Purchasing Clerk: What does your day-to-day work look like?

Purchasing clerks are responsible for the procurement process of certain product groups in production or trading companies.

To do this, they monitor material stocks and trigger orders when necessary. They maintain the master data of their articles and the associated suppliers in the IT system and continuously update the stock figures using information from incoming and outgoing goods and the warehouse. To optimize procurement processes, they are always on the lookout for new suppliers, which they also visit to prepare for negotiations.
They analyze and calculate prices and support their superiors with their analyses when evaluating suppliers and in price negotiations.

Depending on the job profile, they provide customers and employees from other departments with telephone and written information, are involved in stocktaking and act as deputies within the team.

Target group and skills: Who is the purchasing clerk training course suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The purchasing clerk training course is suitable for the following people:

• Persons with purchasing tasks
• Re-entrants or career changers looking for a job in purchasing
• Employees in purchasing or in a related area who would like to take on greater professional responsibility
• People who are preparing for further training as a purchasing specialist with a federal certificate (BP)

Important personal skills for this profession are

• Enjoy working with numbers
• Accuracy and reliability
• Organizational skills
• Ability to work in a team
• Load capacity
• Communication skills
• Flexibility
• Service and customer orientation

Prerequisites for admission as a Purchasing Clerk Further training:

The following prerequisites are required for admission to further training as a purchasing clerk:

• Completed apprenticeship of at least 2 years (ideally an EFZ commercial apprenticeship or other commercial training)
• First professional experience in purchasing recommended
• Good written and spoken German (level B2)

Subject matter and content of the training

The Purchasing Clerk further training course is not federally regulated, i.e. the course material is compiled independently by the respective schools; it can therefore vary from school to school.

The following topics are often addressed:

• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Cost element accounting
• Cost unit accounting
• Procurement process
• Procurement strategy
• Procurement markets and market research
• Cooperation with suppliers
• Legal aspects
• Conversation technique
• Negotiation technique
• Working methods and self-management
• Problem management

Costs and financing of further training

The costs are determined by the schools, so there may be differences. In general, the following costs must be expected for the 1-semester, part-time purchasing clerk course:

• Course fees:Between CHF 2'900.- and CHF 4'300.-
  Note: Members of the Professional Association for Purchasing and Supply Management (Procure) benefit from reduced course costs. You can find more informationhere.
• Examination fee:The examination fee is charged by the school itself. You can expect to pay around CHF 600.
• Some providers requireExtra costsfor
  • Enrollment
  • Teaching aids
  • Training documents
  • Internal examinations and examination training
  • Simulation test

It is best to contact the provider of your choice directly regarding the possible extra costs.

* Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for federal professional examinations have been financially supported by the federal government. Depending on this, the Purchasing Clerk course is accepted as a preparatory course for the professional examination in Purchasing. If, after completing the certificate, you acquire the federal certificate in purchasing within seven years and have not yet received federal funding for your further training as a purchasing clerk, 50% of the course costs paid (max. CHF 9,500) will be reimbursed by the federal government on application.Herefind out more.

Duration of study, number of lessons, teaching time, teaching format and learning effort

• Duration:The Purchasing Clerk course is modular in structure and designed to be taken alongside work. It lasts 1 semester or 9 days (depending on provider and offer).
• Number of lessons:The course comprises approx. 72 lessons.
• Lesson time:The timetables are set independently by the schools. Lessons often take place two evenings a week (sometimes also on Saturdays). However, there are also day courses.
• Teaching format:The course usually takes place in classroom teaching.
• Learning effort:Thanks to the extra-occupational concept of the course, you can apply and deepen the learning material in practice straight away. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week as a precaution.

Degree, diploma and title

The Purchasing Clerk further training course is usually completed with a final examination in all subjects. This final examination often lasts half a day.

Diploma and title

Successful graduates receive a certificate / diploma from the respective school: "Purchasing Clerk [name of school] (cert.)".