Good news: In these days of financial austerity and vanishing jobs, Purchasing pros are more valuable to their companies than ever. Many employers are recognizing this where it counts most — in your paycheck.

The annual salary survey from the highly-respected Purchasing.com people shows that total compensation packages (salary plus bonus) for purchasing professionals increased a healthy 4% in 2008.

More good news: The prospects remain good for 2009.

What’s driving this train?

Purchasing has moved up the food chain, in terms of its visibility and the resources it garners.

• One reason: Companies are taking a hard look at low-cost sourcing strategies.
• Another reason: Purchasing pros are expected to bring tougher negotiation skills to the table, when dealing with suppliers.
• Finally, management recognizes Purchasing staffers with bonuses for hitting cost-savings goals (below target, on target, above target)

While salaries remain important, bonuses are the bread and butter.

Nearly two-thirds of Purchasing pros received fatter checks due to bonus payments — that averaged 14% of their annual salaries.

Further breakdowns:

• Overall average salary, $88,206
• Average salary for men, $95,427; for women, $71,951
• C.P.M. certified staffers, $99,539; C.P.I.M. staffers, $96,361
• Average salary by company size: under $125M was $68,422; $126M – $500M was $89,528; over $500M was $106,660.

Every dollar your company invests in what you do ends up saving the business at least three dollars — and up to eight dollars for top-shelf Procurement operations.

That sounds like a lot of pressure on you to produce the most bang for that buck.

It doesn’t have to be.

Good news: You don’t need a GPS to chart your current course.

That’s a relief, because a lot of CFOs have a long list of demands in mind these days.

With Procurement and Inventory influencing anywhere from 40% to 80% of your company’s operating costs, you can expect to find yourself high on the CFO’s “what’s important” list.

There are four areas you can focus on that’ll help make sure you stay on the “good girls and boys” side of that list.

1. Basic demands. When you get down to it, Procurement will always be — first and foremost — the process of getting what your company needs from outside sources and getting it to the right place by the right time.
   Your goal: Take the operation to the level where you can turn on a dime (and give 7 cents change). That means sourcing, ordering and expediting have a defined system and run like clockwork.
2. Trimming costs. Once you’re Procurement operations are running like clockwork, you can turn attention toward pruning a bit here and there from operational costs.
   Best areas to focus on: Develop e-sourcing tools and proficiencies, work with employees to improve their negotiating skills, and seek feedback from staffers on ways to ratchet operations down a little tighter.
3. A seat at the table. If your company expects more savings from its Procurement operation, it needs to clear a seat the big table where company-wide decisions are made.
   The more you know about the business process — and plans — the sooner you’ll get a jump on strategic planning for what Procurement needs to do to make it happen. It could be lining up new sources, or re-negotiating agreements with vendors or suppliers. The sooner you’re made a part of this process, the more options — and power — you’ll have.
   Example: If a vendor smells desperation, it’ll take advantage of you with a “gotta have it now” price. But if you approach that same vendor with time to spare, there’s always the threat to that vendor you could seek a different source if dealings aren’t to your liking.
4. Wielding your power. With a willing ear among your fellow managers and proven strength with suppliers, you’re in the position to go that next level — the one that increases Procurement’s “bang for your buck” power.
   Instead of order-and-pay relationships with suppliers, you’re in a position to collaborate. You can come up with new ideas for packaging or functionality.
   And with your seat at the table, you’ll have the support you need — at the highest levels — to make it happen.

That’s the assessment delivered by a survey of nearly 600 execs: procurement and supply chain pros, CFOs, CEOs and COOs. The research was recently summarized in businessfinancemag.com.

It’s a matter of seeing the glass as half-full, instead of half-empty, you could say.

Either way, you certainly don’t have to worry about being overlooked.

Slightly less than 70% of pros responding to the survey said supplier continuity topped their list of supply chain risk.

That certainly makes it a bit easier for you. Not only are they giving you the opening to flash your stuff, they’re telling you what they want to see.

Suppliers clearly are your target. Here are four areas to aim for:

• Suppliers’ financial stability. Ask suppliers to offer more information about their ongoing economic health. Maybe you could ask them to fill out financial status forms every six months, or even every three months. Do it for everybody and no one will feel like they’re being singled out.
• Smaller vendors. What are you looking for in particular when you examine smaller vendors? Many of these businesses have diversity requirements steering a specific amount of their spending to women- and/or minority-owned companies. The current credit squeeze could make it difficult for your suppliers to honor these commitments.
• Branch out. Be very careful of relying on just one supplier for any critical element of your company’s business. Sole-sourcing can open the door to all kinds of trouble, especially if foreign markets are involved. At least seek out back-up sources, so you’re ready to tap them at a moment’s notice.
• Work together. Now more than ever, both you and suppliers will benefit from a more collaborative arrangement. Need a little extra time because you’re waiting until a customer pays you? Work with your vendor to find a middle ground; you might even offer something in return. Reinforce the idea that you’re part of the team working with suppliers. In the long run, it’s best for all involved.

So before you get the phone call — or worse yet, the bean counters show up one morning — it pays to get your ducks in a row. That way, you’re more likely to remain in the driver’s seat and be the moving force behind any changes (rather than getting swept up by them).

Many companies are engaging in a practice known as “spend analysis.” It is just what it sounds like: A way to determine what’s being spent, with whom, and for what. 

According to Spend Analysis: Optimizing Your Sourcing Process, a research report from Bristlecone, this is most often a two-step process: Three “big picture” action steps, and seven targeted action steps.

The “big picture” steps:

• Prioritize your sourcing needs, in order of importance and cost
• Examine the number of suppliers you’re currently using and seek out opportunities to increase spending with a smaller number of suppliers, in exchange for volume discounts, and
• Turn attention inward and redouble efforts to plug any financial leaks in the purchasing process.

Next, experts suggest you identify areas for improvement — and what the anticipated payoff is for those improvements. That also will help your company prioritize what aspects of the purchasing operation should be targeted first.

By focusing on:

• materials/services costs, companies can cut costs 2% to 12% by making sounder sourcing decisions
• supplier management, companies can reduce or eliminate “double” suppliers
• contract compliance, companies can improve compliance by more than 50% and save up to 7% by stronger management of contract pricing
• regulatory compliance, companies won’t have to be concerned about overlooking regs
• inventory management, companies have cut stock by up to 50%; inventory costs have been reduced 5% to 50%, and expediting costs have been trimmed as well
• product management, companies can increase part re-use and reduce unnecessary parts by 20%; integrate suppliers and design strategies, and
• process cycles, companies can make changes through spend analysis that often run between 30% and 50%.