Real-Life Communication
Effective communication skills are very important for any purchaser.
A purchasing manager spends a lot of time every day talking to people, placing
orders and getting price quotes.
"It's your job to keep people aware
of what you're doing," says CPP Lynne Yates.
Yates works for a large
research firm. She has to keep in touch with all the different departments,
making sure she knows what is going on in each.
If she doesn't keep
in touch, communications break down and the company doesn't run smoothly.
If she is supposed to place an order and she hasn't told a particular department
that she is putting this order in, they might miss the deadline and all sorts
of complications could follow. Prices might be higher for a late order, deadlines
missed, or budgets skewed.
You are a purchasing manager with a large
government agency. The time has come for you to place an extensive order to
restock office supplies. You will be placing the order with a large office
wholesaler. This firm supplies everything and anything pertaining to an office
-- pencils, paper, photocopy materials, staples. You name it, they have it.
The
government agency you work for has six different departments. You need to
send out a memo, requesting that each department compile a list of what they
need in the way of office supplies.
In the memo, you must make it clear
that these materials have to last for six months. You should also specify
when you want the information returned to you. Make the memo clear and concise!