ICT vendor relationship manager to ICT buyer
An ICT vendor relationship manager already meets 72% of what the ICT buyer role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
32.5/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT buyer is expected to do is already part of an ICT vendor relationship manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the ICT buyer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT buyer role treats 16 of its required skills as things an ICT vendor relationship manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- analyse supply chain strategies
- carry out tendering
- compare contractors' bids
- contract law
- coordinate purchasing activities
What stands in the way is 3 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. An ICT buyer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT vendor relationship manager background worth leading with.
- already held issue purchase orders management skills
- already held prepare purchasing reportings information skills
- already held compare contractors' bids communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held track price trends information skills
- already held carry out tendering management skills
- already held software components suppliers information and communication technologies (icts)
All 21 carried skills, including the 16 the ICT buyer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manufacturer's recommended price required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- optional, not held business requirements techniques optional
- optional, not held procurement legislation optional
- still to learn maintain contract administration required
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held carry out statistical forecasts optional
- optional, not held business ICT systems optional
- optional, not held hardware platforms optional
- optional, not held software components libraries optional
- optional, not held hardware components optional
- optional, not held emergent technologies optional
- optional, not held manage logistics optional
- optional, not held use e-procurement optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT buyer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manufacturer's recommended price study this
- 02 product comprehension study this
- 03 maintain contract administration practise this
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 adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held analyse supply chain strategies skill
- already held carry out tendering skill
- already held compare contractors' bids skill
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held coordinate purchasing activities skill
- already held electronic communication knowledge
- already held identify suppliers skill
- already held issue purchase orders skill
- already held maintain relationship with customers skill
- already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held negotiate buying conditions skill
- already held perform procurement processes skill
- already held prepare purchasing reportings skill
- already held track price trends skill
- already held ICT market knowledge
- already held hardware components suppliers knowledge
- already held perform project management skill
- already held software components suppliers knowledge
- already held supply chain management knowledge
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held business ICT systems optional
- optional, not held business requirements techniques optional
- optional, not held hardware platforms optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held software components libraries optional
- optional, not held use e-procurement optional
- optional, not held carry out statistical forecasts optional
- optional, not held emergent technologies optional
- optional, not held hardware components optional
- optional, not held manage logistics optional
- optional, not held procurement legislation optional
12 held skills the ICT buyer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT sales methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse supply chain trends skill
- not needed by the target role assess supplier risks skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role crowdsourcing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role design process skill
- not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
- not needed by the target role insourcing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role outsourcing strategy knowledge
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn manufacturer's recommended price required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- optional, not held business ICT systems optional
- optional, not held business requirements techniques optional
- optional, not held hardware platforms optional
- optional, not held software components libraries optional
- optional, not held emergent technologies optional
- optional, not held hardware components optional
- optional, not held procurement legislation optional
Other moves recorded from ICT vendor relationship manager
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT vendor relationship manager become an ICT buyer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An ICT vendor relationship manager already covers 72% of what an ICT buyer is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 16 of which the ICT buyer role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT vendor relationship manager need to become an ICT buyer?
3 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is manufacturer's recommended price.
How hard is the move from ICT vendor relationship manager to ICT buyer?
Its learning distance is 32.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.