Purchasing Managers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales.
• Prepare and process requisitions and purchase orders for supplies and equipment.
• Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
• Resolve vendor or contractor grievances and claims against suppliers.
• Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales.
• Represent companies in negotiating contracts and formulating policies with suppliers.
• Prepare bid awards requiring board approval.
• Review purchase order claims and contracts for conformance to company policy.
• Develop cost reduction strategies and savings plans.
• Prepare reports regarding market conditions and merchandise costs.
• Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in buying, selling, and distributing materials, equipment, machinery, and supplies.
• Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
• Develop cost reduction strategies and savings plans.
• Arrange for disposal of surplus materials.
• Interview and hire staff, and oversee staff training.
• Interview and hire staff, and oversee staff training.
• Participate in the development of specifications for equipment, products, or substitute materials.
• Maintain records of goods ordered and received.
• Interview and hire staff, and oversee staff training.
• Analyze market and delivery systems to assess present and future material availability.
• Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
• Review, evaluate, and approve specifications for issuing and awarding bids.
• Control purchasing department budgets.
• Administer online purchasing systems.
• Analyze market and delivery systems to assess present and future material availability.
• Review, evaluate, and approve specifications for issuing and awarding bids.

Skills

• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.

Abilities

• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.

Knowledge

• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

5 years or more work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

165170/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

79.41/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

2,370

Yearly Projected Openings

210

Personality

Enterprising: 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

Tools

• Desktop calculator
• Desktop computers
• Personal computers

Technology

• Business intelligence and data analysis software
• Calendar and scheduling software
• Data base reporting software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Document management software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Financial analysis software
• Internet browser software
• Inventory management software
• Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
• Office suite software
• Point of sale POS software
• Presentation software
• Process mapping and design software
• Procurement software
• Project management software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software