What Does An Indirect Buyer Do?

WHAT DOES AN INDIRECT BUYER DO?

Published: Aug 28, 2025 - The Indirect Buyer directs supplier relationships and executes purchasing strategies to achieve regional KPIs, budget targets, and compliance with company standards and policies. This role involves managing sourcing activities, conducting negotiations and RFQs, implementing productivity initiatives, and ensuring alignment with segment strategy and internal stakeholders. The buyer also analyzes supplier performance, drives cost-saving opportunities, supports digitalization processes, and acts as an escalation point in supplier-related crises.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Indirect Buyer

1. Indirect Buyer General Responsibilities

Material Management: Plan, purchase, and deliver materials and services to support recurring commodity needs.
Budget Monitoring: Monitor budgetary costs, I&W, and local NSR items.
Supplier Management: Identify sourcing opportunities and conduct supplier performance reviews.
Supplier Evaluation: Evaluate suppliers and develop scopes of work in alignment with business needs.
Negotiation: Analyze bids, conduct negotiations, and recommend supplier awards.
SAP Management: Manage and control the SAP MM module, communicating with suppliers through dashboards.
Contract Management: Maintain contracts for indirect services and materials in collaboration with internal stakeholders.
Market Analysis: Support market screening and benchmarking activities to identify opportunities for improvement.
Data Management: Ensure accurate, complete, and timely maintenance of master data and workflows across relevant systems.
Cost Reduction: Support and implement cost reduction initiatives.
Stakeholder Engagement: Act as an ambassador for the sourcing function both internally and externally.

2. Indirect Buyer Key Accountabilities

Purchasing Management: Plan and fulfill purchasing demands from internal customers on time.
Strategy Development: Develop and implement regional material group strategies, including sourcing strategies.
Supplier Management: Manage assigned suppliers through operational supplier management, including onboarding, evaluation, and elimination.
Procurement Execution: Execute RFQ, RFI, bidding, auctions, price benchmarking, cost of quality (COQ) analysis, and contract management.
Contract Negotiation: Conduct commercial negotiations and manage contracts, including purchasing agreements, service agreements, quality agreements, and related terms.
Supplier Performance: Oversee supplier commercial and quality performance.
Supplier Development: Assess, evaluate, and develop the supplier base, including catalogue management.
Price Negotiation: Lead annual price negotiations and review terms such as payment and delivery conditions.
Market Analysis: Conduct market surveys based on project requirements and analyze purchasing data to strengthen bargaining power and support strategy development.
Record Management: Maintain detailed records with a high level of organization to ensure accuracy in ordering, billing, supply usage history, and contract documentation.

3. Indirect Buyer Role Purpose

Purchasing Management: Execute purchasing arrangements for indirect categories in support of the business strategy and plan related to Professional Services categories.
Supplier Contracts: Identify indirect purchasing suppliers and arrange optimal contracts in terms of pricing, quality, timing, and supply availability over the term of the contract.
Procurement Execution: Develop request for quotations and proposals, analyze supplier response, negotiate, award contracts, and manage post-award supplier activities.
Contract Negotiation: Negotiate pricing, terms, and commercial conditions of agreements and manage through the contract life-cycle.
Supplier Performance: Conduct timely reviews with suppliers to measure performance against contractual standards and performance expectations.
Supplier Relationships: Develop and maintain long-term relationships with suppliers to ensure a high-quality level and reliable sources of supplies and information to support the business needs.
Category Management: Work with the Senior Indirect Sourcing Manager to review category spend to develop strategies and monitor all key indicators related to assigned categories.
Organizational Influence: Influence and interact with all levels of the organization.
Trend Analysis: Review spend and industry trends frequently.
Cost Management: Deliver savings and cost-avoidance results and provide actionable insight supporting strategic initiatives.
Strategic Sourcing: Initiate cross-functional strategic sourcing teams to address specific opportunities.

4. Indirect Buyer Essential Functions

Competitive Sourcing: Ensure all requirements are competitively sourced in accordance with relevant policies and procedures.
RFQ Management: Prepare and launch RFQs, perform supplier selection, and execute business awards for identified materials and/or service requirements in line with established processes.
Cost Negotiation: Negotiate cost reductions with suppliers to achieve savings targets.
Supplier Performance: Lead supplier QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) performance reviews as delegated by management, using appropriate sourcing tools.
Contract Management: Manage existing contracts and conduct contract negotiations for goods and services.
Project Support: Provide full sourcing support for identified project activities and requirements, including deputizing for the Unit Sourcing Manager.
Compliance Management: Ensure Terms and Conditions and other required charters are in place with suppliers.
Supplier Communication: Respond to supplier and internal queries in a timely and professional manner.
Market Benchmarking: Conduct periodic benchmarking and maintain market intelligence to validate costs and drive cost reduction initiatives.
Purchase Approvals: Support the business approval process for purchases.
Sourcing Strategy: Develop sourcing strategies, including the use of e-procurement tools, in collaboration with sourcing leadership and other stakeholders.
Data Management: Maintain accurate supplier data, ensuring quotations are properly recorded in the system.
Issue Resolution: Resolve contractual or performance issues associated with supplier agreements on time and escalate on demand.

5. Indirect Buyer Additional Details

Contract Support: Assist with the establishment of key contracts consisting of capital equipment, IT, facilities, maintenance, repair, laboratory purchasing, and other labor service-type agreements.
ERP Administration: Responsible for ERP requisition-to-pay administrative tasks, including vendor/commodity setup and deactivation and year-end closeout activities.
Procurement Support: Participate in procurement processes across the organization in support of reducing costs and improving supplier performance.
Proposal Management: Assist with a request for proposals, in addition to volume buys for indirect and CAPEX spend categories and specific commodity products and services, delivering cost reductions, avoidance, and/or process improvement measures.
Purchase Order Processing: Process electronically approved requisitions into purchase orders.
ERP Administration: Complete ERP requisition-to-pay administrative tasks, including vendor/commodity setup and deactivation and year-end closeout activities.
Compliance Management: Ensure compliance in all PO and vendor master activities.
Approval Coordination: Complete Contract Approval Forms and obtain required approvals from functional organizations such as Finance and Legal.
Direct Procurement Support: Provide support to direct procurement sourcing and procurement activities.
Invoice Resolution: Work with Accounts Payable to resolve invoice and PO issues.

6. Senior Indirect Buyer Roles

Contract Management: Manage and negotiate annual contracts for maintenance and project goods and services.
Customer Collaboration: Consult and maintain contact with internal customers, such as the project and maintenance departments.
Market Analysis: Analyze purchasing packages, expenses, and the supplier market.
Purchasing Optimization: Draw up a plan in consultation with the Manager-Supply Chain to optimize purchasing per segment.
Process Coaching: Advise and coach colleagues about the purchasing process.
Needs Analysis: Collect, verify, and analyze needs for goods and services in consultation with internal customers within the purchasing package and policy.
Purchasing Planning: Draw up a purchasing plan that provides qualitative and quantitative coverage.
Budget Planning: Translate the purchasing plan into a concrete purchasing plan and budget with objectives.
Planning Management: Manage and realize purchasing planning and budgeting to meet internal customer needs.
Supplier Relationships: Build and maintain relationships with existing and potential suppliers.
Supplier Information: Maintain the supplier panel in line with the segment strategy and ensure supplier information in the system is accurate and up to date.
Supplier Performance: Monitor QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) supplier relationships within the responsible scope in line with QCD targets set by the Indirect Purchasing Network and in compliance with ethical rules.

7. Senior Indirect Buyer Tasks

Market Assessment: Collect and assess developments in technical markets within the purchasing package and policy.
Supplier Analysis: Conduct supplier analysis based on market information.
Alternative Sourcing: Find alternative goods and services and inform the organization.
Quotation Management: Request quotations and negotiate with suppliers regarding price, quality, and delivery conditions.
Contract Procurement: Obtain purchase contracts and orders under optimal purchasing conditions.
Framework Contracts: Draft, manage, and monitor framework contracts with suppliers.
Supplier Collaboration: Build and maintain supplier contacts and collaborate on SLA changes or improvements.
Process Continuity: Ensure continuity of the purchasing and production process while optimizing supplier performance.
Data Management: Enter data into the purchasing system (SAP) to keep it up to date.
Financial Analysis: Analyze and report financial purchasing results, market trends, and contract impacts.
Process Improvement: Implement improvements and drive efficiency within the purchasing process.
Requester Support: Support requesters in implementing supplier creation in the system, while not acting as the requester directly.
Supplier Validation: Validate supplier creation requests submitted by the issuer.

8. Indirect Procurement Buyer Overview

Order Fulfillment: Ensure order fulfillment and purchase order (PO) placement in a timely manner for the Stores, Distribution Centers, and Support Center.
Inbox Management: Manage the Procurement department inbox.
Accounts Payable: Manage accounts payable issues, including the closing of POs, invoices, and receipt issues in a timely and effective manner.
Order Verification: Complete verification of 3-way match on all applicable orders (i.e., requisition, purchase order, and invoice matching), ensuring link to PO system, including document tracking and/or order confirmation, shipments, and receipts.
Issue Resolution: Follow up on accounts payable issues, including the closing of POs, invoices, and receipt issues, ensuring all issues are closed in a timely and effective manner.
Bid Management: Request competitive bids from select vendors and assist in tracking competitive bid documentation for the Procurement department.
Procedure Management: Implement and review related procedures.
Process Development: Develop and direct processes to proactively identify and solve issues.
Vendor Relationships: Develop and maintain relationships with current and prospective vendors to determine supply capabilities, inventory control and management, negotiate prices, and delivery terms.
Stakeholder Liaison: Act as the liaison between internal stakeholders, agencies, and vendors to ensure quality, on-time delivery within budget parameters.
Contract Documentation: Ensure all contract documentation is entered correctly in the contracts database.
Contract Tracking: Track contract terms and renewals for proactive management.

9. Indirect Buyer Job Description

Supplier Relationships: Direct local supplier relationships and implement the purchasing strategy to achieve Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for segments within the region.
Project Compliance: Identify new projects within the scope of responsibility and ensure compliance with purchasing processes and segment strategy.
Budget Planning: Collect internal customers’ Mid Term Plans (MTP) for spend and support the local segment leader in preparing budget planning for the following calendar year with actionable ideas and initiatives.
Productivity Actions: Propose and implement productivity actions for sites through site-level planning meetings.
Policy Compliance: Respect and apply company standards, including codes of business conduct, general terms of purchase, and purchasing policies.
Strategy Deployment: Contribute to defining and deploying the group segment strategy in coordination with the Indirect Purchasing Segment Director, ensuring regional needs are incorporated.
KPI Accountability: Take accountability for achieving segment KPIs within the assigned region.
Customer Relationships: Build and maintain strong relationships with regional internal customers to ensure alignment and buy-in for the segment strategy.
Business Visibility: Ensure mid-term visibility of new business awards related to the segment in the region.
Annual Budgeting: Prepare and drive the annual purchasing budget process for the responsible segment.
Expense Analysis: Analyze supplier expenses and manage the Annual Budget Purchase Amount (ABPA).
Performance Monitoring: Monitor and prepare analyses on key performance indicators (KPI).
Action Implementation: Define, propose, and implement productivity actions in collaboration with the segment.
Action Planning: Maintain an up-to-date action plan in the purchasing system, ensure budgeted actions are implemented on time, anticipate deviations, and compensate by launching new actions or accelerating existing ones.

10. Indirect Buyer Functions

Risk Management: Manage suppliers identified as high-risk through the system, and propose New Business on Hold (NBOH) measures.
Crisis Escalation: Act as the escalation contact in case of crisis.
Supplier Registration: Register and maintain relevant suppliers in the procurement system.
Process Digitalization: Support and enforce the digitalization/dematerialization process.
Pre-Sourcing Activities: Organize Pre-Sourcing activities in alignment with the segment strategy.
RFQ Management: Launch Requests for Quote (RFQs) through the procurement system.
Opportunity Bundling: Identify and implement bundling opportunities.
Auction Management: Be in charge of proposing auctions.
Specification Collection: Collect specifications and necessary documents for RFQs.
Procurement Execution: Conduct RFQ, negotiation, Long Term Agreements (LTA), and ordering processes in compliance with Non-Production Purchasing (NPP) procedures within the e-procurement system.
Sourcing Coordination: Organize sourcing (SoCo) with stakeholders, including project, R&D, and Industrial teams, to reach consensus, and integrate SoCo and LTA results into the system.
Segment Validation: Obtain validation from the segment in the procurement system.
Request Validation: Validate purchase requests created by the Process PTM after checking consistency with SoCo, ensuring legal terms are accurate, and indicating the SoCo reference number.
Catalog Management: Create and manage web catalogs for the responsible segment in line with the segment strategy.

Relevant Information

What Does A Category Buyer Do?