Buyer lead vs purchasing agent

The differences between buyer leads and purchasing agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a buyer lead and a purchasing agent. Additionally, a buyer lead has an average salary of $60,256, which is higher than the $51,950 average annual salary of a purchasing agent.

The top three skills for a buyer lead include purchase orders, supplier performance and commodities. The most important skills for a purchasing agent are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.

Buyer lead vs purchasing agent overview

	Buyer Lead	Purchasing Agent
Yearly salary	$60,256	$51,950
Hourly rate	$28.97	$24.98
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	20,610	45,856
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

Buyer lead vs purchasing agent salary

Buyer leads and purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Buyer Lead	Purchasing Agent
Average salary	$60,256	$51,950
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $82,000	Between $37,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Maryland	Maryland
Best paying company	Lam Research	Abiomed
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between buyer lead and purchasing agent education

There are a few differences between a buyer lead and a purchasing agent in terms of educational background:

	Buyer Lead	Purchasing Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Buyer lead vs purchasing agent demographics

Here are the differences between buyer leads' and purchasing agents' demographics:

	Buyer Lead	Purchasing Agent
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6%	Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between buyer lead and purchasing agent duties and responsibilities

Buyer lead example responsibilities.

Facilitate and manage key communication between internal customers and suppliers regarding RFP status, price and contract negotiations.
Used T4m (ERP system )
Direct and indirect (MRO) purchase materials.
Implement usage of ERP system to its full capacity.
Serve as key team member on development and implementation of automate MRO systems.
Issue and analyze RFQ and RFP to obtain the best cost and quality for goods and services.

Purchasing agent example responsibilities.

Reorganize MRO to manage inventory more efficiently.
Utilize MaCola ERP system to process and manage purchase requisitions and purchase orders in coordination with manufacturing forecast.
Process purchase orders from electronically generate RFQ'S.
Develop programs with suppliers to ensure that commodities meet engineering and quality specifications while maintaining on-time delivery.
Prepare purchase orders, RFP's and RFB's, advertise solicitations, review responses and approve contract acceptance.
Send out RFQ's and award orders to the best fit and price vendor to ensure manufacturing meets critical due dates.

Buyer lead vs purchasing agent skills

Common buyer lead skills

Purchase Orders, 19%
Supplier Performance, 17%
Commodities, 7%
RFQ, 6%
On-Time Delivery, 6%
Customer Service, 4%

Common purchasing agent skills

Purchase Orders, 30%
Customer Service, 12%
Logistics, 5%
Inventory Control, 4%
MRP, 3%
Cost Savings, 3%