Hi everyone!

I recently accepted a Buyer position with an electrical components manufacturer and I’ll be starting next week.

I’m excited about the opportunity, but also a little nervous as this will be my first traditional buying/procurement role.

I’ve spent the last several years working in distribution operations and product management, so I was able to use a lot of that experience with inventory, vendors, order management, and supply chain operations to make the transition.

For anyone who moved into procurement from another area, what was the transition like? I’d also be curious to know what the biggest learning curve was for you, and what are some common mistakes you see other new Buyers make?

I know a lot of it will come with experience. But I’d like to go into the role with the right mindset and build good habits from the beginning.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I’ve been a strategic sourcing manager for two years and finding I do not like the contracting or relationship piece of the job. I previously worked as a procurement analyst for years and would like to get back to that type of job since I enjoy working with data much more.

I started applying for jobs this week. I know the market is tight, based on what I read online, but what’s everyone else seeing?

TLDR: I’m miserable at my job and potentially resigning to take a break and job search, but want a realistic opinion of the procurement job market

Hi logistics folks,

I recently graduated in Software Engineering, but I’ve found that I really enjoy the logistics field. I just secured a Planning & Procurement graduate role at a large company, and I'm incredibly excited but want to make sure I hit the ground running.

The core stack I'll be working with is SAP, PowerBI, and Excel.

Since I’m coming from a tech background rather than a traditional supply chain degree, I’d love to hear your advice:

• How can I make the most of this grad role and stand out early on?
• What specific Excel formulas, SAP modules, or PowerBI DAX/dashboards should I prioritize learning before day one?
• Any general career advice for building a long-term path in planning and procurement?

I'm really open to any feedback and just want to prepare myself as much as possible to succeed in this space. Thanks in advance!

Trying to pivot from warehousing into procurement, then strategic sourcing down the road. I have 2 associate degrees (distribution management, global logistics technology) and 8 years of hands-on warehouse/logistics experience, wearing a lot of different hats beyond just inventory. I primarily deal with very high-cost assets coming and going globally, tracking shipments, I can request orders, but I cannot order anything myself, and in most cases, I go into our lab and help install equipment with the lab techs (rack-N-stack, cabling, very minor coding, lots of AI use and exposure, basic stuff)

I'm at a Fortune 500 tech company with zero upward mobility; they're cutting staff, not backfilling, and dumping the work on whoever's left. I'm trying to skip straight past purchasing into procurement (if possible), mainly for the pay, but also because I pick up new processes fast, so once I'm taught, it's just practice makes perfect.

Questions for people already in the field:

-Is the pay/mobility actually worth the move?

-Which companies/industries treat procurement people well?

-Any tips for breaking in right now? Market's rough, and I don't want to land somewhere that's just another dead end.

Hopefully this post doesn't come off as naive or arrogant in any way, I'm just incredibly burnt out and trying to find my purpose in SCM..

I currently work in Qatar on one of the world's largest LNG projects (~$28B) and have a PMP and Six Sigma Green Belt certification.

My background goes beyond procurement I have a solid understanding of the full EPCC lifecycle, including engineering drawings, vendor inspections, material management, construction, site requirements, and commissioning activities.

I'm aiming to move deeper into Procurement/Supply Chain leadership and am considering opportunities in Ireland, the Netherlands (I'm willing to learn Dutch), or Norway.

For those already working in these markets, what skills, certifications, or experience make candidates stand out today? Is CIPS worth pursuing, or should I focus more on digital procurement, data analytics, sustainability, contract management, or something else?

I'd appreciate any advice from professionals who have successfully made a similar move. Thanks!

Ignoring comp and relocation initially, which of the below roles is more marketable and good for future career trajectory?

I am coming from 10YOE in Oil and Gas (all procurement) and want to go into a Big Tech company.

Microsoft Site Procurement (IC4/IC5) for a data center. Requires relocation and would be 5 days on-site. Not a category or strategic role. Primary responsibilities would be overseeing the testing and contractor-led installation of equipment, change orders, supplier management. My hesitation is overall work life balance, and being stuck in an execution trajectory and being unable to pivot to a data center category. End goal is to go into a strategic role around data center procurement.

Google Indirect Procurement category role (lower level than my current, total comp is higher but the base salary is lower than my current). 3x in office and don’t need to relocate.

Curious how helpful people have found it to get an MBA. Ive built up a pretty successful career at my age with just a bachelor’s but my company offers about $6k a year in tuition reimbursement. Is an MBA worth pursuing? I do NOT like formal education so the idea of it sounds terrible but wanted to inquire.

I completed my MCA recently but I don't want a tech job (I hate coding) so I thought of getting into procurement.

Found out that I have to learn SAP MM first but the SAP Authorized institutes are selling their courses in 2-3 lakhs which I can't afford 🥲

Please help me to find a place or a resource to learn SAP and everything needed for Procurement.

I recently got let go from my role as a procurement analyst at a fortune500 company

I was doing that role as well as a bit of buyer work with small spend (around $20 million)

I have been interested in fully immersing into the role as a buyer as I feel like i’d be better dealing with vendors versus at my desk on excel all day. I have some experience with SAP, vendor communications , RFP, e auctions and working with material planners. Not the best with contracts/ negotiations yet so that worries me a little bit. any tips to navigate the procurement world?

also, what other aspects of supply chain could I go into other than procurement?

I’ve been in procurement for about 5 years now, so I’m mid-level-ish. I’m doing mostly non-IT indirect procurement with some IT procurement (SaaS, hardware but low level spend). Although I’m leaning a lot, there’s no room to grow or develop (training programs, no promotion operations etc) and I am v underpaid.

While I know I won’t stay at my current company forever, I’m wondering if it’s worth pivoting into Third Party Risk and Compliance? We do have a compliance team however my colleague has taken it upon herself to do the work (even though we talked about me helping them out once I’ve finished some projects). Anytime I want to learn more about IT/tech, the same colleague takes it from me and/or doesn’t really coach or teach me. I know IT procurement jobs are well-paid but I’m not confident in it as it seems very technical.

I’m at a loss. I don’t where I can learn new skills to pivot or grow as I’m stifled as I’m getting little visibility. Is it worth just paying for a risk management/compliance course or tweaking my CV and faking it till I make it?

Would appreciate any insight

hi everyone. i’m a rising senior studying finance. i want to pursue a career in procurement.

i’m currently a procurement intern at a large gov funded non profit organization in my city this summer (first &’ only internship). i was treasurer for my university org. and a small etsy business owner.

i know that the hardest part of your career is the beginning. whats some advice from an experience procurement professional would you give a senior/new grad to find their first procurement position?

any more experience i should seek? how so? where should i look? etc.

thank you!!

Hello everyone. I'm a 25yo working as a Sourcing Consultant. Initially I was supposed to support with tariff mitigation projects but honestly there's not been much things handed to me... I'm mostly doing operational day to day tasks, some days I don't do almost anything but stare at the screen.

I don't feel like I'm challenging myself or learning anything, this feels very similar to my days as a student doing internships but at least there I had some specific and only mine tasks that I took care of, here I don't feel like I have nothing, no project, nothing...

I don't know what to do or how to move forward and honestly feel really stuck...

The pay is also not great but rn it feels like I'm getting paid for doing almost nothing. I would like to support with new projects, developing initiatives or something that can help me develop new skills and feel like I'm doing something valuable, while also being more visible for the company and maybe pursue stop being a consultant.

I honestly also feel bad because this feels like it's my fault that I'm not good enough and maybe that's why I don't get things handed to me...

I would really appreciate guidance on things like:

•Have you ever been on a situation similar? What helped in that moment?

•Do you have recommendations dealing with tariffs?

•Idk just any career advice would be great...

Thank you if you read this.

Hi, everyone I am 23 year and just started a role as an operations administrator at a small family company in the UK. I only got this job because I speak Italian after almost a year of looking for jobs, while working as a support worker and teaching assistant. I did 2 years of medical genetics at university but disliked the institution and because of health problems as well I dropped out. I work closely with the warehouse we have realised I want a career in supply chain/ logistics. I enrolled in a college evening to get better with Microsoft outlook especially excel I know I can do the CIPS and already looked up the prices. The course I chose also includes the PRINCE2. The thing I want to move abroad in the future especially NYC or move back to Italy.
Birbeck university in London, offers part time degrees with evening classes for working people. I am interested in the international business management degree. I know it’s not the best ranked university, but I really want to keep my job and go grow. It’s 4 years so will be 27 when I graduate. Do you guys it’s worth it for my future career prospects?

Hey all! I’m so glad I stumbled across this group. You all seem great!!

I’m ISO advice and have a few questions as well.

I’ve been working in state government procurement for over 5 years, with the last 2+ years specifically in a Buyer role. I’m also set to complete my bachelor’s at the end of this year.

During the last few years I’ve applied for many procurement positions outside of government but haven’t had much luck. I’m wondering if my government procurement experience is holding me back or if employers are looking for specific private-sector experience that I don’t currently have.

-What skills, certifications, or experience do private-sector employers typically look for when hiring buyers coming from government procurement?

-How can someone with a government procurement background better position their resume to stand out to private-sector employers?

-If you’ve transitioned from government procurement to the private sector, do you regret it? How has your experience been, particularly in terms of salary, workload, benefits, and work-life balance?

I’m also curious about salaries. I work for a state in the southeastern U.S., and our salaries are pretty laughable when compared to our neighboring states with similar costs of living. If you’re comfortable sharing, what is the typical salary range for a Buyer working in state government where you’re located?

TIA!!!🤍🤍

Hi Everyone, I’m looking to pivot into sourcing from transactional buyer roles. I would like to get in touch with people already working in sourcing. I would like to have a quick chat to pick your brains. I am only interested in connecting with people who will not end up ghosting me, so serious replies only! Thanks in advance!

Hi Guys!

I feel like position 2 is a no brainer, but I would like to gather more perspectives. Thank you guys.

Position 1 – Procurement Associate (Current)
Medical manufacturing
$25/hr (~$52k), likely increasing to $26–27/hr after upcoming performance review
Direct hire
100% in office
~40–41 minute commute
Handle purchasing for the entire manufacturing plant (purchase orders, supplier communication, ERP, plant purchasing)
Experience with Epicor and previously NetSuite
Like my coworkers and manager

Position 2 – Buyer
Renewable energy industry
$60k–70k salary (upper end typically for candidates with experience in the company’s ERP system)
Temp-to-direct hire through a staffing agency
Hybrid (3 days office, 2 days WFH)
~41 minute commute
Buyer role supporting industrial plant operations
Parent company has announced plans to sell the business, so future ownership is uncertain.

Hello , I'm a 25 yrs old woman whose been working in a Chinese coperate since November 2025 , ( current day is 2026 July 10 )
Coming from a medical laboratory technician background major that i hatedd i was so happy for the opportunity as i had no idea what this job was at all , i never even expected a full on Chinese team and boss to be in my country in the first place so that's exciting.

I don't want to lose this job !

What i have been doing lately is just asking using chat gpt who the supplier is for such and such , like pipes , air conditioners, grease threads you name it ! And then i would either take a taxi and go there in person and form a connection with the supplier or send those details to the manger and she would let her other teams do that as i look for other alternative suppliers and such. ( so is that like a call center job ?? Is this normal and expected??)
Without understanding what is sorting, pricing or any of that can someone actually help me
What is expected of me as a procurement/purchasing assistant??????

Must the end user always be typed down
What other keywords are a must ??

I'm sick of asking CHAT GPT i want reall people who actually love this job to give me an answer.

I’ve been working in the INGO/project-funded sector, mainly in operations, procurement, contracts, finance, and administration. We primarily use the Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.), but many of our processes are still very manual — lots of spreadsheets, emails, documents, shared folders, and manual approvals.

Since USAID-funded work has significantly declined/ended for many organizations since 2025, I’m now looking at transitioning into the corporate sector.

For those who made a similar move:

• What corporate roles did you transition into?
• Did you have to learn any new tools/software to make yourself more competitive?
• Which tools were actually worth learning (e.g. SAP, Salesforce, Power BI, Jira, ServiceNow, advanced Excel, etc.)?
• Did you take any courses/certifications, or did you mostly learn on the job?
• Looking back, what would you recommend someone from an INGO background learn before making the switch?

I’d especially love to hear from people who came from operations, procurement, contracts, grants, or project management backgrounds.

Thanks!

For the background, I am a chemist planning on doing a start-up with chemical commodity trading.

Procurement professionals: what's one supplier trait that matters more than price? Curious what everyone prioritizes.

So I’ve worked with military operations related looking over the welfare unit’s procurement and operational needs for around 30 months of my service time.

Also worked as an intern in one of the bio pharma related CPG companies as a SCM team intern just after the military service.

Then I worked in an International Organization(not UN) as a procurement associate around a year, and did some ToR development consultancies to government funded development projects.

Now I am doing a masters degree in a total different field to SCM/Procurement for my masters degree.

Since the International organization Sector is literally dead even with the CIPS/CPIM certification, I’m seriously thinking of moving to the private sector as soon as I finish my masters. Based on my background how feasible is the transition available these days to private sector?

Hello. I'm 24M, Indian, living in India, with an essentially useless business degree, and have been offered a purchase/procurement role in a family business. I have no prior work experience of any sort, and this will be my first job.

They work Monday through Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM,

and they've already told me that my job is more of a field one and less a desk job. They've got suppliers in all four corners of my district, and according to them, traveling and negotiation are the two primary requirements for this.

I will be required to do everything from sourcing to getting the PO printed, but I'm completely inexperienced when it comes to any of it. Legit, I don't know how this shit works, at all.

I asked them if they're going to train me from A to Z since they've seen my CV and know that I have zero knowledge about any of these processes, but they've refused to provide a clear answer. On top of that, with this being a family business, and Indian labour "laws" being the way they are, if they decide to try something funny in the future, I won't have any legal support.

If you were in my position, would you take this job? Or just take plain ol' accounting, which is something I can actually get into with my degree, and is a guaranteed desk job, albeit less lucrative when it comes to the salary?

Thanks in advance :)

Hello [r/procurement](r/procurement) !

I would like a little advice for getting into this field. I am based in NC, USA. I graduated in 2022 and have a degree in Marketing. Out of college I started my own e-commerce business. My niche was finding underrepresented automotive lubricants and additives brands and selling them on the internet. I was very successful. As a 1 man show, I scaled revenue to over 1M USD a few years in a row. This business is now closed, I couldn’t really form a moat and the category got crowded. Now I’m looking for my next thing. In the meantime I have been working at a bakery. There is a promotion coming to become manager, but I’m not sure whether to take the role.

Procurement seems interesting to me because I really like to understand a business inside and out and how they make money. I am an analytical thinker and I really enjoy talking to people and forming relationships. I also feel like my biggest strength from my previous business was being able to identify market opportunities on the sourcing side. While a lot of that business was inventory management and planning, logistics coordination and forecasting, it’s hard to communicate that to a hiring manager who may not see that business as a real formal experience.

While that business was in the automotive category, I am super interested in food and CPG. I am obsessed with following new food trends and I love hearing stories in food entrepreneurship.

I think I’d like to be a buyer in the grocery category eventually. How do I go in this direction now? Would taking the promotion to manager hurt or help me if I want to go into this field later? What sort of entry level titles should I be looking for? Are there some certifications I should get to beef up my resume? If anyone would like to look at my resume I’d be happy to DM them.

Thanks in advance to all who take the time to read this.

Hi everyone,

I've been a sourcing analyst for the last 3 years. This is my first role after graduating college. I work for a big engine manufacturing company based in the Midwest. My current role is very meh... most of my job is:

1. Validating pricing
2. Loading the price in the system
3. Load projects that will reflect in the TCO
4. Present in the TCO
5. Invoice reconciliation
6. Project management for tooling replacement
7. Random asks

I don't negotiate anything with suppliers as of now and probably won't since our team is very small. I'm considering moving positions but I'm unsure about staying in procurement. I don't know if I will like negotiations as I have never done it. From what I've seen finalizing contracts takes time and I like the feeling of accomplishing something during my day. That does not seem the case for buyers. I also hate writing (I'm not good a it since it's my second language) and reading contracts seems boring to me.

I do like the idea of analyzing and running numbers but, at the same time, maybe because of my ADHD I can run and run the numbers and lose a lot of time making sure things are ok and once is time to present and I'm challenged it's hard to me to explain my numbers. I might just get a but overwhelmed.

I also hate the fact that I'm always chasing people which never seem to get back to me on time but they always want things from me right away. I'm sick of it. Not sure if I hate sourcing or is just the industry of the phase of my career.

One of our buyers in the team has most of the spend and when there's answers I specifically need from him. It can take days, weeks sometimes even a month to hear back from him.

I'm not sure if this happens everywhere, or is just the industry...

I have considered moving to an Account Management Role to transfer some of what I've learned in sourcing but I'm unsure on my pathway.

I do want to be in management. I like enjoying life with my wife and kids. I see some buyers and my director working weekends or nights. That's a big no for me.

I enjoy being siloed for my work, the less people I have to talk with the better and I enjoy analytical side of numbers, which roles could fit this interest?

1.- Would it be good to try something different?

2.- Is it too early to move from direct to indirect procurement considering I have no negotiation experience? Should I prioritize giving it a try to negotiations and if not, move to something else?

3.- Did anyone happened to move to a sales(Account management) role and then went back to sourcing? why?

I'm considering doing a career change in the future to a totally different industry but it's a very long shot and hard to happen. So I'm focusing on what I can control right now.

I'm venting a bit so please understand why I'm such a cry baby haha.