Careers in Purchasing and Supply Management

• "I enjoy, and am sometimes amazed at, the diversity of the supply management practice. In any given week, I can be involved in or called on to influence strategic decisions in logistics, marketing, benefits, travel, telecommunications or any number of functional areas. The diversity keeps the work interesting, influential and challenging. The level of talent, business acumen and intellectual horsepower necessary for success grows daily. It's a great way to gain direct exposure and broad-based business knowledge across a lot of areas. I also like the growing respect and admiration the practice is gaining. It's a great time to be in supply management."
  
  Richard Henderson
  Vice President, Procurement
  Limitedbrands
  
  
  
• "Supply chain management is a fantastic career to pursue due to the plethora of different types of jobs that are available. Since supply chain management is so large and all-encompassing, a career may include working as a buyer, negotiating contracts, being an inventory manager, an import/export goods manager, transportation manager - the opportunities are endless! When I decided supply chain management was for me, it was because I never wanted to hold the same position for my entire career, but hopefully start with a foundation and build upon it. I am now able to enjoy having many different career path choices and work in almost any company since everyone uses supply chain management!"
  
  Elizabeth K. Roberts
  Student, Department of Supply Chain Management
  W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University
  
  
  
• "Any 'stint' in supply management, regardless of one's career aspirations, is tremendous preparation for a person's ultimate career. That's because supply chain touches so many facets of business that the field is a natural opportunity for understanding the big picture. From incoming materials through the planning and manufacturing process, to outbound finished product, supply chain touches every part of this entire process. This multifaceted field helps an individual to learn 'how a company thinks.' It has been rewarding for me every step of the way. As supply management and procurement organizations have struggled to evolve from a back-office function to a key strategic function, I have been lucky enough to participate in that and be an agent for change. I have also had the privilege of working with dynamic teams who shared the vision that a new approach to supply management would make a crucial difference in corporate profitability and global competitiveness."
  
  Theresa M. Metty, C.P.M.
  Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer
  Motorola, Inc.
  
  
  
• "The best aspect of working as a purchasing professional is the important impact you can have on the future of your firm. The purchasing professional has the advantage of meeting new challenges on a daily basis, often with minimum direction from management. Today's technical advances have made the future even more interesting because many of the clerical tasks have been removed, allowing the purchasing professional to work strategically side by side with management."
  
  Elaine Whittington, C.P.M., CPCM, A.P.P.
  Educator
  G&E Enterprises
  2000 J. Shipman Gold Medal Award Winner
  
  
  
• "Supply management is the place to be. Why? It's where the action is taking place. It's about cost reductions, scouring and traveling the world for new suppliers, contract management, negotiation, building relationships and analyzing ways to streamline an organization. Every cent you save drops right to the bottomline. There is no other profession that will allow an individual to wear so many hats and contribute in so many ways."
  
  Bryan Chapman, C.P.M., CPIM, CIRM, CPCM
  Materials Manager
  Gateway Inc.
  
  
  
• "Supply chain management is the battlefield for competitiveness in this century."
  
  Hau L. Lee
  Thoma Professor of Operations, Information and Technology
  Stanford University
  
  
  
• "More than ever, Corporate America views supply management as integral to organizational success. Given that business spends a large percentage of revenue to acquire needed goods and services, supply management has significant potential to positively leverage profitability. These influences lead to exciting challenges, value-adding opportunities and rewarding careers in the field of supply management."
  
  H. Ervin Lewis, C.P.M.
  President
  Lewis and Associates
  2004 J. Shipman Gold Medal Award Winner
  
  
  
• "I have found supply chain management to be a fast-moving, challenging and rewarding career. SCM has rapidly evolved from tactical contract management to strategic partnering with business partners and suppliers to create shareholder value. As a result, there are countless opportunities for advancement for bright and energetic people who want to make an impact on the bottomline."
  
  Ron Tate Jr., C.P.M.,
  Senior Vice President
  Bank of America
  
  
  
• "It's exciting working with marketing, engineering and service to bring one of our new iPAQ Pocket PCs from the drawing board into production. Working with the team to select component suppliers, reviewing packaging artwork and user guides, and making sure all the material is on hand for product ramp is challenging and rewarding. But what really makes the job rewarding is reading articles about awards won by the new product you helped develop."
  
  Sharon Malkovicz, C.P.M.
  New Product Introduction Program Manager, iPAQ Pocket PC
  Hewlett-Packard
  
  
  
• "Supply management didn't choose me … I chose supply management! After earning an engineering degree and applying those skills for several years, supply management offered me the opportunity to leverage my technical background and build a very diverse career in international, commercial and government procurement. I chose supply management because it offered me the ability to drive results to the bottomline. There's also value in deploying professional techniques that promote a mutually beneficial relationship. I've had the opportunity to work in many business types, meet many interesting people and travel to interesting places, all while making strategic contributions to a variety of organizations."
  
  Patricia B. Hairston
  Director, Strategic Sourcing
  Corning, Incorporated
  
  
  
• "Supply chain management is a great place for energetic, intelligent, young people beginning their careers because it places you at the core of the company. You get a chance to see a company from the inside out, and from the outside in, because you work closely with suppliers and customers as well as virtually every department within the enterprise. You help drive its efforts to efficiently and profitably meet the needs of the company's customers and you can significantly impact its success. Going forward, I believe that it will be assumed that the great CEOs intimately know and understand the power of the supply chain."
  
  Jose Mejia
  President
  Supply Chain Networks - Lucent Technologies

• The Power of Supply Management
• Examples of Supply Management
• Salary
• Education and Training
• The Future
• Views of Supply Management as a Career
• Colleges and Universities offering coursework in Supply Management
• Membership in ISM

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