Purchasing and Supply Management

This Apprenticeship is about supporting the functions of a supply chain. The supply chain is the movement of goods and services from supplier to customer, and it’s at the heart of every logistics operation. Supply chain operators make sure that things turn up at the right places, in the correct quantities, at the right time.

Supply chains play a crucial role in most industries, from clothing and automotive to pharmaceuticals and construction. It’s what moves raw materials to the factory for assembly and then on to distribution centres and shops.

As a purchasing and supply management apprentice, you’ll be involved in supply chain management. You’ll learn many skills like how to help control the ordering and delivery of materials, or how to manage materials, stock and storage.

On the Advanced Apprenticeship, you’ll take on a supervisory role and be involved in analysing the supply chain’s performance. There is also a Higher Apprenticeship available, where you might make changes to improve the supply chain’s performance.

In this role, you’ll have to identify any risks to schedule and performance, and stay on top of the game. And if something does go wrong, you’ll need to be able to fix things quickly and get things moving again.

Find out more about related job roles by clicking the links below:

• Purchasing clerk
• Supply chain operator
• Senior purchasing officer
• Purchasing manager
• Supply chain manager