What does the day-to-day work of a purchasing manager with a federal diploma look like?

Purchasing managers are responsible for the strategic and operational procurement of material goods and services in the purchasing departments of companies in all sectors. To this end, they formulate procurement concepts and implement them in the company. They manage budgets, prepare key figures, optimize processes and monitor economic profitability.

As managers, they lead a department or division and coordinate activities with the other divisions. Purchasing managers know the procurement markets and are in regular contact with their most important suppliers. They maintain existing relationships, establish new procurement channels and conduct negotiations up to the point of drawing up framework agreements. Through regular analyses of political, economic and ecological world events, they recognize emerging changes at an early stage and ensure that procurement concepts are adapted accordingly.

(Note: The weighting of the individual task areas can vary greatly depending on the company and task profile).

Target group and skills: Who is the Higher Professional Examination for Purchasing Managers with a Federal Diploma suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The course and the higher professional examination for "Purchasing Manager with Federal Diploma" are suitable for

• Experienced purchasers and executives from industrial, commercial and service companies who are looking for a management position in the supply chain / purchasing area
• Managers who manage a purchasing department and want to expand their skills
• Prospective managers who want to expand their specific specialist knowledge
• Experienced supply chain employees who would like to further expand their career and salary opportunities with a federal diploma

Purchasing Managers should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Analytical and strategic thinking skills
• Entrepreneurial and service-oriented approach, sense for numbers
• Excellent communication skills
• Sociability
• Winning appearance
• Negotiating skills

Prerequisites for admission to the Advanced Professional Examination for Purchasing Managers:

Persons who fulfill the following conditions by the time of the examination date or examination registration are admitted to the Advanced Professional Examination for Purchasing Managers:

• Federal certificate of proficiency (EFZ), high school diploma or equivalent and then at least five years of relevant professional experience in materials management, procurement, purchasing, logistics or a corresponding business area

Or

• Federal diploma (BP) and at least three years of relevant professional experience in materials management, procurement, purchasing, logistics or a corresponding business area

Or

• Diploma from a higher professional examination (HFP), diploma from a higher technical college (HF), university of applied sciences or university and at least two years of relevant professional experience in materials management, procurement, purchasing, logistics or a corresponding business area

You will find out whether you have been admitted to the higher specialist examination at least three months before the start of the examination with a written notification including reasons in the event of rejection.

Note: Some schools are prepared to admit you to a preparatory course for the Higher Professional Examination for Purchasing Managers if you do not (yet) meet the criteria for admission to the federal examination. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet the necessary requirements at the time of the examination/examination registration. At some schools, it is also possible to attend the course without the intention of taking an examination. Admission requirements vary depending on the provider.

Subject matter and content of the training

The subject matter of the preparatory courses for the Higher Professional Examination for Purchasing Managers is based on the specifications of the sponsor of the federal examination, procure.ch.

The preparation courses impart knowledge in the following subject areas, which are also the examination subjects:

• Supply chain management (identifying the challenges facing the company, developing and implementing supply chain strategy and concepts)
• Supplier and risk management (recognizing megatrends and the effects of globalization on supplier management, recognizing the role and importance of suppliers for corporate success, developing a supplier portfolio, managing the supplier life cycle, developing a supplier strategy, identifying, evaluating and controlling risks in supplier management)
• Procurement controlling (demonstrating the influence of procurement on the company's success, designing and applying controlling for procurement, developing reporting for key procurement figures, etc.)
• Sustainable procurement (analyzing the company's situation and procurement for sustainability, developing a procurement strategy, defining measures for strategy implementation, measuring and reporting results)
• Digital procurement (understanding IT solutions, assessing their potential and outlining solutions, using IT in operational processes, evaluating IT in strategic processes, managing the use of IT and evaluating trends)
• Material / product group management (understanding the importance and objectives of material management (MGM), organizing, developing and managing MGM)
• Sourcing strategies (deriving sourcing strategies from the corporate strategy, developing sourcing strategies for material groups, applying sourcing strategies and evaluating results)
• Project management (strategic use of project management, application of multi-project management, etc.)
• Finance and accounting (assessment of the annual financial report, application of differentiated cost and performance accounting, preparation of procurement plans and budgets, etc.).
• International contract law (understanding the legal basis of international procurement, developing and applying important contract types, managing legal disruptions, etc.)
• Corporate management and leadership (development of entrepreneurial thinking and action, systematic handling of strategic problems, support and management of change processes, etc.)
• Economics (explaining market forces and their limits, understanding the mechanisms of stock exchanges and financial markets, assessing the opportunities and risks of globalization, evaluating the influence of digitalization, etc.).
• Conducting negotiations (understanding the importance of strategic negotiations, using appropriate communication in negotiations, preparing, planning and conducting negotiations, etc.)

Costs and financing of further training

The costs vary depending on the provider (apart from the examination fee, which is set by the HFP sponsor). In general, the following costs must be expected for the 2-4 semester part-time purchasing manager training course:

• Course feesBetween CHF 14,880 and CHF 16,900, of which you will receive around 50% back from the federal government on application after the examination (regardless of the result).* Note: Procure members benefit from reduced course costs.Herefor more information.
• External examination feesCHF 2,900 (as at: March 2023) The examination fee is set by the sponsor of this course or higher professional examination. It is paid by the candidate after admission has been confirmed.
• Extra costsAt some schools, the costs for teaching materials, training documents and simulation exams, for example, are not included in the course fees. Additional costs must also be expected for any preliminary courses, such as in finance and accounting.

Please contact the provider of your choice directly to find out what additional costs you can expect.

*Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for federal professional examinations (BP) and higher professional examinations (HFP) have been financially supported by the federal government. Graduates of these courses will therefore be reimbursed up to 50% (max. CHF 9,500 for BP, max. CHF 10,500 for HFP) of the course costs paid upon application after taking the federal examination. In exceptional cases of hardship, the federal contributions will also be paid out in advance.

Duration of study, number of lessons and learning effort

• The purchasing manager training course has a modular structure and lasts 2-4 semesters, depending on the provider.
• The course comprises approx. 308 lessons, which are attended at different times. These time variants are determined independently by the respective schools, so there may be differences (e.g. one or two evenings per week or one evening plus half a Saturday or a full day on Saturdays).
• Many schools offer a mix of face-to-face and online courses (online, hybrid teaching, blended learning) as well as self-study. You can therefore choose the format that allows you to combine further education with your family, career and free time in the best possible way.
• Thanks to the in-service training concept, you can apply and deepen the learning material in practice straight away. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week as a precaution.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons". This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. Important aspects on the way to a successful graduation. It is best to contact the school of your choice directly for a taster lesson.

Degree, diploma and title

The Higher Professional Examination for Purchasing Managers is held once a year if at least 12 candidates meet the admission requirements, otherwise at least every two years. The examination can be taken in one of the three official languages German, French or Italian.

Candidates are notified at least 28 calendar days before the start of the examination. The invitation includes the examination program (place and time of the examination) and the list of experts.

The higher professional examination comprises 13 examination parts (type of examination, time, weighting)

1. Strategic Supply Chain Management and Quality Management (written, 90 minutes, weighted 1)
2. Strategic supplier and risk management (written, 90 minutes, weighting 1)
3. Sustainable procurement (written, 90 minutes, weighting 1)
4. Material / product group management and sourcing strategies (written, 90 minutes, weighted 1)
5. Procurement controlling (written, 90 minutes, weighting 1)
6. Digital procurement (oral, 45 minutes, weighting 1)
7. Management-oriented finance and accounting (written, 60 minutes, weighting 1)
8. Applied Project Management (written, 60 minutes, weighting 1)
9. International Contract Law (oral, 45 minutes, weighting 1)
10. Applied Economics (written, 60 minutes, weighting 1)
11. Corporate Management and Leadership (oral, 45 minutes, weighting 1)
12. Negotiation (oral, 45 minutes, weighting 1)
13. Diploma thesis (written, prepared in advance and oral, 45 minutes, weighting 3)

The diploma thesis is an individual piece of work that candidates work on independently. The topic for the thesis is chosen by the candidates themselves, but it should be a task or problem from their own professional environment (an internal company project is recommended). Furthermore, the chosen topic must come from the areas of procurement, purchasing or supply chain management and be related to several module topics. The thesis must also adhere to the guidelines on form and content; there is a specific document for this purpose in which all guidelines are listed.

The thesis is then presented orally to a panel of experts (duration: 20 minutes), after which the candidates answer questions from the experts (duration: 25 minutes).

Diploma and title

Successful graduates of the higher professional examination receive a federal diploma and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Purchasing Manager with Federal Diploma".

In French: "Responsable Achats avec diplôme fédéral"

In Italian: "Responsabile degli acquisti von diploma federale"

In English (This is only a recommendation/translation and not a protected title): "Purchaising Manager, Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education"