The strangest thing Jason Robinson ever had to purchase was a couple of skateboards. What's so odd about that, you ask?
Well, Robinson didn't buy the skateboards for himself. Nor did he buy them for a sporting goods store. He bought them for a construction company.
The company was working on an expansion of a natural gas plant, which was miles from a skateboarding park. So why does a purchaser buy skateboards for a construction company in the middle of the wilderness?
The answer is simple, says Robinson. The welders needed to get inside some of the smaller pipes in order to do their work. These pipes were four feet across, and the welders needed to be mobile inside them. Regular dollies, like those used for working under cars, were too big for the pipes. Skateboards were the perfect solution.
Once Robinson had decided upon skateboards as the solution, however, he encountered another problem. He was looking for skateboards in the middle of winter.
He had no luck finding skateboards in the nearest community, so Robinson started hunting for them further south. In the end, he found some skateboards in a shop a thousand miles to the south. He bought the skateboards and had them shipped north.
The challenge of finding solutions to problems like this is one of the things Robinson says he really enjoys about his job. "One of the neat things about being a purchaser is that you have to come up with alternatives, or figure out what the person is looking for because their description is pretty vague," he says. "People sometimes come up to me and say, 'I've used this before, can you find it?'"
That sort of problem can be challenging and frustrating. "Some days you can phone and inquire and look for something that doesn't exist," he explains.
Even if he does find what he's looking for, price is sometimes a barrier. Then he has to search for alternatives. The burden to locate the item and purchase it as cheaply as possible is part of the heavy responsibility of the job.
"The toughest part of being a purchaser is that as soon as they tell you what they want, it becomes your problem. It's one of the reasons communication skills are so important in this job," Robinson says.
Purchasers have to know how to communicate effectively. Robinson figures there are two ways of dealing with people. "There's the laid-back, yet serious, kind of fun way of working with people. Or there's the really serious, strict, demanding way of working with people." He prefers the laid-back approach, finding it the most workable way to deal with people and get the job done.
Robinson says the "wheeling and dealing" aspect of being a purchaser is fun. But that doesn't mean he takes his responsibilities lightly -- nor does he take for granted the trust his employer has in him.
"There has to be lots of trust between the president and the purchaser. If not, there's unease on both ends."
Trust is essential because it would be relatively easy for a purchaser to buy something for personal use and "hide it" in a purchase order. That would, of course, result in firing when discovered.
Right now, Robinson isn't filling out purchase orders. He's helping to develop a bid for a power generation station in Guyana. It's presenting some unique challenges.
"Finding out prices for things down there is really difficult. Take fuel, for example. It's an easy item to find but it's hard to get a definite price on it," he explains. "There are time differences to work through, different cultures and different languages. They all present barriers."
The challenge of overcoming barriers like that keeps Robinson excited about what he's doing. "It's a very diverse job," he says. "Every day something new comes up that presents a whole bunch of new demands."
Lynne Yates agrees. One of the things Yates really enjoys about her job is the fact that she is always learning. "A purchaser does much more than simply purchase materials. We look after customs clearance, maintenance and supply, order placing and long-term contracts," she explains.
As a purchaser for a large research firm, Yates oversees the supply and demand needs for a company that employs close to 800 people. Her responsibilities include purchasing all supplies, determining office budgets, and handling vehicle leasing, inventory control and administrative duties. It's a hectic job.
It took 10 years for Yates to gain the experience and education required to attain her CPP (certified purchasing professional) status, but she says it was worth every minute. The certified purchasing professional designation gives her an edge over others when applying for a job.
Purchasers say they get a lot of satisfaction from their work.
"It's the art of buying and the diversity of the job that I love," says Robinson. "That's what has kept me in it this long."
"There is always something new, something different, a new challenge," Yates says. "I think my job is great."