If your job search isn’t going as well as you’d like, why not consider getting a procurement certification and becoming a Procurement Specialist? According to GlassDoor, the national salary average for a specialist is just over $60,900 per year. Of course, there are quite a few things you’ll need to know about the job to see if it could be right for you. Read below for a quick briefing.
A Procurement Specialist May Have Diverse Duties Related to Acquiring Goods and Services.
A review of what is required to earn a certificate will reveal the details of the areas which you’ll study, should you choose to continue. As such, here are a few areas of distinction in the field of procurement.
Purchasing and Managing Inventory.
A good procurement specialist will understand the foundations of inventory management. One of the main principles is knowing how much stock to have on hand at any one time to avoid a shortage. This is called safety stock, and once the safety stock quantity (SSQ) is known you can figure out the reorder point (ROP). If this already seems confusing, or at least a bit dry, don’t worry. When applied to actual product, the process is straightforward.
Record Keeping.
This duty is related to keeping track of all paper trails. Receipts, open orders, requests, purchasing notes, etcetera. These must be carefully kept, for if an audit is requested they’ll want their job to be made easy, but it will also be seen as your responsibility.
Negotiate Contracts.
This job responsibility has to deal with the bottom line. Negotiating contracts relates to speaking with suppliers and trying to get a fair price for products or services.
To be a certified procurement specialist, there are schools across the country that help people earn a procurement certification, which might be referred to as a purchasing agent certification. Purchasing agent training then, focuses on getting the best deal on products or services.
Procurement also focuses on aspects such as point-to-point (POP) shipping, which offers reduced traveling time and damage to goods. When POP shipping provides a reduced connection time, the goods may arrive faster than another option. For example, two day or overnight shipping can sometimes cost 50% more than the regular shipping price.
It is worth noting that while every specialist must earn a procurement certification to perform their job, the exact nature of their job will differ depending on the company where they work. The job description for a purchasing agent will be similar to that of a procurement agent, but both positions will require a knowledge of American air cargo shipping and sea freight shipping, as well as a working knowledge of ROPs, SSQs, and how to neatly file receipts.
If none of these terms have scared you off, perhaps a procurement certification is in your future. The national average salary is decent, and it is a job that puts things in motion every day. Look into a procurement school nearby if your job search has stalled, and you’d like to do something different.