Purchasing manager to purchaser
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.
55.5/ 100
1 How much of what a purchaser is expected to do is already part of a purchasing 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 purchaser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A purchaser role treats 8 of its required skills as things a purchasing manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 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 may need to learn
The 16 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 communicate price changes required
- still to learn manage purchasing cycle required
- still to learn compare contractors' bids required
- still to learn perform procurement processes required
- still to learn speak different languages required
- still to learn embargo regulations required
- still to learn international import export regulations required
- still to learn export control principles required
- still to learn issue purchase orders required
- still to learn manage tender processes required
- optional, not held conduct performance measurement optional
- optional, not held identify new business opportunities optional
- still to learn ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations required
- still to learn 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 practise this
- 02 embargo regulations study this
- 03 ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations 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 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.
- still to learn embargo regulations required
- still to learn international import export regulations required
- still to learn 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
Common questions about this move
Can a purchasing manager become a purchaser?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A purchasing manager already covers 48% of what a purchaser is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 8 of which the purchaser role treats as required.
What skills does a purchasing manager need to become a purchaser?
12 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communicate price changes.
How hard is the move from purchasing manager to purchaser?
Its learning distance is 55.5 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.