01Role profile
Procurement Analyst
What procurement analysts do, the analysis they produce, the skills they need, and how the role can lead into sourcing and category management.
Explore the roleRole intelligence · 9 profiles
Who does what in procurement?
Titles travel badly. These profiles define the mandate, decisions, skills, measures, boundaries, and next moves behind each title.
01 / Role library
Procurement work ranges from transaction execution to enterprise category strategy, supplier risk, and executive leadership.
Compare the work, not only the title.
The useful distinction is the decisions a person owns. Each profile separates the role’s mandate from its common title and shows how responsibility can expand over a career.
02Role profile
Buyer
What buyers do in procurement, including supplier selection, purchase execution, delivery follow-up, negotiation, and the path into senior buying or sourcing roles.
Explore the role03Role profile
Procurement Specialist
What procurement specialists do, how the role differs from buyer and analyst positions, and which skills lead toward sourcing or category ownership.
Explore the role04Role profile
Strategic Sourcing Manager
What strategic sourcing managers own, from spend and market analysis through sourcing strategy, negotiation, contracting, implementation, and value realization.
Explore the role05Role profile
Category Manager
What procurement category managers do, including category strategy, demand, sourcing, supplier performance, risk, stakeholder governance, and career progression.
Explore the role06Role profile
Procurement Manager
What procurement managers do, including team leadership, sourcing governance, stakeholder service, supplier outcomes, controls, and progression to director roles.
Explore the role07Role profile
Purchasing Manager
What purchasing managers do, including buyer leadership, order execution, supplier delivery, purchasing controls, inventory coordination, and career progression.
Explore the role08Role profile
Director of Procurement
What procurement directors own across strategy, teams, categories, governance, technology, supplier risk, performance, and executive stakeholder relationships.
Explore the role09Role profile
Chief Procurement Officer
What a Chief Procurement Officer owns across enterprise spend, supplier strategy, resilience, risk, operating model, talent, technology, and executive governance.
Explore the role02 / Read the mandate
Five questions that define a procurement role
- 01
Which spend, suppliers, categories, or processes does the role own?
- 02
Can the person make a decision, or only recommend one?
- 03
Which stakeholders and geographies are in scope?
- 04
How are value, risk, speed, and supplier performance measured?
- 05
Is the mandate operational, strategic, transformational, or a blend?
03 / Terminology
Procurement versus purchasing
Purchasing usually describes the transactional act and control process of buying. Procurement is broader: it includes demand definition, market analysis, sourcing, negotiation, contracting, supplier management, risk, and value realization. Organizations use the terms inconsistently, so the job description matters more than the label.
Read the full comparison