1.The purchasing professional thinks like a business owner. He or she understands the goals and objectives of the organization, understands the business climate, builds customer relationships, makes effective choices, and markets and sells the procurement function to both internal and external contacts. 2.There are several items which separate a world-class purchasing professional from the average purchaser. The *** item is purchasing with a strategic mindset. The purchasing professional focuses on ensuring his or her purchasing activities support the organization's strategic goals. The average buyer focuses on tactical purchases, or simply buying what he or she is directed to buy. A second item which distinguishes the purchasing professional is self-development. The purchasing professional continually seeks to promote his or her development by attendance at training seminars, continuing post-secondary education, reading and benchmarking practices of world-class purchasing organizations. The average buyer will do little more than attend mandatory training sponsored by his or her organization. A third aspect is supplier relationships. The purchasing professional seeks to develop partnerships with world-class suppliers who have competitive pricing, outstanding quality systems, on-time delivery and customer centricity. The average buyer focuses on finding suppliers with the lowest price without focusing on the total cost of ownership. 3.A world class purchasing professional should consider himself or herself not just a buyer but a supply manager. Such a professional will have a solid understanding of value analysis, target costing, strategic sourcing, and a cross-functional view of the business.