V Skill HF-D8.6-001 cross-sector 10 skills
Purchasing and supplier selection
Determines the purchasing need, requests offers, compares suppliers on price, quality and risk and awards the assignment.
How hrmforce measures this
- Assessment method
- Work sample test · rho 0.33 (SD 0.09)
- hrmforce instrument
- Work sample test, Knowledge test (client-specific)
- Competency (50-framework)
- Negotiation
- Trainability
- high
- Demand outlook 2026 to 2030
- stable
The candidate performs a representative work sample under standardised conditions.
Behavioural anchors
| Level | Behaviour at this level |
|---|---|
| N1 Guided | Requests quotations from known suppliers and records the received offers in the standard overview. works under supervision and follows instruction · routine, one variable at a time · own task |
| N3 Proficient | Draws up selection criteria for a purchasing process, weighs the offers and substantiates the award in writing. sets own approach and seeks input proactively · several variables, some ambiguity · own team or process |
| N5 Leading | Determines the purchasing strategy and supplier policy of the organisation and decides on cooperation with key suppliers. sets the standard and the policy · strategic, under high uncertainty · organisation, value chain or profession |
N2 and N4 are deliberately not anchored. Raters place them between the anchors, following the O*NET convention.
Underlying skills
These skills inherit the assessment route and the behavioural anchors of this construct.
| T | Skill | Definition | Demand outlook 2026 to 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | Determining the purchasing need Requirement definition | Establishes with the internal requester what exactly is needed, in what quantity and when. | stable |
| V | Drafting a request for quotation Request for quotation | Writes a request with specification, conditions, award criteria and the required offer format. | stable |
| V | Comparing suppliers on award criteria Bid comparison | Assesses offers with a weighting model on price, quality, delivery time and risk. | stable |
| V | Carrying out supplier selection Supplier selection | Runs the selection process from longlist to award and records the justification. | stable |
| V | Negotiating with suppliers Supplier negotiation | Negotiates price, tiers, delivery time and conditions and records the result in writing. | stable |
| K | Applying purchasing terms Purchasing terms | Ensures the own purchasing terms apply and recognises when the supplier imposes its own. | stable |
| V | Assessing supplier risk Supplier risk assessment | Assesses dependency, financial position, supply chain and continuity risk of a supplier. | stable |
| V | Calculating total purchasing cost Total cost of purchase | Includes transport, installation, maintenance and disposal alongside the price in the comparison. | stable |
| T | Recording a purchase order in SAP | Records purchase requisition, order and receipt in SAP and tracks the status up to the invoice. | stable |
| K | Applying sustainable procurement Sustainable procurement | Includes environment, social conditions and circularity in specification and award criteria. | rising |