Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Group Buyer

🎯 Role Definition

The Group Buyer is a strategic procurement professional responsible for managing assigned commodity or service categories across multiple business units and geographies. This role combines hands-on sourcing and tactical purchasing with category strategy development, supplier relationship management, contract negotiation and continuous cost savings delivery. The ideal Group Buyer is experienced with supplier segmentation, RFx processes, ERP systems (SAP/Oracle) and data-driven decision making to drive total cost of ownership (TCO) improvements, supply continuity and compliance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Buyer / Procurement Assistant
Procurement Analyst / Sourcing Coordinator
Category Specialist / Purchasing Administrator

Advancement To:

Senior Buyer / Lead Buyer
Category Manager / Strategic Sourcing Manager
Procurement Manager / Head of Procurement

Lateral Moves:

Supplier Relationship Manager
Contract Manager / Commercial Manager
Inventory Planner / Demand Planner

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own end-to-end category management for assigned commodity groups: develop category strategies, conduct market analysis, define specifications, and execute sourcing plans to achieve annual savings and service level targets.
Lead complex supplier negotiations and contract development (master agreements, frame contracts, SLAs), ensuring favorable terms on price, lead times, quality, warranty, payment and risk allocation while protecting company interests.
Manage the full RFx lifecycle (RFQ / RFP / RFI), including drafting requirements, issuing solicitations, running evaluations, coordinating cross-functional review panels and awarding suppliers based on total cost of ownership and strategic fit.
Drive cost-reduction initiatives and continuous improvement programs — identify opportunities for consolidation, standardization, volume leverage and alternative sourcing that reduce spend and improve supplier performance.
Build and manage strong supplier relationships, acting as the primary commercial contact for strategic and critical suppliers to ensure service continuity, early issue resolution and proactive capacity planning.
Monitor supplier performance through KPIs and scorecards (on-time delivery, quality, lead time, cost variance) and implement corrective action plans, performance reviews and penalty/bonus mechanisms as required.
Work with cross-functional stakeholders (engineering, operations, quality, logistics, finance) to define technical specifications, approve changes, align on schedules and ensure procurement supports production and project timelines.
Maintain and optimize purchasing processes and purchase order (PO) management in ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft), ensuring accurate master data, approvals, PO issuance, change control and GR/IR reconciliation.
Conduct demand forecasting and inventory analysis to align procurement plans with MRP outputs, safety stock levels and seasonal requirements, minimizing stockouts and excess inventory.
Lead supplier selection and qualification activities, including site visits, audits, capacity assessments and supplier onboarding to ensure compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
Manage supplier risk by developing contingency plans, dual-sourcing strategies and early-warning indicators for supply disruption, geopolitical risk, lead-time volatility and raw material shortages.
Execute cost modeling, should-cost analysis and commercial sourcing assessments to validate supplier proposals, negotiate cost drivers and substantiate savings claims.
Ensure compliance with corporate procurement policies, ethics, anti-bribery regulations and local import/export controls while supporting internal and external audits.
Collaborate with legal and finance teams to finalize contract terms, negotiate payment terms and ensure appropriate insurance, indemnity and warranty clauses are in place.
Drive supplier development and innovation programs: solicit supplier-led ideas for product improvements, packaging, logistics optimization and sustainability initiatives to drive long-term value.
Manage indirect and direct spend categories as assigned, adapting sourcing strategies to the specific market dynamics of indirect goods (MRO, IT, facilities) and direct materials (components, raw materials).
Prepare and present regular category reports, savings trackers, risk assessments and market intelligence updates to procurement leadership and business stakeholders.
Facilitate cross-border and cross-functional procurement activities, coordinating import/export logistics, customs classification, duties optimization and trade compliance for global suppliers.
Implement and maintain supplier segmentation strategies to prioritize relationship management and resource allocation for strategic, preferred and transactional suppliers.
Supervise or coach junior buyers and procurement coordinators where applicable; delegate tasks, review work for accuracy and provide mentorship on negotiation and category management techniques.
Participate in capital project procurement, supporting tendering for major equipment, long-lead items and vendor-managed inventory arrangements to meet project milestones and budgets.
Use procurement analytics and spend visibility tools (BI dashboards, Power BI, Tableau) to identify trends, leakage, maverick spend and opportunities for strategic sourcing.
Maintain up-to-date market intelligence on supply base, commodity pricing, currency exposure and supplier financial health to inform short-term tactics and long-term strategy.
Support sustainability and supplier diversity objectives by evaluating supplier sustainability credentials, tracking ESG metrics and qualifying diverse suppliers for inclusion in sourcing events.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist procurement transformation projects (eProcurement rollouts, catalog management, P2P automation) by providing category input and user acceptance testing.
Provide backup support for transactional procurement activities (PO creation, invoice disputes, order confirmations) during peak periods or team absences.
Coordinate internal stakeholder training on procurement processes, supplier onboarding and new contracting templates.
Participate in supplier risk and continuity workshops following major external events (natural disasters, supplier insolvency, geopolitical shifts).

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strategic sourcing and category management — ability to design and execute category plans that deliver measurable savings and service improvements.
Contract negotiation and commercial terms structuring — practical experience drafting and negotiating master agreements, NDAs and SLAs.
RFx (RFQ / RFP / RFI) design, evaluation and supplier selection methodologies.
ERP and procurement systems — hands-on experience with SAP MM/Ariba, Oracle Procurement, Coupa or equivalent P2P systems.
Advanced Excel skills — VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, Power Query, financial modeling and cost breakdown analysis.
Spend analysis and procurement analytics — familiarity with Power BI, Tableau, Qlik or spend cube analysis to drive sourcing decisions.
Supplier performance management and KPI design — building scorecards, conducting business reviews and managing corrective actions.
Total cost of ownership (TCO) and should-cost modeling — ability to validate supplier proposals and identify cost drivers.
Logistics and inventory optimization — basic understanding of MRP, safety stock, lead times, incoterms and freight cost drivers.
Regulatory and trade compliance — import/export, customs, country-of-origin, and trade agreement familiarity.
Tendering and bid evaluation tools — structured evaluation methodologies and score weighting.
Contract lifecycle management (CLM) and commercial risk assessment.

Soft Skills

Strong negotiation and influencing ability — proven track record closing deals and gaining stakeholder buy-in.
Stakeholder management — effective communication with engineering, operations, legal and finance teams.
Analytical mindset — data-driven decision making and comfortable working with large datasets.
Problem solving and decisiveness — able to resolve supplier issues and make timely procurement decisions under pressure.
Project management and prioritization — manage multiple sourcing projects and deadlines concurrently.
Communication and presentation skills — clear written and verbal communication for proposals, reports and supplier meetings.
Relationship building and diplomacy — manage supplier relationships across cultures and geographies.
Ethical judgment and commercial acumen — balance cost optimization with compliance and risk mitigation.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Finance, Engineering or related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master’s in Supply Chain, Procurement, Business or a related discipline; professional certification such as CIPS, CPSM, CPP or equivalent preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Procurement / Purchasing
Business Administration / Management
Finance / Economics
Industrial Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive procurement experience (sourcing, buying or category management).

Preferred:

5+ years in procurement or strategic sourcing with evidence of delivering cost savings and supplier performance improvements.
Experience managing direct materials or higher-value/strategic indirect categories, preferably in manufacturing, retail, pharmaceuticals or MRO environments.
Demonstrable experience with ERP systems (SAP/Oracle), RFx processes, contract negotiation and cross-functional stakeholder leadership.