Central supply technician vs inventory controller

The differences between central supply technicians and inventory controllers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an inventory controller has an average salary of $36,911, which is higher than the $35,231 average annual salary of a central supply technician.

The top three skills for a central supply technician include patients, sterile processing and customer service. The most important skills for an inventory controller are inventory control, customer service, and data entry.

Central supply technician vs inventory controller overview

	Central Supply Technician	Inventory Controller
Yearly salary	$35,231	$36,911
Hourly rate	$16.94	$17.75
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	30,995	140,496
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	-	-

What does a central supply technician do?

Central Supply Technicians are responsible for the administration and dispensing of surgical and medical supplies. Their duties include ordering supplies, filling supplies in supply cabinets, bulk rooms, carts, and central inventory, conducting par areas inspections, performing pallet break-downs, and undertaking supplies inspection for package integrity. They also carry out cycle counts, organize carts and cabinets, report for needed repairs, and manage the issuance of procedural carts and trays.

What does an inventory controller do?

An inventory controller is responsible for performing duties for the inventory department of an organization. Inventory controllers ensure the adequacy of the product and materials needed for daily operations. They maintain inventory reports, manage stock supplies, negotiate with third-party vendors for orders of quality products, monitor deliveries, verifying orders for shipment, handling the employee and customers' requests for supplies, and receiving orders efficiently. Inventory controllers keep receipts of all inventory transactions, as well as inspecting the quality of the inventory items, requiring them to have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills.

Central supply technician vs inventory controller salary

Central supply technicians and inventory controllers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Central Supply Technician	Inventory Controller
Average salary	$35,231	$36,911
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $46,000	Between $28,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Monterey, CA	Everett, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Mohawk Valley Health System	General Dynamics Mission Systems
Best paying industry	Media	Technology

Differences between central supply technician and inventory controller education

There are a few differences between a central supply technician and an inventory controller in terms of educational background:

	Central Supply Technician	Inventory Controller
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Central supply technician vs inventory controller demographics

Here are the differences between central supply technicians' and inventory controllers' demographics:

	Central Supply Technician	Inventory Controller
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 45.0% Female, 55.0%	Male, 59.4% Female, 40.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between central supply technician and inventory controller duties and responsibilities

Central supply technician example responsibilities.

Cataloge property, maintain property records and manage inventory using PBUSE system.
Assist home RN and hospice staff with ADL's.
Practice & enforce HIPPA patient privacy guidelines.
Order supplies, maintain records and compile information using Microsoft office such as word, excel, and PowerPoint.
Reconcile charges for outsource services to ensure patients are billed accurately.
Develop PowerPoint presentations that assist in supply management and logistics oversight.

Inventory controller example responsibilities.

Manage, review, analyze, verify, and ship raw, stock, purchase, QA, and manufacture materials.
Operate and set up CNC machines.
Move and organize stock using RF scanner.
Fill out BOL / SLI paperwork for various shipping and freight companies.
Receive in all material for warehouse, CNC shop, and front office.
Help implement the WMS system in the warehouse, perform cycle counts and do yearly physical inventories.

Central supply technician vs inventory controller skills

Common central supply technician skills

Patients, 18%
Sterile Processing, 13%
Customer Service, 11%
Infection Control, 8%
Surgery, 5%
Surgical Instruments, 5%

Common inventory controller skills

Inventory Control, 23%
Customer Service, 21%
Data Entry, 6%
Math, 5%
Basic Math, 5%
Purchase Orders, 4%

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Central Supply Technician vs Inventory Controller

Updated January 8, 2025

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