser role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
48%
55.5/ 100
1 Share of the purchaser role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the purchasing manager profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.
Why this move works
A purchaser role treats 8 of its required skills as things a purchasing manager already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- assess supplier risks
- coordinate purchasing activities
- identify suppliers
- maintain relationship with customers
- maintain relationship with suppliers
- manage contracts
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 21 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A purchaser role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a purchasing manager background worth leading with.
- already held category specific expertise business, administration and law
- already held track price trends information skills
- already held perform procurement market analysis information skills
- already held analyse logistic changes information skills
- already held assess procurement needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held implement sustainable procurement communication, collaboration and creativity
All 21 carried skills, including the 8 the purchaser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.
- required, not held communicate price changes required
- required, not held manage purchasing cycle required
- required, not held compare contractors' bids required
- required, not held perform procurement processes required
- required, not held speak different languages required
- required, not held embargo regulations required
- required, not held international import export regulations required
- required, not held export control principles required
- required, not held issue purchase orders required
- required, not held manage tender processes required
- optional, not held conduct performance measurement optional
- optional, not held identify new business opportunities optional
- required, not held ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations required
- required, not held have computer literacy required
- optional, not held analyse logistic needs optional
- optional, not held report accounts of the professional activity optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a purchaser role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communicate price changes skill · sector specific
- 02 embargo regulations knowledge · sector specific
- 03 ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations skill · sector specific
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 21 skills that carry over
- already held assess supplier risks skill
- already held coordinate purchasing activities skill
- already held identify suppliers skill
- already held maintain relationship with customers skill
- already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held supply chain management knowledge
- already held track price trends skill
- already held analyse consumer buying trends skill
- already held analyse logistic changes skill
- already held analyse supply chain strategies skill
- already held assess procurement needs skill
- already held category specific expertise knowledge
- already held implement procurement of innovation skill
- already held implement sustainable procurement skill
- already held international business knowledge
- already held negotiate sales contracts skill
- already held perform procurement market analysis skill
- already held procurement legislation knowledge
- already held procurement lifecycle knowledge
- already held use e-procurement skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse logistic needs optional
- optional, not held report accounts of the professional activity optional
- optional, not held conduct performance measurement optional
- optional, not held identify new business opportunities optional
32 held skills the purchaser role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on sustainable management policies skill
- not needed by the target role analyse supply chain trends skill
- not needed by the target role attend trade fairs skill
- not needed by the target role calculate purchasing levels of raw materials skill
- not needed by the target role carry out statistical forecasts skill
- not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
- not needed by the target role estimate costs of required supplies skill
- not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
- not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain contract administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage inventory skill
- not needed by the target role manage procurement planning skill
- not needed by the target role manage rented goods returns skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage supplies skill
- not needed by the target role market pricing knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate buying conditions skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role pricing strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
- not needed by the target role strive for company growth skill
- not needed by the target role study sales levels of products skill
- not needed by the target role supplier management knowledge
- not needed by the target role supply chain principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role sustainable manufacturing knowledge
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- required, not held embargo regulations required
- required, not held international import export regulations required
- required, not held export control principles required
Other moves recorded from purchasing manager
- forecast manager 66% covered · moderate
- resource manager 62% covered · moderate
- supply chain manager 53% covered · substantial
- procurement category specialist 50% covered · moderate
- ICT vendor relationship manager 46% covered · substantial
- ICT buyer 42% covered · substantial
- purchase planner 38% covered · substantial
- procurement support officer 32% covered · substantial
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.