Which activities appear in relevant job advertisements and how often? What is required in purchasing specialist jobs?

Advertisements for purchasing specialist jobs contain all the requirements that a company places on new employees for the vacancy. People looking for a job will find all the important information about the vacancy in the job advertisements, such as

  • the activities
  • the employer's requirements (previous education, professional experience, personal skills and characteristics)
  • the company and detailed information about it

This information on purchasing specialist jobs varies from company to company. We have collected the information from relevant job advertisements on various job portals and compiled it for you*:

 

Different job titles:

  • Purchasing specialist
  • Buyer
  • Strategic Buyer / Strategic Purchaser
  • Operational buyer
  • Technical Buyer / Technical Buyer
  • Purchasing specialist
  • Project buyer
  • Procurement specialist
  • Purchasing Specialist
  • Purchaser
  • Active Sourcing Specialist
  • Sourcing Manager
  • Produrement Manager
  • Buyer

 

Distribution of the individual tasks in purchasing specialist jobs:

Strategic tasks such as developing the product range strategy, optimizing procurement-specific processes, ensuring the defined quality and cost targets, carrying out market and cost analyses approx. 20% of the time
Disposition and operative procurement of goods, supplier management, price negotiations, warehouse and inventory management, preparation of inquiries, offers and framework agreements, cooperation in projects approx. 40% of the time
Administrative processing of daily purchasing business, maintenance and updating of master data, invoice verification, control of current deadlines approx. 40% of the time

Requirements mentioned in job advertisements for purchasing specialist jobs

Professional requirements
  • Basic commercial or technical training
  • Further training as a purchasing specialist with a federal certificate
  • Several years of experience in operational purchasing and purchasing projects, preferably in the relevant industry
Specialist knowledge for Purchasing Specialist jobs
  • Industry knowledge
  • Very good knowledge of German
  • Written and spoken English (business fluent)
  • French and Italian an advantage
  • Very good knowledge of ERP systems and MS Office, possibly SAP
Personal characteristics
  • Strong communication skills and results orientation
  • Strategic and creative thinking personality
  • Negotiating skills and assertiveness
  • Organizational skills and independence
  • Good judgment
Other jobs Purchasing Specialist Analytical skills, i.e. a procurement professional must be able to analyze complex data and make informed decisions based on these analyses. One of the most important tasks in a procurement role is negotiating contracts with suppliers. Strong negotiation skills are therefore crucial.

Here you will also find interesting links on the subject of job advertisements and job search:

*The information listed here comes from an ad hoc study to provide a unique insight into the labor market, what is required in purchasing specialist jobs.

Schools with purchasing specialist training