1. Tell me more about this employer; e.g. industry, # of employees, and so on.
2. Describe a typical day in this role. What purchasing and inventory activities consume your time?
3. What vendors and suppliers do you work with? How much do you purchase each year?
4. Tell me more about your specific accounting responsibilities. For example, are you charged with payroll, A/R, A/P, inventory accounting, sales reporting, financial forecasting?
5. Do you oversee shipping, fleet management or any other carrier activities in this role?
6. What in-house and SaaS inventory management systems do you currently work with?
7. Are you charged with negotiating and managing contracts with vendors, suppliers, and outsourced contractors? What are some of the largest vendor contracts you’ve negotiated and oversee? Any sizable negotiation savings worth mentioning?
8. Tell me about your staff management responsibilities in this position. How many direct and indirect reports do you oversee? What are their job roles and overall responsibilities?
9. Since joining the company, what have been your 5 most notable successes? Any successes with cutting costs? Reducing reliance on costly resources? Improving system performance? Boosting cash flow? Reducing outstanding receivables?
10. Are you involved with KANBAN, lean manufacturing, or any advanced systems in this role?
11. Have you been involved with the acquisition and merger or any outside assets?
12. What documents are you involved with? RFPs? RFIs? Bills of Lading? MSDS?
13. Anything else worth mentioning?
Keywords Relevant to Purchasing Professionals
Advanced Scheduling Systems
Back Orders
BidNet Interface
Business Process Reengineering
Capacity Management
Cash Control
Containerization
Continuous Improvement Methodology
Cycle Counts
Damaged Merchandise
Distribution Operations
Distribution Service Operations
Equipment Assets
Facility Management
Inventory & Reporting Systems
Inventory Control
Inventory Planning
Inventory Records
Just-in-Time (JIT) Delivery
KANBAN Systems
Loss & Damage Claims
Master Production Scheduling
Material Resource Planning (MRP)
Material Restocking
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Operational Visionary
Output & Workflow Maximization
P&L Responsibility
Packaging Supplies
Performance Appraisals
Plant Operations
Process Systems (Planning)
Production Control
Production Planning
Purchase Order Modules
Purchasing Procedures & Techniques
Push & Pull Systems
Repairable Assets
Safety & Risk
Security & Loss Prevention
Service Level Agreements
Stocking, packaging, order picking, and deliveries
Supplier Development & Management
Supply Chain Coordination
Supply Chain Operations & Management
Supply Usage Tracking
Tariffs, Claims & Rates
Team Performance/Issues
Transportation Negotiations & Logistics
Warehouse Capacity Assessments
Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Warehouse Movements
