Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Purchaser to ICT vendor relationship manager

A purchaser already meets 42% of what the ICT vendor relationship manager role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From purchaser
42 % overlap
Partial match
To ICT vendor relationship manager
12 You already bring
10 Still to learn
33 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

60.1/ 100

1 How much of what an ICT vendor relationship manager is expected to do is already part of a purchaser’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 vendor relationship manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An ICT vendor relationship manager role treats 9 of its required skills as things a purchaser already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • analyse supply chain strategies
  • coordinate purchasing activities
  • identify suppliers
  • issue purchase orders
  • maintain relationship with customers
  • maintain relationship with suppliers

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT vendor relationship manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a purchaser background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held issue purchase orders management skills
  • already held track price trends information skills
  • already held compare contractors' bids communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held coordinate purchasing activities communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held analyse supply chain strategies information skills
  • already held assess supplier risks information skills

All 12 carried skills, including the 9 the ICT vendor relationship manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 21 missing skills fall into 7 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 business, administration and law 6 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT market required
  • still to learn ICT sales methodologies required
  • still to learn crowdsourcing strategy required
  • still to learn insourcing strategy required
  • still to learn outsourcing strategy required
  • still to learn contract law required
  • optional, not held hardware components suppliers optional
  • optional, not held business processes optional
02 information skills 2 required
  • still to learn analyse supply chain trends required
  • still to learn prepare purchasing reportings required
03 management skills 1 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn manage budgets required
  • optional, not held carry out tendering optional
  • optional, not held forecast workload optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
04 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required
  • still to learn electronic communication required
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held build business relationships optional
  • optional, not held design process optional
  • optional, not held negotiate buying conditions optional
06 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an ICT vendor relationship manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held analyse supply chain strategies skill
  • already held coordinate purchasing activities skill
  • 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 supply chain management knowledge
  • already held track price trends skill
  • already held assess supplier risks skill
  • already held compare contractors' bids skill
  • already held perform procurement processes skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held software components suppliers optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held hardware components suppliers optional
  • optional, not held software components suppliers optional
  • optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
  • optional, not held build business relationships optional
  • optional, not held business processes optional
  • optional, not held carry out tendering optional
  • optional, not held design process optional
  • optional, not held forecast workload optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
  • optional, not held negotiate buying conditions optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
25 held skills the ICT vendor relationship manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic changes skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic needs skill
  • not needed by the target role assess procurement needs skill
  • not needed by the target role category specific expertise knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate price changes skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct performance measurement skill
  • not needed by the target role embargo regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations skill
  • not needed by the target role export control principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
  • not needed by the target role identify new business opportunities skill
  • not needed by the target role implement procurement of innovation skill
  • not needed by the target role implement sustainable procurement skill
  • not needed by the target role international business knowledge
  • not needed by the target role international import export regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage purchasing cycle skill
  • not needed by the target role manage tender processes skill
  • not needed by the target role negotiate sales contracts skill
  • not needed by the target role perform procurement market analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role procurement legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role procurement lifecycle knowledge
  • not needed by the target role report accounts of the professional activity skill
  • not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
  • not needed by the target role use e-procurement skill
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn ICT market required
  • still to learn ICT sales methodologies required
  • still to learn crowdsourcing strategy required
  • still to learn insourcing strategy required
  • still to learn outsourcing strategy required
  • still to learn contract law required
  • still to learn electronic communication required
  • optional, not held hardware components suppliers optional
  • optional, not held software components suppliers optional
  • optional, not held business processes optional
Index

Other moves recorded from purchaser

Full index of moves from purchaser

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a purchaser become an ICT vendor relationship manager?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A purchaser already covers 42% of what an ICT vendor relationship manager is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 9 of which the ICT vendor relationship manager role treats as required.

What skills does a purchaser need to become an ICT vendor relationship manager?

10 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is ICT market.

How hard is the move from purchaser to ICT vendor relationship manager?

Its learning distance is 60.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.