According to various surveys, the procurement industry has gradually become a promising and “money” industry, and more and more young people have gradually joined the procurement force. With the purchaser as to the core, many related positions are derived: purchasing assistant, purchasing manager, and purchasing director. Although they are all procurement personnel, their competence requirements are different. Let me briefly introduce you not only to understand all kinds of procurement talents but also to recognize yourself and determine goals and directions. So, what exactly are the differences between purchasing managers and purchasing directors?

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First, we take the job responsibilities of the two from a recruitment website and make a simple comparison:
Responsibilities of Purchasing Manager:
- Responsible for establishing a sound and stable supply chain system, including high-quality supplier development and maintenance and long-term cooperation; technology, production and delivery supervision; coordination and cooperation with quality inspection and logistics;
- Formulate supplier development strategies and continuously optimize supplier reserves;
- Clarify the strength of suppliers; obtain detailed information through procurement projects; negotiate contract terms; market-leading practical capabilities; professional business negotiation and cost control capabilities;
- Effective communication with suppliers, including oral and written;
- Control costs as much as possible to ensure the process of purchasing power modules;
- Receiving and reviewing payment invoices, and establishing a payment plan based on the company’s cash flow benefits;
- Coordinate and cooperate with product inspection, including delivery time and quality assurance issues;
- Establish an annual budget to ensure that the department’s operating costs are within the budget;
- Establish a purchasing team and manage the daily work content and plans of the department.
Responsibilities of Purchasing Director:
- Based on the company’s overall business goals, and based on market analysis, formulate and implement effective procurement strategies and plans;
- Responsible for supplier selection and price control of all the company’s materials and materials, including: productive and non-productive materials, equipment and tools, infrastructure, service providers, etc., lead or participate in important procurement negotiations to ensure that the company obtains competitive price;
- Responsible for the organizational structure and position setting of the purchasing department, responsible for the establishment, optimization and implementation of procurement and import and export procedures, specifications, and the preparation of related work instructions;
- Establish a good cooperative relationship with core suppliers to ensure the company’s material supply;
- Effectively manage import and export work in accordance with AEO system requirements and relevant laws and regulations;
- Supervise the supplier review and procurement process to ensure compliance in the procurement process;
From the comparison, we can see that after a certain number of years as a purchasing assistant or buyer, you can have the opportunity to become a regional purchasing manager and be responsible for regional purchasing. It usually takes about 2-3 years.
Of course, it must be based on personal ability. Some people progress faster, and time may be faster. Purchasing managers or purchasing supervisors mainly play a leading leadership role, responsible for the overall work of the purchasing department, formulating purchasing plans, related material management systems, and materials. Purchasing principles and supervise the implementation. In addition, it is necessary to do a good job of forecasting the purchase, according to the capital operation, the degree of material stacking, and reasonable pre-purchasing;
Regularly organize employees to learn about purchasing business knowledge, be proficient in purchasing business and skills, and cultivate the integrity of purchasing personnel; control the bulk purchase of materials to avoid risks caused by market instability, etc. Purchasing managers need to take on greater responsibilities, so the practical experience is very important. To be a good purchasing manager, you must first be a good buyer.
Purchasing directors need stronger personal abilities and qualities than purchasing managers. They need to have the ability to foresee the industry, strong thinking, and formal forecasting capabilities, and their job jobs are about 10,000 to 20,000 higher than those of purchasing managers.
Mainly responsible for supervising and guiding the completion of business analysis, research, and analysis of procurement personnel; determining the procurement strategy of the main categories, varieties, and brands of commodity procurement;
Formulate a monthly plan for the circulation and use of procurement funds, and implement supervision and inspection functions;
Supervise and inspect the archive management of manufacturers’ credit, contracts, prices, measurement, and related documents; inspect, supervise, organize, and implement the completion of commodity procurement; supervise and organize the completion of commodity procurement promotion support;
Cultivate excellent professional ethics of purchasing personnel;
Supervise and check the entry of new products, non-return of products, excess inventory, and elimination of unsalable products; comprehensive analysis of volume, cost, profit and sales cycle, quantity, and gross profit level of mass-marketing products, and assist department managers in tracking monitoring and guiding adjustments;
Organize the establishment of sensitive catalogs of business products and necessary catalogs, etc. Therefore, the procurement recruitment process also requires a high level of competence of the procurement director. Strategic and forward-looking are indispensable qualities of purchasing director