THE PURCHASING FUNCTION

The Purchasing function has always been essential to companies, but today it plays a leading strategic role. The need to continually find better global sources of supplies, as well as the technological dimension of products have made the Purchasing function increasingly important in terms of corporate strategy.

The recent changes to the Purchasing function now provide tremendous career opportunities in leading manufacturing and service companies and state administrations.

Because purchasing accounts for 60% of a company's sales on average, the Purchasing function has now been identified as strategic. In an increasingly competitive environment, the purchaser makes a decisive contribution to the company's economic performance by cutting Purchasing costs which have a direct impact on the operating margin. In this respect, the purchaser is often involved at the corporate steering level at headquarters as part of the Management Committee.

Purchases as a percentage of total cost of goods and services.

In the ongoing quest for innovation, purchasers play a key role in corporations. In constant contact with suppliers, they foster the introduction of technological innovations in a product's manufacture, they have expertise in the co-development relation and so help projects materialise ahead of the competitors. The modern purchaser is a direct creator of value in the company.

More fundamentally, the modern purchaser is at the heart of the major trends in our economy: internationalization of trade and sourcing in low labour cost countries, tertiarization of European industries, acceleration of product and service development cycles, sustainable development policies...

The men and women in charge of the purchasing function today are managers who develop a global vision of the company and its activities at the international level, working in multi-disciplinary teams and managing portfolios worth tens of millions of euros.

The strategic importance of the purchasing function makes today's purchaser a key player who operates at the crossroads of all corporate functions: marketing, production, research & development, administration control...

The "good" purchaser is not just a supply manager; he or she is a skilled negotiator capable of bringing down suppliers' prices.
The "good" purchaser, like a "good" salesperson, now needs to analyze the needs of his or her "internal customers", examine the market's product and service offers, master state-of-the-art tools, and control the ROI of his or her actions.