What is everyday working life like as a purchasing specialist with a federal certificate?

A purchasing specialist is responsible for the planning of purchasing and operational procurement processes within their company. Depending on the size of the company, strategic supply management tasks may also be required. Purchasing specialists evaluate and manage suppliers, obtain quotations and conduct contract negotiations. They enter and maintain supplier data in the ERP system and manage purchasing and inventory. In addition to the administration of the entire order processing, they also have an overview of all current deadlines and create evaluations, statistics and reports. In some cases, purchasing specialists are also entrusted with team management or manage procurement independently and work on interdisciplinary projects. Purchasing specialists are employed in retail, service and manufacturing companies as well as public administrations. In an operational role, as an assistant to the purchasing manager, you take responsibility for a specific product group or specialist area.

The following areas of work are typical for purchasing specialists with a federal certificate:

• Strategic tasks such as
  • Procurement market research and procurement policy
  • Developing the product range strategy
  • Requirements planning/determination
  • Optimizing procurement-specific processes
  • Ensuring the defined quality and cost targets are met
  • Carrying out market and cost analyses
  • Risk and sustainability management measures
    
    
• Disposition and operational procurement of goods
  • Supplier management
  • Price negotiations
  • Warehouse and inventory management
  • Preparation of requests
  • Order placement and order monitoring
  • Offers and framework agreements
  • Collaboration in projects
    
    
• Administrative handling of the daily purchasing business
  • Maintenance and updating of master data
  • Audit
  • Control of current appointments

Target group and skills: Who is the professional examination for purchasing specialists with a federal certificate suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The Purchasing Specialist course is designed for companies of all sizes and from all sectors and is aimed at the following people:

• Professionals from the fields of purchasing, procurement, materials management or logistics who would like to expand and deepen their specialist knowledge
• Prospective managers who want to acquire specific specialist knowledge in purchasing to prepare for the next step in their career
• People who want to acquire cross-industry specialist knowledge in purchasing and prepare for the federal professional examination "Purchasing Specialist"

The following skills and characteristics are required for a successful job as a purchasing specialist:

• Confident appearance
• Good negotiation and presentation skills
• Fluency in oral and written expression and diplomacy
• Analytical combination skills and a sense for numbers
• Organized and efficient way of working
• Personal responsibility and assertiveness
• Ability to work in a team
• High customer and service orientation
• Good foreign language skills

Requirements for admission to the professional examination for purchasing specialists:

For admission to the final examination (federal professional examination) as a purchasing specialist, the following prerequisites are required at the start of the examination:

• Federal certificate of proficiency, school-leaving certificate (all types) or equivalent qualification

and

• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in materials management, purchasing, procurement or logistics or a corresponding business area

or

• Professional certificate

and

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in materials management, purchasing, procurement or logistics or a corresponding business area

or

• Federal certificate in one of the following areas: Materials management, purchasing, procurement or logistics

Some schools also require prior knowledge in purchasing processing, accounting or a good knowledge of German. Depending on your previous knowledge, it is advisable to attend a preliminary course in finance and accounting or purchasing clerk.

You will be informed in writing at least three months before the start of the examination whether you meet the requirements for the professional examination for purchasing specialists - in the event of rejection, including reasons and information on legal remedies.

Note: The prerequisites, such as professional experience, only need to be fulfilled at the time of the federal written examinations. Some schools may be prepared to admit you to a purchasing specialist course if the admission criteria for the federal examination are not (yet) fulfilled at the start of the course. However, the responsibility for meeting the requirements at the time of the examination lies with you. Professional experience only counts from the completion of basic training.

Subject matter and content of the purchasing specialist training course:

The subject matter of the preparatory courses for the professional examination for the Purchasing Specialist Certificate is based on the specifications of the sponsor of the federal examination, the Professional Association for Purchasing and Supply Managementprocure.ch.

The learning content of the Purchasing Specialist training is divided into the following topics:

• Basic skills:
  • Contract law
  • Project management
  • Economics
  • Finance and accounting
    
    
• Specialist areas of expertise:
  • Price and cost structure analysis
  • Procurement market research
  • Procurement logistics
  • Procurement strategies
  • Supplier management
  • Supply chain management (SCM) and sustainability
    
    
• Self, social and leadership skills
  • Self-management and leadership
  • Conversation and negotiation skills

Costs and financing of further training for purchasing specialists:

The costs vary depending on the provider and duration of the Purchasing Specialist training course. On average, these amounts are to be expected for the training costs:

• Course fees:between CHF 4'700.- and CHF 12'800.-
  After taking the exam, you will receive around 50% of this back from the federal government on application (regardless of the result)*.
  Note: Members of the Kaufmännischer Verband receive a 10% discount on the costs of training courses and courses offered by individual training providers
• Examination fees:CHF 2,400 (as at: 2023)
  The examination fee is set by the body responsible for the professional examination. It is paid by the candidate after confirmation of admission to the purchasing specialist examination.
• Extra costs:At some schools, the costs for enrolment fees, teaching materials, training documents, books, intensive exam training, simulation exams, school diplomas and interim qualifications, for example, are not included in the course fees. Please contact the provider of your choice directly to find out what additional costs you can expect to incur for the further training course for purchasing specialists.

*Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for federal professional examinations such as the Purchasing Specialist course have been financially supported by the federal government. Graduates of these courses can therefore be reimbursed up to 50% (max. CHF 9,500) of the course costs paid after taking the federal examination. In cases of hardship, the federal contributions are also pre-financed in exceptional cases.

Duration of study, number of lessons and learning effort for the purchasing specialist training:

• The Purchasing Specialist training, continuing education is modular (i.e. some of the skills are assessed in module examinations before the professional examination and are only tested across modules in the final examination) and lasts 2 semesters while working. It comprises around 270 lessons.
• Lesson times vary depending on the provider of the Purchasing Specialist course. As a rule, the lessons take place on an afternoon and evening during the week and on a Saturday or two evenings.
• Many schools now offer a mix of face-to-face and online teaching (online, hybrid teaching, blended learning) as well as self-study.
• Thanks to the extra-occupational concept of the Purchasing Specialist course, you can apply and deepen your knowledge immediately in practice. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for lesson preparation and follow-up as well as for self-study. Depending on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed, we recommend that you allow at least 6 to 8 hours per week.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons", which provide an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. A suitable learning environment is important on the way to successfully completing a purchasing specialist qualification.

Degree, diploma and title Purchasing Specialists:

The professional examination "Purchasing Specialist with Federal Certificate" takes place annually, provided that at least 12 candidates meet the admission requirements, otherwise every two years. It can be held in German, French or Italian.
Candidates for the professional examination for purchasing specialists are notified at least 4 weeks before the start of the examination. The invitation includes the examination program (with details of the place and time of the examination as well as permitted aids) and the list of experts.

The professional examination for purchasing specialists comprises the following twelve parts:

• Procurement logistics (written, 90 min.)
  Understanding the basics, assessing planning types, evaluating supply and stockpiling principles, developing and implementing procurement models and concepts, applying lT-supported procurement
• Supplier management (written, 90 min.)
  Understanding strategic supplier management, segmenting the supplier base, developing and implementing supplier relationships, managing the supplier base, improving supplier performance through quality management
• Procurement strategies (written, 60 min.)
  Understand procurement requirements, determine and assess requirements, derive and implement strategies, know market and supplier requirements, check profitability with key figures
• Procurement market research (written, 90 min.)
  Understanding reasons, goals and tasks, determining needs in a targeted manner, applying types and methods, understanding markets and their developments, applying BMF as a holistic process in projects
• Price and cost structure analysis (written, 90 min.)
  Understanding strategic framework conditions, using calculation methods, carrying out and evaluating price analyses, obtaining information for price analysis, using results from cost and price analysis
• Supply Cham Management and Sustainability (oral, 45 min.)
  Understanding company requirements, developing objectives and recommending measures, deriving strategies and concepts, reviewing profitability and proposing measures
• Project management (written, 60 min.)
  Preparing and supporting projects, managing projects / sub-projects, steering projects and developing solutions, evaluating solutions and completing projects
• Finance and accounting (written, 60 min.)
  Understand the basics, understand balance sheets, prepare and assess income statements, prepare and assess calculations on a full cost basis or partial cost basis
• Contract law (oral, 30 min.)
  Understanding the basics of the Swiss legal system, mastering the basics of general contract law, applying contracts, dealing with incidents, using cross-border contracts
• Economics (oral, 30 min.)
  Understanding the fundamentals of the economic system, assessing market mechanisms, using stock exchanges as a trading venue, taking globalization and structural change into account, observing macroeconomic interrelationships, considering aspects of monetary and economic policy
• Self-management and leadership (oral, 30 min.)
  Understanding personality and leadership, applying work techniques and time management, leading and developing employees, communicating successfully, managing conflicts, presenting results
• Conversation and negotiation skills (oral, 45 min.)
  Preparing discussions and negotiations, applying models, techniques and styles of communication, conducting discussions and negotiations, concluding discussions and negotiations

Diploma and title "Purchasing Specialist"

Graduates of the professional examination receive a federal certificate and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Purchasing Specialist with Federal Certificate" or "Purchasing Specialist with Federal Certificate".

• In French: "Spécialiste d'achat / approvisionnement avec brevet fédéral"
• In Italian: "Specialista d'approvvigionamento con attestato professionale federale"
• In English: "Certified Purchasing Specialist, Federal Diploma of Higher Education" (Attention: This is only a recommendation/translation and not a protected title)