What does a procurement consultant do?
A procurement consultant is an individual who is an expert in purchasing or procurement. Your duties will include researching and analyzing the supply marketplace, developing business requirements, and managing supplier relationships in collaboration with internal stakeholders, and managing and negotiating supply agreements across all commodities and complexity. Additionally, you are expected to participate in market intelligence analysis and assess productivity, costs, and demand patterns by collecting and interpreting data. As a procurement consultant, you are also responsible for managing and negotiating supply agreements.
Procurement consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real procurement consultant resumes:
- Manage RFI, RFQ and RTP process for all procurement, marketing and advertisement requirements.
- Manage several SDLC phases for enterprise systems used by state government agencies to perform environmental and environmental management.
- Train internal customers for creating purchase orders in Ariba.
- Process NCQA/HEDIS audit contract requests through Ariba and DocuSign procurement systems.
- Train and ongoing support of the VMI solution during and after go-live.
- Work with the client to define procure-to-pay process that leverage the best practices of each business line.
- Negotiate price savings - on products ranging from office supplies/equipment/furniture, facilities, and various other commodities.
- Lead several projects providing advice to departmental teams by negotiating contracts with suppliers for various diverse commodities.
- Draft an instructional how-to guide on the proper use of the purchasing and receiving modules of the ERP system.
- Supervise four MRP buyer-planners and procure inventory.
- Coordinate all logistics between third-party fulfillment and transportation vendors.
- Track customer requests from submission to completion including invoice reconciliation.
- Conduct technical logistics equipment audits, improve equipment performance and output.
- Provide procurement support to an international subsidiary of a major telecom company using ERP software package.
- Implement enterprise Lawson procurement system to convert operations from manual to automate ordering and invoice matching.
Procurement consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Procurement Consultants are proficient in Strategic Sourcing, Procure-To-Pay, and HR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Negotiating skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Procurement Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Strategic Sourcing, 9%
Led procurement assessments and strategic sourcing initiatives for international mining industry clients.
- Procure-To-Pay, 7%
Lead consultant for Procure-to-pay cycle: MM, Classification, Batch management, Procurement, Inventory management, Invoice Processing.
- HR, 6%
Ensured candidates submitted were compliant with internal HR policies; rehire eligibility, approval to hire, etc.
- Cost Savings, 6%
Developed a prioritized ranking of opportunities for immediate cost savings.
- Business Process, 6%
Interacted with Procurement team and provided recommendations and solutions improve business processes and system usage.
- Data Analysis, 5%
Conducted data analysis and delivered recommendations for procurement process improvement and customer lead time optimization.
"strategic sourcing," "procure-to-pay," and "hr" are among the most common skills that procurement consultants use at work. You can find even more procurement consultant responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. One of the key soft skills for a procurement consultant to have is math skills. You can see how this relates to what procurement consultants do because "purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents must possess math skills." Additionally, a procurement consultant resume shows how procurement consultants use math skills: "developed a cross-platform version of an education software package with an improved user interface using java swing includes many mathematically-complex models"
Negotiating skills. Many procurement consultant duties rely on negotiating skills. "purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents often must negotiate the terms of a contract with a supplier," so a procurement consultant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways procurement consultant responsibilities rely on negotiating skills: "develop and execute commodity procurement strategies, negotiating on-going purchases which support existing strategies. "
Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of procurement consultants is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday procurement consultant duties, as "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." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provided strategic direction for all procurement activities, including market trend analysis, supplier management, and sourcing strategy development. "
The three companies that hire the most procurement consultants are:
- McKinsey & Company Inc38 procurement consultants jobs
- Huron Consulting Group16 procurement consultants jobs
- Deloitte10 procurement consultants jobs
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Compare different procurement consultants
Procurement consultant vs. Supply officer
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, procurement consultant responsibilities require skills like "strategic sourcing," "procure-to-pay," "hr," and "cost savings." Meanwhile a typical supply officer has skills in areas such as "logistics support," "financial management," "food service," and "inventory control." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that supply officers earn slightly differ from procurement consultants. In particular, supply officers are 9.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a procurement consultant. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Procurement consultant vs. Director of purchasing
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, procurement consultant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "procure-to-pay," "hr," "business process," and "data analysis." Meanwhile, a director of purchasing has duties that require skills in areas such as "supply chain," "product development," "vendor relations," and "logistics." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Directors of purchasing earn a higher average salary than procurement consultants. But directors of purchasing earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $119,626. Additionally, procurement consultants earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $96,533 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Directors of purchasing tend to reach lower levels of education than procurement consultants. In fact, they're 9.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Procurement consultant vs. Manager of purchasing & materials
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a procurement consultant is likely to be skilled in "procure-to-pay," "hr," "business process," and "data analysis," while a typical manager of purchasing & materials is skilled in "supplier performance," "inventory control," "logistics," and "r."
When it comes to education, managers of purchasing & materials tend to earn lower degree levels compared to procurement consultants. In fact, they're 8.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Procurement consultant vs. Material manager
Types of procurement consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
