What does a director of purchasing do?
A director of purchasing oversees the procedures related to buying resources and supplies, directing operations from planning to execution while adhering to standards and company policies. They primarily perform research and assessments to understand project needs in terms of price, quality, and delivery time. They also identify ideal suppliers, negotiate deals, and build positive business relationships. Additionally, a director of purchasing has the authority to make significant decisions, delegate responsibilities among staff, oversee employment procedures within the department, and solve issues and concerns when any arise.
Director of purchasing responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of purchasing resumes:
- Manage all aspects of the RFQ process, contracts, cost and rebate negotiations, and awarding of business.
- Manage out-bound logistics services and third-party logistics providers to expand the range of commodities need to support automobile and aerospace manufacturing.
- Develop standards and implement procedures for materials planning, product acquisition, inventory control, material distribution and logistics management.
- Implement cost controls using commodity segmentation, vendor KPI's and cost justification base on key market indicators.
- Monitor KPI indicators such as inventory turns, supplier on time delivery, inventory cycle count accuracy, and PPV.
- Develop RFP (request for proposal) analysis, negotiation strategy, contract drafting and agreement execution plans on all contracts.
- Assemble case carts for surgeries, which consist of: putting supplies on cart, and putting surgery instruments on cart.
- Order necessary equipment intend for patients from outside vendors.
- Specialize in administering nursing services to acute and critically ill patients.
- Establish streamlined order processing procedures for surgery, eliminating paperwork and repeat orders.
- Verify purchase requisitions by comparing items request to ERP; clarifying unclear items; recommending alternatives.
- Design and implement formal RFP process and develop infrastructure necessary to streamline inventory processes and reduce waste.
- Develop and implement sourcing strategies for computer hardware commodities and semiconductor commodities relating to circuit board manufacturing supporting global manufacturing.
- Implement procurement strategies for sourcing fabricate and machine commodities through supplier rationalization, selection and qualification for new and existing suppliers.
- Communicate with other Cameron facilities worldwide and outside vendors to obtain materials and services require to fulfill customer projects and orders.
Director of purchasing skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Directors Of Purchasing are proficient in Supply Chain, Purchase Orders, and Product Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Decisionmaking skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Purchasing that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Supply Chain, 18%
Developed supply chain organizational structure and computer system capable of top-down planning, using automated forecast generation across total supply chain.
- Purchase Orders, 9%
Recognize needs and activate purchases for inventory using a computer-generated purchase order system based on usage information and reorder points.
- Product Development, 7%
Worked in tandem with Product Development team to efficiently an effectively obtain designing and developmental objectives while retaining GMP targets.
- Vendor Relations, 6%
Produced and implemented a corporate numerical vendor performance analysis and incorporated a vendor awards program improving vendor relations and performance.
- Logistics, 5%
Direct supervision of manufacturing that included operations, manufacturing engineering, purchasing, and logistics in a small company environment.
- Cost Savings, 4%
Collaborated with Administrative Staff to determine capability needs, implemented product cost management programs, achieved cost savings and reports.
"supply chain," "purchase orders," and "product development" are among the most common skills that directors of purchasing use at work. You can find even more director of purchasing responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a director of purchasing to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "when evaluating suppliers, purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents must analyze their options and choose a supplier with the best combination of price, quality, delivery, or service." Directors of purchasing often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "improved overall forecasting processes and strengthened ongoing supplier relationships though analyzing data and creating standardized forecasting model. "
Decisionmaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling director of purchasing duties is decisionmaking skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents must have the ability to make informed and timely decisions, choosing products that they think will sell." According to a director of purchasing resume, here's how directors of purchasing can utilize decisionmaking skills in their job responsibilities: "led the make-buy decisionmaking process and supply chain definition for all new components, sub-assemblies and assemblies of new products. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for directors of purchasing to perform their duties. For an example of how director of purchasing responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents must possess math skills." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a director of purchasing: "deployed an mathematically optimized supply chain for intel s $10 billion communications device division".
Negotiating skills. A big part of what directors of purchasing do relies on "negotiating skills." You can see how essential it is to director of purchasing responsibilities because "purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents often must negotiate the terms of a contract with a supplier." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical director of purchasing tasks: "supervised all areas of materials management including negotiating contracts for consistent pricing strategies. "
The three companies that hire the most director of purchasings are:
- Century Communities13 directors of purchasing jobs
- Compass Group USA12 directors of purchasing jobs
- Hyatt Hotels7 directors of purchasing jobs
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Compare different directors of purchasing
Director of purchasing vs. Supply manager
A supply manager or supply chain manager is an individual who supervises the import or creation of raw materials that are to be used by the company to form new products. Supply managers are required to coordinate all aspects of the supply chain to ensure that they are efficient and cost-effective. They must maintain low costs and high efficiency by building and maintaining relationships with the company's partners. Supply managers should also recruit staff members and provide training to help them learn and master their jobs.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of purchasing and supply manager. For instance, director of purchasing responsibilities require skills such as "vendor relations," "logistics," "on-time delivery," and "materials management." Whereas a supply manager is skilled in "patients," "logistical support," "sigma," and "professional development." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Supply managers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $107,082. In contrast, directors of purchasing make the biggest average salary, $119,626, in the manufacturing industry.supply managers tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of purchasing. In fact, supply managers are 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of purchasing vs. Buyer
A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, director of purchasing responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "supply chain," "chain management," "direct reports," and "process improvement." Meanwhile, a buyer has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "commodities," "delivery dates," and "pos." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Buyers earn a lower average salary than directors of purchasing. But buyers earn the highest pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $59,735. Additionally, directors of purchasing earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $119,626 annually.In general, buyers achieve similar levels of education than directors of purchasing. They're 4.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of purchasing vs. Material manager
A material manager is responsible for monitoring inventories and stock supplies, ensuring the adequacy of materials needed for manufacturing or other operations, depending on the organization's industry. Material managers meet with suppliers and third-party vendors, negotiating contracts that would fit the budget goals of the company without compromising quality. They manage the distribution of resources throughout the organizations' department and provide purchase reports for the management. A material manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to address the needs of an organization for smooth operations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from director of purchasing resumes include skills like "product development," "vendor relations," "vendor management," and "product availability," whereas a material manager is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "continuous improvement," "shipping receiving," and "lean manufacturing. "
Material managers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $97,765. Comparatively, directors of purchasing have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $119,626.material managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to directors of purchasing. Specifically, they're 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of purchasing vs. Contracts manager
A contract manager is responsible for finalizing contract agreements between the company and its clients, revising documents, creating procurement proposals, and managing breach of contracts immediately. Contract managers respond to clients' inquiries and concerns about the contract's terms, conditions, and adjustment requests. They should be highly knowledgeable with legal terms and legislation regulations, ensuring that documents align with their objectives. The contract manager should also stay updated with the latest trends to meet contract demands, identify more business opportunities to boost revenues, and achieve profitability goals.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between directors of purchasing and contracts managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a director of purchasing might have more use for skills like "supply chain," "product development," "vendor relations," and "logistics." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of contracts managers require skills like "contract management," "contract administration," "contract terms," and "project management. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for contracts managers, with average annual pay of $89,882. Comparatively, the highest director of purchasing annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry.The average resume of contracts managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to directors of purchasing. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 5.2%.Types of director of purchasing
Updated January 8, 2025
