Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
approvisionneur
English translation:
procurement officer or agent
Added to glossary by
uparis
Feb 8, 2005 09:15
19 yrs ago
13 viewers *
French term
approvisionneur
French to English
Bus/Financial
Business/Commerce (general)
Context : The Vice President for Purchasing of a major IT service provider is in charge of a coordinating "les équipes Achats décentralisées qui représentent une cinquantaine d'acheteurs et un peu plus d'approvisionneurs".
As far as I'm concerned, "acheteurs" would be purchasing agents. But oh surprise, according to several Canadian sites, "approvisionneurs" are "purchasers"... (I think they're maybe "buyers" or "procurement agents" or "supply managers" - client tells me they're below "acheteurs" on the corporate ladder).
Does anyone have the answer ?
Thanks !
As far as I'm concerned, "acheteurs" would be purchasing agents. But oh surprise, according to several Canadian sites, "approvisionneurs" are "purchasers"... (I think they're maybe "buyers" or "procurement agents" or "supply managers" - client tells me they're below "acheteurs" on the corporate ladder).
Does anyone have the answer ?
Thanks !
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | procurement officer |
Claire Cox
|
| 3 +2 | See comment below... |
Tony M
|
| 4 | maintainer |
Francis MARC
|
| 3 +1 | supplier |
Assimina Vavoula
|
| 4 | supplier(s) |
Leveleki
|
Proposed translations
22 mins
Claire Cox
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
French & German Technical Translations
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
95
Selected
procurement officer
Though what the difference between purchasing officers and procurement officers is, I really don't know! I know we had both in my old company..... Maybe purchasing officers have the actual buying power and decision-making abilities whereas the procurement officers merely proces the orders and deal with the actual mechanics?
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Certainly makes some sense, though I must admit I'd always thought 'procurement' was a peculiarly military / government expression? / Ys, as you say, the establishment / c.s. connection... I knew it in education too...
1 hr
|
|
Hi Dusty - I can assure you that procurement departments most certainly exist in the nuclear industry - maybe it's the civil service connection?
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks again for your answer, which not only helped, but was very reassuringly professional."
3 mins
maintainer
s'occupent des pièces une fois qu'elles ont été achetées à partir de leur livraison
Termium:
Domaine(s)
– Storehouses and Warehouses
Domaine(s)
– Magasins de stockage
maintainer Source
approvisionneur Source
OBS – achats et magasins. Source
Termium:
Domaine(s)
– Storehouses and Warehouses
Domaine(s)
– Magasins de stockage
maintainer Source
approvisionneur Source
OBS – achats et magasins. Source
+1
4 mins
Assimina Vavoula
Greece
Greece
Specializes in field
Greece
LEGAL, EU, CORPORATE TRANSLATIONS
Native in: Greek 
Works in: French to Greek, Greek to French, English to Greek, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
28
supplier
une idee seulement
4 mins
supplier(s)
I think that what they mean is that the purchasing department has so many "buyers" and a slightly higher, corresponding number of "suppliers", from whom the buyers are responsible for purchasing.
+2
12 mins
See comment below...
Well, I don't have THE answer, but from all the information you've given, I would suggest that you use 'purchasing managers OR agents' for your 'acheteurs' and simply 'buyers' for the 'approvisionneurs', in order to maintain the hierarchical sense your client has given you.
It seems to me that the 'acheteurs' are the people who negotiate the deals with suppliers, whilst the 'approvisionneurs' are simply the worker bees who place the orders...
Although it is occasionally found in the sense of 'suppliers', this doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me here, given the context you've explained.
It seems to me that the 'acheteurs' are the people who negotiate the deals with suppliers, whilst the 'approvisionneurs' are simply the worker bees who place the orders...
Although it is occasionally found in the sense of 'suppliers', this doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me here, given the context you've explained.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
LJC (X)
: Makes sense
50 mins
|
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Thanks, Lesley!
|
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| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
1 hr
|
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Thanks, Vicky!
|
Discussion
Acheteurs are called buyers. Achats seems to be purchasing.
Where I had trouble is translating Approvisionneur.
Yes, the difference seems to be that "purchasing agents / acheteurs" negotiate the deals with suppliers, and that "procurement agents / approvisionneurs" are the "worker bees" - as Dusty says - that make sure the orders come in properly.
Once again, thanks Claire (et al).
Yes, dear old 'procurement' is brought back in these shiny new e-times of ours... :-) Cheers, Claire!
In this case, definitely not suppliers - and for those who think procurement is weird, you've heard of "e-procurement", right ?
Will grade after 24 hours (as proz.com "encouraged" me to do).
Thanks, Claire !