Sourcing Manager Interview Questions & Answers

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Sourcing Managers have an extremely important role as they manage and oversee service and product sourcing strategy. This position plays a crucial role in operations improvement, cost savings as well as total process efficiency and productivity.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Sourcing Manager or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Sourcing Manager position, these Sourcing Manager interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Sourcing Manager Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Sourcing Manager interview questions.

1. How much experience do you have in the sourcing field?
2. How have your previous jobs prepared you for this one?
3. Can you describe the purchasing process, step-by-step?
4. During time constraints, how do you prioritize your work?
5. What's your go-to sourcing strategy?
6. Describe a time you had to lead a challenging team.
7. What would you do if one of your suppliers started producing products that didn’t meet your company’s standards?
8. What's a good way to find the best supplier?
9. What's the best deal you've secured with a supplier or vendor?
10. Do you have a risk management strategy for unreliable suppliers?
11. There is a supplier that consistently meets your company’s needs, but their prices are higher than average. What would you do?
12. How do you manage your supplier relationship?
13. Are you familiar with warehouse safety regulations?
14. Have you ever needed to cancel a contract with a vendor and why?
15. If a supplier needed to delay their shipment, how would you respond?
16. What do you know about market trends and how to predict them?
17. What sources do you use to develop your knowledge of different markets?
18. Provide an example of a time when you successfully negotiated with a difficult supplier.
19. How do you research new vendors or suppliers?
20. How do you keep records of supplies?
21. What's the best way to determine a company's spending patterns?
22. How do you decide if your purchase needs a contract?
23. What is your process for evaluating the quality of a potential supplier?
24. What major factors do you consider when making a new purchase?
25. How often should you evaluate suppliers?
26. What areas would you look through first if you're asked to cut costs?
27. What's the process of your sourcing initiative?
28. What is a Qualified Products List (QPL)?
29. What kind of supplier software have you used before?
30. How do you evaluate product quality?
31. Are you familiar with the concept of total cost of ownership when it comes to sourcing?
32. Which sourcing software programs are you most familiar with?
33. How would you go about finding new suppliers if your current ones become unavailable or too expensive?

Sourcing Manager Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Sourcing Manager interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

1. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
2. What is Your Greatest Strength?
3. Tell Me About Yourself
4. Why Do You Want This Job?
5. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
6. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
7. What is Your Salary Expectation?
8. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
9. Why Should We Hire You?
10. What is Your Greatest Weakness?

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