ICT buyer

ICT buyers create and place purchase orders for ICT products and services, handle receiving and invoice issues, assess current procurement practices and effectively apply strategic sourcing methodologies. They build relationships with strategic vendors and negotiate price, quality, service levels and delivery terms.

The following job titles also refer to ICT buyer:

ICT procurer
ICT buyers
IT buyer
ICT purchaser
ICT procurement officer
IT procurement officer

Typically, many large corporate retailers require ICT buyers to have at least a bachelor’s degree in business, accounting or a related field. Buyers may also elect to pursue a graduate degree such as an MBA (master’s degree in business administration) to further their qualifications and advancement opportunities.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

ICT buyer is a Skill level 3 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to ICT buyer.

purchaser
purchase planner
costume buyer
set buyer
computer shop manager

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of ICT buyer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of ICT buyer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

ICT vendor relationship manager
purchasing manager
ICT operations manager
ICT presales engineer
contract engineer

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of ICT buyer.

• Contract law: The field of legal principles that govern written agreements between parties concerning the exchange of goods or services, including contractual obligations and termination.
• Manufacturer’s recommended price: The estimated price the manufacturer suggests the retailer to apply to a product or service and the pricing method through which it is calculated.
• Product comprehension: The offered products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.
• Electronic communication: Data communication performed through digital means such as computers, telephone or e-mail.

These skills are necessary for the role of ICT buyer.

• Identify suppliers: Determine potential suppliers for further negotiation. Take into consideration aspects such as product quality, sustainability, local sourcing, seasonality and coverage of the area. Evaluate the likelihood of obtaining beneficial contracts and agreements with them.
• Maintain relationship with customers: Build a lasting and meaningful relationship with customers in order to ensure satisfaction and fidelity by providing accurate and friendly advice and support, by delivering quality products and services and by supplying after-sales information and service.
• Carry out tendering: Place the request for a quotation to the organisation requesting a tender, then perform the work or supply the goods agreed with them during the tendering process.
• Track price trends: Monitor the direction and momentum of the product prices on a long-term basis, identify and predict the movement of prices as well as identify the recurring trends.
• Maintain relationship with suppliers: Build a lasting and meaningful relationship with suppliers and service providers in order to establish a positive, profitable and enduring collaboration, co-operation and contract negotiation.
• Coordinate purchasing activities: Coordinate and manage procurement and renting processes including purchasing, renting, planning, tracking and reporting in a cost efficient way on an organisational level.
• Issue purchase orders: Produce and review the documents needed to authorise shipment of a product from the supplier at a specified price and within specific terms.
• Carry out internet research: Execute efficient search on the internet in order to gather relevant information and share it with others.
• Manage contracts: Negotiate the terms, conditions, costs and other specifications of a contract while making sure they comply with legal requirements and are legally enforceable. Oversee the execution of the contract, agree on and document any changes.
• Analyse supply chain strategies: Examine an organisation’s planning details of production, their expected output units, quality, quantity, cost, time available and labour requirements. Provide suggestions in order to improve products, service quality and reduce costs.
• Apply procurement: Undertake ordering of services, equipment, goods or ingredients, compare costs and check the quality to ensure optimal payoff for the organisation.
• Maintain contract administration: Keep contracts up to date and organise them according to a classification system for future consultation.
• Adhere to organisational guidelines: Adhere to organisational or department specific standards and guidelines. Understand the motives of the organisation and the common agreements and act accordingly.
• Compare contractors’ bids: Compare proposals to award a contract in order to execute specified jobs within a prescribed frame of time.
• Prepare purchasing reportings: Prepare documentation and files related to product purchases.
• Negotiate buying conditions: Negotiate terms such as price, quantity, quality, and delivery terms with vendors and suppliers in order to ensure the most beneficial buying conditions.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of ICT buyer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Business requirements techniques: The procedures required to identify and analyse business and organisational needs.
• Hardware platforms: The characteristics of the hardware configuration required to process the applications software product.
• Emergent technologies: The recent trends, developments and innovations in modern technologies such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence and robotics.
• Software components libraries: The software packages, modules, web services and resources that cover a set of related functions and the databases where these reusable components can be found.
• Hardware components: The essential components that make up a hardware system, such as liquid-crystal displays (LCD), camera sensors, microprocessors, memories, modems, batteries and their interconnections.
• Business ict systems: The software packages, hardware devices and new technologies used in supporting business processes such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), mobile devices and network solutions.
• Ict market: The processes, stakeholders and the dynamics of the chain of goods and services in the ICT market sector.
• Software components suppliers: The suppliers who can deliver the required software components.
• Hardware components suppliers: The suppliers who can deliver the required hardware components.
• Supply chain management: The flow of goods in the supply chain, movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of ICT buyer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Manage logistics: Create logistic framework for transporting goods to customers and for receiving returns, execute and follow up the logistics processes and guidelines.
• Carry out statistical forecasts: Undertake a systematic statistical examination of data representing past observed behaviour of the system to be forecast, including observations of useful predictors outside the system.
• Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
• Identify ict user needs: Determine the needs and requirements of ICT users of a specific system by applying analytical methods, such as target group analysis.

3323 – Buyers

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References

1. ICT buyer – ESCO