Chris Cook | Purchasing Manager
My role
I am the Purchasing Manager at Versalift United Kingdom Limited, and I am responsible for … I have been in Purchasing for 9 years now – I had hair when I started.
Why Purchasing?
It wasn’t something I ever envisioned falling into career wise it just kind of happened, but I am so glad it did.
It is such a fundamental part of any company and integral to successful daily operations. A well-run Purchasing Department is well positioned to make a real impact to any company especially in a manufacturing environment. Ensuring we have the right parts, at the right time, at the right cost, at the right quality is the jigsaw that purchasing solve daily.
What makes you passionate about Purchasing?
Being in a position to make a real impact, everything I do in life I want to feel I am giving a 100% and improving the situation for everyone around me. Being in Purchasing gives you this ability. Be it onboarding a new supplier, negotiating a better deal for the company, producing a new procedure to gain efficiency, and much more. In the same way a Salesperson gets a sense of achievement when they land a new client or a large order, I get the exact same excitement when I make a large saving, source a new supplier, or come up with a new idea that will benefit the company, all of this makes Purchasing a very exciting career prospect, and is properly why I can’t see myself doing anything else until I retire.
Favourite part of your job?
For me, its all about the people, the colleagues I work with, and the suppliers I do business with. It’s a collaborative effort and takes continual input from everyone to ensure the supply chain runs smoothly on a daily basis. At Versalift I am glad to say I am surrounded by a fantastic team in Purchasing and beyond in the wider company and this makes the job that even more enjoyable.
