Building a strategic supply chain? Don’t forget purchasing pros with materials skills

By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 12/7/2006 11:14:00 AM

As the December 14 issue of Purchasing with results of the magazine’s 26^th annual salary survey arrives at your office in the next few days,it may be a good time to review the staffing needs of your organization as you build your strategic supply chain.

While results of the salary survey show that demand is outpacing supply of purchasing professionals with expertise at sourcing indirect goods and services (they earn the highest average annual salary compared to their peers who are responsible for buying other commodities), there is an area of purchasing that many companies have overlooked lately: Materials management.

That’s right. It appears that sourcing operations have been so focused on creating a strategic supply chain that they’ve forgotten how important purchasing pros with materials management skills are to a company’s bottom line. So, world-class companies are creating such positions as master data analyst or vice president of materials, with the VP reporting directly to the chief purchasing officer (CPO). And, they are looking for individuals with not only a background in materials but also systems experience.

What brings this position to the forefront recently are the high prices and extended leadtimes of some raw materials, such as steel and copper as well as some petroleum-based products. Not being able to manage this effectively can adversely affect the bottom line, say companies that have created and are filling the new posts with qualified recruits.

That’s the word from Tonia Deal, president of Tonia Deal Consultants in Hudson, Ohio. Deal, who has 14 years of experience helping companies recruit purchasing professionals to staff strategic supply chain operations, has put together a quick list of qualifications most in demand today. In addition to expertise at materials management, these also include:

·Communication skills. That is, the ability to build strong relationships with customers and suppliers alike.

·Experience at low cost country sourcing--and the ability to understand its impact on total cost.

·Quality expertise. Supply chain operations have been involved in their companies’ quality efforts for years but only recently has management come out and stated that it wants its purchasing executives to fully understand ongoing quality initiatives such as six sigma programs.

·A background in product development. If purchasing is not involved in the process at the beginning, then top management is not creating a strategic supply chain organization.

Purcahsing's 2006 salary survey results will be available later this month. For reference, below are links to past salary surveys:

2005 Salary Survey: Applause, please

2004 Salary Survey: Bonuses thaw out

2003 Salary Survey: Purchasing pros beat inflation

2002 Salary Survey: Pace of hikes slows

2001 Salary Survey: Who gets paid the most?