A reader asked what is the difference between a purchasing engineer and a buyer. The answer seems simple, the purchasing engineer is responsible for the technology, and the buyer is responsible for the daily management around the order. But at a deeper level, this issue involves the basic setup of the procurement and supply management department, which many companies have been exploring. Because positions and responsibilities (Roles and Responsibilities) are the cornerstone of the good operation of an organization. Supply management seems simple, but in fact it is very complicated, because it is necessary to manage all aspects related to suppliers: business, technology, production, inventory, ordering, delivery, quality, service, etc. It is actually operating or regulating a high-level A complete enterprise. How to clearly define the positions and responsibilities of each role is quite knowledgeable.

There are three main roles to be introduced here: supplier business manager, supplier engineer, and buyer. These three roles form a basic supply management team. This setting is popular among some companies in the United States, especially in some large companies in the aerospace industry and semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry that the author knows. For example, in the author’s company, the supplier business manager is responsible for all business and overall supplier performance; the supplier engineer is responsible for technical aspects such as quality control, production process, supplier development, etc.; and the buyer is responsible for daily order management around orders. Such as placing orders, tracking orders, delivery, expediting, verifying prices, payment, etc. One of the purposes of this setup is to allow business managers to get rid of the day-to-day management of order management and focus on strategic levels, such as overall price (Cost), quality (Quality), delivery (Delivery), service (Service), technology (Technology), Asset (Asset), Process and People (Process and People), collectively referred to as the seven major contents of QCDSTAP. The logic is that day-to-day supplier performance, such as on-time delivery, quality and technical support, can only be ensured by addressing some of the most fundamental issues at an overall strategic level.

Supplier engineers are responsible for all quality and technical issues. Some companies also try to subdivide it into quality engineers (Supplier Quality Engineer, SQE) and development engineers (Supplier Development Engineer, SDE). The logic is similar to the division of supplier business managers and buyers. The quality engineer’s task is very tedious, the core of which is: what should I do if the supplier sends a defective product? Saying it is tedious, I believe anyone who has done quality work will understand it. First, you must confirm whether the product is available (Use as Is, UAI). If unavailable, whose responsibility is it? Sometimes it is a supplier problem, and the goods they send are defective; sometimes it is a transportation problem; sometimes it is a warehouse handling and storage problem; sometimes it is a company production line problem, such as an operator breaking a product during assembly; sometimes it is a problem with the company’s production line, such as an operator breaking a product during assembly; It is a matter of product department design and specification. In short, it is easy for all parties to blame each other, and it is not easy to play the role of referee. After the quality engineer determines the party responsible for the problem, the next step is Disposition: keep or return? Destroy or repair? These all operate around NCR (Non-Conformance Report).

In contrast, supplier development engineers focus on the supplier’s production process, quality control system, etc., and are overall responsible for the supplier’s quality issues. For example, if a supplier sends a defective product, if it is because they do not have quality process control and pre-delivery acceptance, then it is a system or process problem, and the development engineer will have to intervene. Of course it is difficult to distinguish systemic problems from isolated incidents. For example, is an operator’s error a simple error (an independent incident) or a lack of training (a system problem)? The setting of development engineers is actually related to the supply management thinking in the United States in the last twenty years or so. That is, large customers (purchasers) can improve overall quality by helping suppliers improve their systems. This is because large companies generally have more experience, knowledge, and personnel, while small companies do not. That’s a bit far. However, there are many overlaps between quality engineers and development engineers, and it is difficult to divide responsibilities. The work of quality engineers is too monotonous and “low-level”, which has also caused a lot of complaints. So some companies merge two positions, such as the company where the author works.

In this configuration, the buyer’s responsibility is around the day-to-day management of orders. For example, determine demand, place orders, verify prices, verify delivery dates, confirm receipt, etc. Some companies combine supplier business managers with buyers. This makes the buyer’s role more strategic. But the general trend is to separate the strategic layer from the daily operation layer, which helps business managers break away from daily operations and focus on long-term decision-making. As the old saying goes, if you don’t have long-term worries, you will have immediate worries. Business managers are all about the long term. This also places higher requirements on the quality of business managers. In recent years, many universities in the United States have offered MBA programs in supply chain management to meet this requirement. MBA students generally have four or five years of work experience, and then undergo two years of systematic training, aiming to master the basic knowledge and skills of this industry.

Of course, as modern organizational theory says, no one organizational structure is superior to another. The key is whether the division of responsibilities within the organization is clear. But no matter how divided, there will always be overlapping responsibilities among the different roles in the supply management team. This must be solved through coordination within the group. One of the tasks of the supplier business manager is internal coordination.