Buyer

Buyers are responsible for obtaining the products and services needed by an organisation to support its key activities. This could include, for example, purchasing the raw materials or components for a manufacturing process, sourcing spare parts for machinery maintenance, ordering the merchandise for a retail outlet or updating the IT facilities in an office environment. Buyers are expected to negotiate competitive prices at the same time as building relationships with suppliers who understand their needs, can meet quality specifications and can deliver the right quantity of materials on a reliable basis.

Buyers must maintain adequate reserve stock levels to cope with fluctuations in demand and ensure that supplies reach their intended destination on time. They might set up automated systems to cope with some of these functions but would need to discuss contracts with suppliers, monitor deliveries and stock levels, challenge price changes, check sources of new materials and keep pace with technological and design improvements. They could work in almost any sort of manufacturing or service organisation, although they would need special skills to act as a buyer in, say, the retail fashion business or a technical background before they could purchase engineering components.

Entry level
While there are no specific entry requirements, most employers look for a degree, HND or equivalent qualification. This could be in any subject, although business studies, management science, computing or logistics could be useful. In the engineering/manufacturing industries, a technological qualification would be an advantage, as would chemistry in the chemical industry or computing in IT. For degree entry, you would normally be expected to have at least two A level/Advanced Higher/three Higher or equivalent qualifications, together with four or five GCSE/S Grade passes at A-C/1-3, including English and maths.

Making the grade
Most employers would expect you to work towards Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) qualifications. These are available on a full- or part-time basis or by distance learning and range from the clerical level Certificate in Purchasing and Supply to the CIPS Graduate Diploma. The CIPS qualifications would usually be supported in many companies by an internal training scheme. With appropriate qualifications and experience, you could become a member and then a fellow of CIPS. CIPS qualifications are changing from September 2006, so you should check their website for details of the latest developments.

Personal qualities
As an essential link in the supply chain, you would need to be an excellent communicator, who enjoys meeting people. You must be confident and have a flair for negotiation, influencing and networking. You would need to understand the overall requirements of your own organisation and to be able to assess the relative merits of suppliers' goods or services. You should have strong numerical skills and a grasp of finance and accounting, since you would often be handling large sums of money.

Looking ahead
Buyers tend to be based at head offices, many of which are based in London or the south east. Although many of the retail and manufacturing companies employing buyers have thousands of staff, typically there will be just a small number of staff in each buying department. Most organisations need to buy goods, services or materials, so your skills should be transferable across a range of sectors.

You might achieve promotion - to senior management or even to board level - within your existing organisation. Alternatively, you could develop your career by moving elsewhere.

Alternative suggestions
Other possibilities might include freight forwarder, logistics manager, retail manager or sales executive.

Take-home pay
You could expect to start at around £17,000 as a graduate trainee, with your income rising significantly to, say, £30,000 to £60,000 once you reach middle or senior management levels. If you can demonstrate that your buying skills lead to savings in costs and improvements in efficiency, you could earn significant performance-related bonuses.

Effects
You would work normal office hours but would occasionally need to take work home at night or over weekends, so that you could formulate your strategic plans and analyse your departmental performance, check levels of stock or write a monthly report for directors. You may need to travel fairly extensively, including making trips overseas, in order to check suppliers' procedures, transport systems and quality controls.

Sources of information
Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply: www.cips.org
Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport: www.ciltuk.org.uk

CRCI: WC