How to become a good purchase manager?

In order to make profitable transactions, it is essential for a company to look at various activities which can cut costs and fetch a good fortune. One such activity is buying materials which does not cost so much and is superior enough to make good products. Hence, companies hire purchase managers so as they could negotiate and can fetch the material at the best possible cost. To become a good purchase manager it is essential to have certain skills that can perfectly collaborate with the job description.

There are a number of ways through which you can sharpen your skills that are required to become a purchase manager such as gaining certifications or diploma. This will not only help you to climb up the corporate ladder but also will help you grow financially. So, here we will tell you all the qualities that your require to become a good purchase manager. Along with that, we will also be analyzing the market demand for the job and the ways which could be most beneficial to learn the skills in minimum time.

Let us look at all the details for being a good purchase manager.

Who is a Purchase manager?

A Purchase Manager is a professional who is responsible for the following activates in an organization –

• Managing the purchase of goods and services for an organization.
• He researches and finds out the good and services needed by a company, and then negotiates the purchase of those products at the best possible price.
• Purchase Managers are required to keep a track of all of the purchases made by an organization and the costs associated with those purchases.
• They are required to keep a track of the inventory and stock availability of an organization in order to effectively execute their duties and responsibilities as a Purchase Manager.

Qualities required to be a good purchase manager

There are endless qualities in a human being that can make him fit into any role he decides to fit in. However, some of the qualities that are required to be a good purchase manager are –

• Firstly, Financial Management skills
• Also, good management skills
• Subsequently, market researching tactics
• In addition, negotiation skills
• Also, communication skills
• And, marketing capabilities
• Proper knowledge of subjects as mathematics, economics, logistics, supply chain etc.

Roles and responsibilities as a Purchase Manager

A Purchase Manager is responsible for undertaking the following responsibilities in an organization.

• Firstly, Coordinate with vendors and supplies for gathering information, placing orders, checking for updates on delivery etc.
• Also, Coordinating with various internal departments to gauge requirements for orders and inventory.
• In addition, Ensuring that the delivered goods are meeting the quality standards and negotiating the returns in case any defects or discrepancies are observed.
• Purchasing Managers link with various stakeholders for ensuring clear requirements documentation. Moreover, they forecast price and market trends for identifying changes of balance in buyer-supplier power.
• They also perform cost and scenario analysis and benchmarking as well as assess, manage, and mitigate risks.
• Further, they manage daily purchasing activities, supervising staff, and allocating tasks.
• Lastly, Ensuring that the vendors work in compliance with the contract and company policies.

There are so many courses or ways which you can adopt for being a purchase manager. Find some of them listed below.

Career Paths for being a Purchase manager

You can adopt any of the following ways –

Undergraduate courses such as BA Economics, BBA etc. –

You can get an undergraduate degree right after completing your class 12th. You can begin your career in this field through this and after getting started, you will be promoted to the position of purchase manager after some time.

Post Graduation courses such as PGDM in Purchase and Logistics –

Specialization helps you to get advanced knowledge of the field and helps you to perform better. Going for post graduation in this field becomes essential after a point of time. However, it is highly recommended that candidates gain some practical experience of purchase Management before they go for a master’s degree course. You can go for PGDM in purchase management or a masters in business administration.

Certification courses from Authorized Body

The certification courses from various vendors as Vskills, Udemy, Coursera etc. are becoming very popular. The certifications have emerged as the real currency of the 21st century which can be used to secure a real job. Many companies hire the certified candidates. Certification also helps you get an edge over others in the same domain no matter if you are already working in this domain or have started fresh in this domain. Some of the certifications which are very much popular are –

• Vskills Certified Purchase Manager
• Certified International Procurement Professional (CIPP) & Certified International Procurement Professional (CIAPP) 
• Also, Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)
• In addition, Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (MCIPS)

Various other diploma courses –

You can also take the diploma in this field which will help you to gain sufficient knowledge about the field but in relatively less time as compared to a degree. You can take the diploma from any prestigious college or university which can also help you to secure job in a reputed company without much pressure.

However, except the certification courses, all the ways demand a lot of time. Therefore the best way to learn in the minimum time is through certification courses. However, these courses are more like vocational courses that is companies also demand work experience so as to ensure the quality of work and better understanding of the workflow.

Let us now look at the Vskills’ certification which can help you to gain maximum knowledge for being a good purchase manager.

Vskills’ Certified Purchase Manager

A purchase manager controls material handling and purchase functions while maintaining adequate and in-time purchase of the materials. This course covers all the basic principles & practices of purchasing and supply chain management & will help you to achieve and implement an efficient purchasing system.

Test Details

• Duration: 60 minutes
• No. of questions: 50
• Maximum marks: 50, Passing marks: 25 (50%).
• There is NO negative marking in this module.
• Mode: Online exam.

Benefits of Certification

• Firstly, Government certification
• Also, Certification valid for life
• In addition, Lifelong e-learning access
• Subsequently, Free Practice Tests
• Additionally, Get tagged as ‘Vskills Certified’ On Monsterindia.com
• Moreover, Get tagged as ‘Vskills Certified’ On  Shine.com

Let us now look at the content outline of the certification courses to get a glimpse of what all is covered by the course.

Course structure

The exam will test candidates on the following parameters –

Materials Management

• Objectives of Materials Management
• Functions of Materials Management
• Organisation of Materials Management
• Need, Scope and Functions of Integrated Material Management

Materials Planning

• Need of Materials Planning
• Factors affecting Materials Planning
• Tools of Materials Planning
• Principles and Procedure for Materials Planning
• Basic concepts of MRP (Material Requirements Planning)
• MRP Processing
• Computer Application to MRP Process
• MRP reports – Database recording and maintenance
• Independent and dependent MRP system

Materials Budgeting

• Basic concepts of Materials Budgeting
• Factors affecting Materials Budget
• Materials Budgeting and Accounting

Material Classification, Standardization and Codification

• Firstly, Material classification for variety reduction
• Also, Material classification on the basis of Value Analysis
• Basic concepts of codification
• Systems of codification
• Classification by codification
• Objectives and scope of standardization
• Simplification/Variety of reduction
• Levels of standard

Material Handling

• Importance and Objectives of Material Handling
• Methods and Practices of Material Handling
• Equipments for Material Handling
• Containerizations
• Waste Management – Surplus and Obsolete
• Damage and Pilferage
• Cost Analysis

Stores Management and Warehousing

• Stores Functions and objectives
• Types of Stores – Centralized and decentralized
• Functions of stores
• Stores Layout, Storage Media and Physical Verification
• Factors affecting successful Store-keeping
• Warehouse Management System (WMS)
• Warehouse operating principles
• Strategy for warehousing
• Planning Warehouse distribution
• Warehouse Layout
• Automatic Warehousing
• Schemes of Automatic Warehousing

Inventory Management

• Types of Inventory
• Types of Inventory Costs and factors affecting
• Inventory Management Models – Deterministic and Probabilistic Models
• Techniques of Inventory Control
• Inventory Performance Measurement (Ratio Analysis)

Purchase Management System

• Objectives of Purchasing
• Functions and responsibilities of Purchase Department
• Methods of Purchasing
• Purchase Department Organization
• JIT Purchasing – Prerequisites and Elements

Vendor Management

• System of Vendor evaluation
• also, Parameters for evaluation of Vendors Performance
• subsequently, Social Audit
• in addition, Total evaluation – Purchasing Performance, Quantitative Objects etc
• moreover, Guidelines for purchase through tender and negotiation tender committee
• Purchase Review

Value Analysis System

• Value Analysis – Procedure and Approach
• additionally, Tools for Value Analysis

Negotiation Skills

• Basic approaches for Negotiation
• Strategy and Planning for Negotiation
• Tactics of effective negotiation

Quality Control

• Components and characteristics of quality
• Objectives and functions of quality control
• Acceptance sampling – Principles and Practices
• Double and Multiple Sampling
• OC and AOQ Curve

Stock Keeping and Accounting

• Maintaining Database system
• Preparing reports
• Managing Queries

Legal Framework

• The Indian Contract Act, 1872
• The Sales of Goods Act, 1930
• Special Purchase Contracts
• Goods Delivery

There are also some additional resources such as Reference books and some which are made available by VSkills so as to help the candidates prepare in the best possible way.

Online Tutorials

These Tutorials, classes and training are prepared by the experts in the subject matter. You can refer to Purchase Manager Online tutorials, with detailed quality content coupled with test series. These sessions can be really interactive and help in developing interest along with the crystal-clear clarity in the concepts. You must definitely try others of them but of a trustworthy vendor so that you must not be misguided. Furthermore, e-learning is bundled with hard copy material which helps candidates to improve and update the learning curve for superior and better opportunities.

Practice Papers

Practice is the only way out to pass the exam with a good score. The more you practice, the more your concepts will be clear. Always practice sample papers and take test series as much as you can. This will help finding your loopholes and will help to identify your weak areas. You will find the parts that you need to work more on and the parts that are fully prepared from the exam point of view. This is the most important part of preparation. Many reliable educational sites offer you sample papers and guarantee 100% success. Try a free practice test now!

Books for Reference

Reference Books can provide an advantage to learn and understand things more accurately. For the Certified Purchase Manager exam, there are various books available which you can find online or in libraries. Some of the books are as follows:

• Proactive Purchasing in the Supply Chain Book by David N. Burt, Richard L. Pinkerton, and Sheila Petcavage
• The Procurement and Supply Manager’s Desk Reference Book by Fred Sollish and John Semanik

Let us now move on to the market demand for the Purchase manager and average salary.

Market demand and Average Salary for a purchase manager

A Purchase Manager can get employment in various manufacturing units as well as in different companies like Shalimar Paints Ltd, Omaxe Limited, TeamLease Services Limited, Vatika Group, Adecco India, L&T. Also, the sectors which have a high demand for a purchase manager are –

• Manufacturing Companies
• also, Departmental / Convenience Stores
• in addition, Export Houses
• also, Production Houses
• moreover, Fashion Retail
• Healthcare Products and Service Delivery Companies
• also, Educational Institutions etc.

However, the salary growth is accelerated as a professional moves out of the trainee phase. The average salary earned by a Purchase Manager in India is around INR 8 LPA. Purchase Managers holding senior-level positions can earn salaries of around INR 10 – 12 LPA.

Let us now conclude by looking at what are the benefits that you will get after being a certified purchase manager.

Why become a Certified Purchase manager?

You can choose to become a purchase manager because –

• Firstly, this Job does not require a high level of educational qualification. Graduates in any stream can get into this field.
• Secondly, Career opportunities are not limited to a single sector of industries and candidates can look for diverse opportunities as per the likes.
• Even though the initial salary may be a bit low, senior-level positions have excellent salaries and higher education may not be necessary.

Upgrade your skills ang boost your career by becoming a certified purchase manager. Hurry and start preparing now!