Glossary of Positions in Supplier Management
We prefer to use the term "Supplier Management" than Purchasing or Procurement. For some, Purchasing or Procurement are only the tasks of managing the traditional activities of negotiation and material ordering. Additionally, the meaning of Purchasing and Procurement are not always identical in different part of the world. Whenever possible we use "Supplier Management"
CPO
The term CPO or "Chief Purchasing / Procurement" Officer is used broadly to designate the most senior executive in a firm in charge of the Supplier Management. Strictly speaking, it should be used only for those sitting on the executive committee, on the same level as the other C Class executives like the CFO or the COO
VP Supplier Management / Purchasing / Procurement
The Vice-President, Supplier Management is the most senior executive in a firm, in charge of the Supplier Management. The position reports to a C Class executive, often the COO (Chief Operating Officer) or the CFO (Chief Finance Officer)
Category Manager
The category or familly manager is responsible for gathering all relevant internal and external information about a family of purchases, understand upstream market trends, key players, etc. to design the category strategy.
Commodity Manager
The term commodity manager is used when the category is a traded commodity, where a market place drives a public price serving as a reference. Additional negotiation occurs on discounts versus the market references, terms and conditions of payment, logistics, long term contracts, etc. The commodity manager will often recommend short or long term contracts based on market volatility, seasonality, trends, etc.
Purchasing Agent
Purchasing agents commonly focus on routine purchasing tasks, often specializing in a commodity or group of related commodities. Purchasing agents usually track market conditions, price trends, and futures markets.
Purchasing Manager
Purchasing managers usually handle the more complex or critical purchases and may supervise a group of purchasing agents handling other goods and services.