What does a purchasing supervisor do?
A purchasing supervisor orders supplies, equipment, and materials from vendors by buyers. The purchasing supervisors assess, select, and build relationships with the vendors. They do the negotiation for the contracts of goods and services. It is their job to review the purchase orders for accuracy and ensure to obtain the best prices. The skills supervisors need to develop include marketing, communication, leadership, and management. They should also know about purchasing products and services.
Purchasing supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real purchasing supervisor resumes:
- Manage increasing procurement demands of inventory/supplies for manufacturing activities base on an ERP MRP system.
- Lead and analyze all RFQ's, RFI's and RFP's from different qualify vendors.
- Interview current and prospective suppliers to determine supplier capabilities, logistics and inventory control and management while negotiate delivery terms.
- Review requisitions and RFP's, obtain quotations, negotiate pricing, examine bids and award contracts.
- Assist in the yearly budgeting process including RFQ's and establishing contracts both locally and at the corporate level.
- Direct large projects by creating RFP's, cost negotiation, and bid analysis on specifications and budget cost provided.
- Renovate purchasing policies after ERP implementation.
- Develop new purchasing restructure by commodities.
- Coordinate major upgrades to ERP system, including user acceptance testing, resulting in improve operational effectiveness.
- Consolidate purchasing departments eliminating duplication of commodities and procurement systems, resulting in a first-year savings of $125k.
- Maintain customer delivery time windows, the customer database system, and all communications associate with logistics distribution of materials.
- Implement a supplier control inventory program whereby suppliers receive bi-weekly MRP reports and determine when and how much inventory to replenish.
- Developed/Maintain SOX narratives pertinent to purchasing/accounts payable.
Purchasing supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Purchasing Supervisors are proficient in Purchase Orders, MRP, and Supplier Performance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Decisionmaking skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Purchasing Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Purchase Orders, 20%
Developed a computer generated system of tracking purchase orders and invoices facilitating easier access to pertinent data and eliminating unnecessary paperwork.
- MRP, 5%
Managed increasing procurement demands of inventory/supplies for manufacturing activities based on an ERP MRP system.
- Supplier Performance, 4%
Developed Supplier Database to record On-Time Delivery, performance and quality information used in Quarterly Supplier Performance Reviews.
- Logistics, 4%
Maintained customer delivery time windows, the customer database system, and all communications associated with logistics distribution of materials.
- Corrective Action, 4%
Perform ongoing supplier evaluations and identify problem areas that impact supplier delivery/quality performance and initiate corrective action.
- On-Time Delivery, 4%
Implemented Best-Practice methods to achieve organizational goals for on-time delivery, quality and materials shortage avoidance.
Most purchasing supervisors use their skills in "purchase orders," "mrp," and "supplier performance" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential purchasing supervisor responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a purchasing supervisor 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." Purchasing supervisors often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintained part, vendor, inventory and purchase order databases in visual manufacturing erp. "
Decisionmaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling purchasing supervisor 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 purchasing supervisor resume, here's how purchasing supervisors 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. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of purchasing supervisors is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday purchasing supervisor duties, as "purchasing managers and buyers and purchasing agents must possess math skills." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "review sap reporting to ascertain supplier performance and quality statistics, pricing trends, and other relevant data. "
Negotiating skills. A big part of what purchasing supervisors do relies on "negotiating skills." You can see how essential it is to purchasing supervisor 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 purchasing supervisor tasks: "assisted buyers in reviewing contracts and analyzing terms contributed to overall cost savings by negotiating lowest possible cost when placing purchase orders"
The three companies that hire the most purchasing supervisors are:
- Compass Group USA9 purchasing supervisors jobs
- JBS USA7 purchasing supervisors jobs
- Bunzl Distribution4 purchasing supervisors jobs
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Compare different purchasing supervisors
Purchasing supervisor vs. Landman
Landmen are referred to as the public-facing side of a gas, mineral, and oil exploration and production team. They are professionals who interact and negotiate directly with landowners for the acquisition of gas and oil drilling leases. Their duties include acquiring subsurface mineral rights from the landowners. They negotiate mineral rights, which include marketing and leasing right from the owner. The skills necessary for the job include management skills, leadership, communication skills, and attention to detail.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between purchasing supervisors and landman. For instance, purchasing supervisor responsibilities require skills such as "purchase orders," "mrp," "supplier performance," and "logistics." Whereas a landman is skilled in "ownership reports," "title searches," "due diligence," and "right-of-way." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, landmen reach similar levels of education than purchasing supervisors. Landmen are 3.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 8.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Purchasing supervisor vs. Associate buyer
An Associate Buyer maintains and keeps records of the inventory and disburses the different materials as required by the departments or personnel. The Associate Buyer reports to the Buyer or Senior Buyer.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, purchasing supervisor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "corrective action," "on-time delivery," "continuous improvement," and "cost reduction." Meanwhile, an associate buyer has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "math," "market trends," and "strong analytical." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Associate buyers may earn a lower salary than purchasing supervisors, but associate buyers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $52,342. On the other hand, purchasing supervisors receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $75,683.In general, associate buyers achieve similar levels of education than purchasing supervisors. They're 4.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 8.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Purchasing supervisor vs. Senior buyer
The job of senior buyers, or also known as purchasing agents, is to meet the material needs of an organization. They are responsible for finding suppliers, arranging the distribution to several retail outlets, and supervising other purchasing agents. They also look for new product streams and establish procurement strategies. Senior buyers typically begin their careers as assistant buyers or junior purchasing agents. Most employers usually prefer those with college degrees in marketing, business, and economics.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from purchasing supervisor resumes include skills like "corrective action," "direct reports," "performance reviews," and "vendor relations," whereas a senior buyer is more likely to list skills in "supply chain," "customer service," "project management," and "vendor relationships. "
Senior buyers earn the best pay in the hospitality industry, where they command an average salary of $81,144. Purchasing supervisors earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $75,683.Most senior buyers achieve a similar degree level compared to purchasing supervisors. For example, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Purchasing supervisor 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.
Types of purchasing supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025
