How to find a purchasing manager for a shop or a factory
A buyer works for your business margin
A good purchasing manager saves the company money not only by bargaining: they know when to buy in bulk and when to cut stock, how to vet suppliers and how to avoid shortages and dead stock. Bad purchasing costs more than this person's salary.
So describe what exactly the candidate will buy: it decides the skills. Food with short shelf life is one logic, building materials or spare parts another, and imports from abroad add customs questions.
How to search on BlaBlaPrice
You write one job request in your own words, and candidates answer you in chat: they tell you what they have bought, which suppliers they have worked with, when they can join and what pay they expect. Before it is shown, the request is checked: no ads or contact details in the text, and with hints on what to add.
Your phone is hidden, and only the chosen candidate sees the contacts. The post is active for 7 days and can be extended. It is free for the employer. More on how it works.
What to put in the job post
- Product category — food, clothes, household cleaners, spare parts, building materials;
- Duties — finding suppliers, negotiation, stock control, imports, contracts;
- Pay — fixed salary, whether there is a bonus for savings or meeting the budget;
- Hours and place — a six-day week, office or warehouse, city;
- Languages — for example English for imports;
- Terms — on the payroll, probation period;
- Experience — in which industry and with which accounting software.
Example: “Purchasing manager for food products needed for a chain of shops, Sydney, office-based. Duties: finding suppliers, managing contracts, stock control. Good English for imported items. Six-day week, 9 to 6, pay $690 a month, on the payroll, 2+ years in purchasing.”
How to assess candidates
Ask about real cases: how they chose a supplier, how they negotiated a discount, what they did when a delivery failed. It is good when the person talks about terms, credit period and logistics, not just the price per unit.
Ask them to describe which indicators they track: stock turnover, stock levels, the share of write-offs. A candidate with no such view is probably buying “by feel”. For a position of trust, it is also useful to find out what can be checked with previous employers.
Also define the authority: can the buyer sign orders on their own up to a certain amount, or does every deal go through you? Candidates who have handled a real budget usually ask about this first.
If you are looking for work
Is purchasing your field? Register on BlaBlaPrice as a service provider, choose this category and area, and reply to job posts. Nearby roles are a merchandise analyst and a sales manager.
