How have such trends changed the jobs of purchasing officers?
ART: “A lot of people are trying hard to learn the technologies, and that’s great, because they need that. Some people are finding themselves on planes travelling far and wide for the first times in their lives, and many people with these exposures are the better for it. Many procurement jobs are being based all around the world, especially China. This has particularly been of value to people with Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) language skills.” PURCHASING MAGAZINE: Do companies hire purchasing officers or hire consultants rather than full-time employees? ART: “There are all different models for supply chain organizations. Often we see older companies that recognize that they have a problem, bring in a consultant to sort out what their bottlenecks are and to make recommendations. That’s a good first step before hiring a new head of supply chain.” “If a company does not employ their own purchasing head, in my opinion, the person who made that decision had better have a really good reas
