There is currently a shortage of people with the right skills, education and experience to play strategic sourcing roles as purchasing professionals. If you meet the above requirements, companies are willing to pay competitively for you.

While initial jobless claims across the United States again rose to a seasonally adjusted 326,000 the week before last, reported the U.S. Labor Department on November 10, a recent survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) found that 36 percent of polled companies have “good jobs going unfulfilled due to lack of qualified applicants.”

This is notably the case in purchasing.

The present number of talented purchasing and supply staff available cannot satisfy the increased demand for quality individuals. In purchasing, “there’s a shortage of individuals with the right skills, education and experience to develop sourcing strategy and manage supplier relationships in today’s global economy,” according to a telling article in Purchasing magazine on November 3. “Competition’s hot for talented purchasing professionals who can think and act strategically,” the article said.

The manufacturing and service industries have both seen an increase in purchasing placement activity, according to Kevin Rohan, director of procurement recruiting for J.P. Canon Associates in New York, reported Purchasing. “There has been a dramatic increase in the number of purchasing openings, with strategic sourcing roles the most common,” he said. At J.P. Canon, purchasing placement activity increased 66 percent in 18 months compared with all of 2002 and 2003 combined.

In part due to installed e-procurement and ERP systems with purchasing modules, however, processing-transaction jobs (i.e., “traditional” purchasing and buying jobs, according to Rohan) appear to be slowly disappearing. Consequently, more challenging positions that require strategic tasks on the part of professionals are opening and, therefore, not being satisfactorily filled.

The magazine further pointed out the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ posit that, despite the veritable market for strategic purchasing professionals, “overall employment of purchasing managers, buyers and purchasing agents is expected to be slower than average through 2012.”

The article said:

“Fewer purchasing agents, materials managers and purchasing managers mean more supply managers, supply chain managers and strategic sourcing managers. Other titles recruiters increasingly are asked to fill include chief procurement/purchasing officer, strategic sourcing vice president, director, and manager. With these new job titles, come new job descriptions.”

It’s a diverse skill set that recruiters and hiring managers now seek in individuals: team players with leadership qualities; an able hybrid of communications, sales and marketing. Further, “project management skills are a plus.”

Formal education is playing a more significant role, as well, as MBAs are increasingly valuable. In addition to degrees in procurement and supply chain management, hiring managers and recruiters are looking for purchasing candidates with education in finance and even engineering. Another wanted quality in a professional purchasing individual is certification from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), the National Association of State Purchasing Officials (NASPO), the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC) and other similar associations.

The following is a list of commonalities among many chief purchasing officers (CPOs), based on Rohan’s recruiting experience (first noted in Purchasing magazine):

• Cross-functional experience;
• Experience and success in a “best practices” Fortune 500 company or consulting firm;
• Past participation in large change management or business process re-engineering projects;
• Activeness in industry and functional organizations; and
• Strong educational credentials and advanced degrees.

“There really is not another field that is looking for such diverse talent,” Tonia Deal, president of Tonia Deal Consultants, told Purchasing. “Companies are looking to hire individuals with advanced degrees who have demonstrated accomplishments in strategic sourcing. Hiring managers want to see that these people have consolidated purchasing, reduced costs and rationalized the supplier base. I don’t know of any other area as demanding today.”

As the perception of procurement as a profession continues to change — a shift from a function seen as focused on driving down price, to a profession recognized as a vital part of modern business practices — the role of purchasing/procurement professional offers more quality experience, recognition and pay. It provides a challenge for business-minded individuals who want to make a real impact.

References & Resources

Jobless Claims Climb A Bit
by John S. McClenahen
IndustryWeek, Nov. 11, 2005
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10996

Viewpoint — Skilled-Worker Shortage: Are Women An Answer?
by Tonya Vinas
IndustryWeek, Nov. 9, 2005
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10975

Buyers are red hot
by Susan Avery
Purchasing, Nov. 3, 2005
http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6279535.html

World-class Procurement Drives 133 Percent Greater Return
by Editorial Staff
Supply & Demand-Chain Executive, Nov. 7, 2005
http://www.sdcexec.com/article.asp?article_id=7878

Team approach gains in popularity
by Karen Prema
Purchasing, Nov. 3, 2005
http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6279537.html?industryid=2161

Purchasing Efficiency Checklist
Horizon Associates
http://www.purchasing-consultants.co.uk/efficiency%20check%20list.htm

Credentialed Purchasers Drive Professional Changes
by Michael Keating
GovPro, April 12, 2004
http://www.govpro.com/SiteMap_500/strArticleId/103525/ViewArticle.asp

Procurement Certification Opens Doors to Professional Advancement
by Catherine M. Radwan
GovPro, April 12, 2004
http://www.govpro.com/SiteMap_500/strArticleId/103525/ViewArticle.asp