Procurement Officer
Logistics
Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Purchase raw or semifinished materials for manufacturing. May negotiate contracts.
What you'd do all day
The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.
- 1Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
- 2Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
- 3Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
- 4Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
- 5Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
- 6Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
- 7Research and evaluate suppliers, based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier's reputation and history.
- 8Hire, train, or supervise purchasing clerks, buyers, and expediters.
- 9Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives.
- 10Evaluate and monitor contract performance to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and to determine need for changes.
- 11Study sales records and inventory levels of current stock to develop strategic purchasing programs that facilitate employee access to supplies.
- 12Confer with staff, users, and vendors to discuss defective or unacceptable goods or services and determine corrective action.
- 13Maintain and review computerized or manual records of purchased items, costs, deliveries, product performance, and inventories.
- 14Monitor changes affecting supply and demand, tracking market conditions, price trends, or futures markets.
- 15Monitor shipments to ensure that goods come in on time, and resolve problems related to undelivered goods.
- 16Review catalogs, industry periodicals, directories, trade journals, and Internet sites and consult with other department personnel to locate necessary goods and services.
- 17Attend meetings, trade shows, conferences, conventions, and seminars to network with people in other purchasing departments.
- 18Arrange the payment of duty and freight charges.
- 19Interview vendors and visit suppliers' plants and distribution centers to examine and learn about products, services, and prices.
Also known as
What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.
- Buyer
- Log Buyer
- Ore Buyer
- Purchaser
- Fuel Agent
- Fuel Buyer
- Media Buyer
- Print Buyer
- Lumber Buyer
- Timber Buyer
How far is this from you?
Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.
1
Entry straight after SPM
2
SPM + sijil / short TVET course
3
Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)
Typical entry
Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)
5
Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route
Subjects that matter here
The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.
What you'd need to know
The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.
- English Language91%
English
- Law and Government85%
History (Sejarah)
- Customer and Personal Service84%
- Administration and Management81%
BusinessEconomics
- Administrative73%
Business
- Mathematics67%
Additional MathematicsMathematics
Tools you'd use
Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.
What the work feels like
Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.
- Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
- Contact with other peopleConstant contact
- Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
- Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
- Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
- Noisy environmentAlmost never
- Time spent sittingAlmost all the time
- Time spent standingA little
AI and demand for this job
A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.
Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)
This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.
Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work
Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.
Pay in Malaysia
We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.
Where to check:
- JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
- DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
- SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
Check what you may qualify for
Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.
How to get here
Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.
Related careers
If this interests you, these are worth a look too.
About this information
This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.
O*NET occupation: Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org