The best Purchasing pros make reducing costs to the company their top priority, right? Sure – but only if you’re talking about companies with (at best) average performance.

The top Purchasing performers bring more to the table — and their bosses focus on much more than the dollars and cents.

Smart companies value broader skills in their Purchasing pros, and that’s what sets them apart from poor-to-average performing companies, according to a research brief in a recent issue of The McKinsey Quarterly.

Companies that focus attention on buying software programs and other mechanical enhancements rarely get return on their investments.

Instead, companies that focus on developing human capital are more likely to perform at higher levels — and reap the profitable benefits that come with that.

When successful companies are hiring Purchasing pros, they’re usually looking for:

• analytic expertise and management experience, and solid knowledge of at least one aspect of Purchasing (for example, packaging).
• experience in other areas of the company, such as engineering, or quality management.
• dedicated employees who’ve decided that Purchasing is their career

Another reason that Purchasing-conscious companies are high performers? Seven out of 10 Purchasing pros at top companies said their boss or the CEO expected them to do more than just trim costs.

Part of that “more” entails getting more involved in business planning. Good Purchasing pros are part of the process, instead of just being responsible for following someone else’s orders.

Two stats that bear that out:

• 80% of top performers bring Purchasing staffers in on the concept phase of product development
• 90% of successful companies hook up Purchasing people with Sales and Marketing departments, to work in tandem from Day One.

Tags: career, purchasing, savings