Relations have never been more important for the purchasing manager

Being purchaser manager anno 2021, you have to be good at your profession, but you also have to be good at building relations. Relations to suppliers. The success of any business depends on this.

Competition and globalisation forces companies to focus on the core business and outsource other areas to external suppliers. The consequent is that companies are much more dependent on suppliers. The companies’ ability to deliver on time, with no risk, high quality and security – is dependent on their suppliers.

Consequently, the relations to the suppliers becomes crucial.

The crucial relationship nurturing

And who is it that has to nurture, take care of and develop these relationships? Who is it that must link the salespeople or product developers’ ideas and wishes with the insight and opportunities of the suppliers? Who should ensure that the supplier’s innovation is carried further into the organization and exploited commercially, so that the end customer and bottom-line benefits from it in the end?

All the heavy weight is on the shoulders of the purchaser manager.

“When dealing with both customers and suppliers, me forming a good relation to my contact person is something that Kohsel benefits from in the end. I am always humble and I make sure to acquaint myself with the person I talk to. Is there a special cultural holiday coming up or did the person mentions something last time we talked that I should ask about? Forming a relation is everything that comes on top of the work-talk,” says Bettina Astrid Kjær, Global Logistics / Supply Chain Manager at Kohsel.

The role of the purchaser manager

“Cost reduction and compliance are important tasks for the purchaser manager”.

Yes that is true. But it is so much more than that. It requires skills and competencies of the purchasers, which go far beyond the technical skills of negotiating prices and contracts with suppliers.

The purchasing department has to ensure cost reductions but cost reductions that doesn’t affect service or product quality, and also cost reductions that doesn’t lead to supply, security or reputation risks. The purchasing department also has to ensure access to innovation and product improvements. An example of this is that an early involvement of suppliers in the product development process can radically change the cost structure, which can have an impact on the bottom line.

However, not all companies exploit this opportunity to utilize the role of the purchasing managers, but they should, because it can add to the bottom-line in the end.

A new strategic role

There are many opportunities for purchasing managers today – many competencies they can add and directions they can move in. One being a more strategic role, which demands a thorough knowledge about the business and how the different business units contribute to the overall competitive advantage.

Helping finance getting better measurements of direct and indirect costs on certain product groups. Or helping sales improving the customer service by advising customers with the right logistics pattern. Purchasing managers are important to many different department of a company.

“One of our value propositions here at Kohsel is our different logistic solutions. This is something our customers value and therefore we make sure that our salespeople are aligned with these options,” says Bettina Astrid Kjær.