How Can I Become a Certified Purchasing Manager?

Explore the career requirements to become a certified purchasing manager. Get the facts about job duties, education requirements, certification requirements, and salary to determine if this is the right career for you.

What Is a Certified Purchasing Manager?

Purchasing managers supervise all aspects of procurement within a wholesale business, retail company, or organization. As a purchasing manager, you would:

Work to negotiate contracts to buy commodities, goods, and services for a company.
Secure the best prices and deals to keep your company's costs low.
Research past prices and trends in the market and manage a team of purchasing agents.
Keep inventory records.

You need to have knowledge of the industry in which you work and the items you might need to buy, whether it's grocery products, textiles, or any number of commodities for purchase in bulk. You may also use your background knowledge of supply chain management and other business concepts to find the best products at the lowest price. Although certification is not required for a job as a purchasing manager, there are several professional organizations that offer designations.

Degree Required	Bachelor's degree
Education Field of Study	Business, accounting, economics
Training Required	Extensive on-the-job training provided by employers
Key Skills	Analytical skills, math skills, decision making skills
Licensure Required	CPP, CPPM, CSCP, CPPO available through various organizations
Job Growth (2020-2030)	6%*
Mean Annual Salary (2020)	$132,660*

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What Education Does a Certified Purchasing Professional Need?

The requirements for purchasing managers vary from company to company, but a bachelor's degree could be a good way to get started in the field. A bachelor's degree program in business or economics could provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to work in the purchasing field. The position of purchasing manager is usually attained by first gaining experience in lower-level positions such as assistant buyer or purchasing clerk.

Certification for Purchasing Managers

How Do I Obtain CPM Certification?

Multiple third-party organizations offer certifications for the purchasing profession. The leading certification used to be the Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) designation, which was offered by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), but is being replaced by the Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) designation (www.ism.ws). You can gain the CPSM title after completing an accredited bachelor's degree program, three years of supply management experience, and a three-part examination.

How Do I Obtain CPP Certification?

The American Purchasing Society (www.american-purchasing.com) offers two additional designations: Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP) and Certified Professional Purchasing Manager (CPPM). You can earn these designations after proving that you have sufficient education, professional experience, and ethical standards, and then pass the required examination. A third organization, the Associations for Operations Management (www.apics.org), offers both the Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) Program, which confers the CPIM designation after completion of the program and a passing score on the examination, and the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) certification, which is awarded after sufficient educational and professional experience and a passing score on the exam. If you are interested in working as a purchasing manager for a government agency, you can go after two designations offered by the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (www.uppcc.org). These include the Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) designations, which are also awarded after sufficient educational and professional experience and a passing score on the exam.

Certified Purchasing Manager Salary

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) reported that, in May 2020, the average annual wage for purchasing managers was $132,660. PayScale.com reported that, in July 2019, purchasing managers in the 10th to 90th percentile range with supply chain management skills made between $57,000 and $109,000.

What Are Some Related Alternative Careers?

You could also consider a different manager position within a company or organization. For example, you could become a sales manager, where you would analyze sales data, come up with strategies to improve sales, and direct the organization's sales team to implement your plans. Alternatively, in the financial realm, you could become a risk manager. In this position, your goal would be to figure out how to reduce and offset possible financial losses due to market fluctuations. For either of these manager jobs, you need to have at least a bachelor's degree.