Commodity specialist vs purchasing manager

The differences between commodity specialists and purchasing managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a commodity specialist and a purchasing manager. Additionally, a commodity specialist has an average salary of $126,153, which is higher than the $98,118 average annual salary of a purchasing manager.

The top three skills for a commodity specialist include supplier performance, commodities and purchase orders. The most important skills for a purchasing manager are supply chain, strategic sourcing, and project management.

Commodity specialist vs purchasing manager overview

	Commodity Specialist	Purchasing Manager
Yearly salary	$126,153	$98,118
Hourly rate	$60.65	$47.17
Growth rate	-	-6%
Number of jobs	17,859	30,430
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a commodity specialist do?

Commodity specialists create strategies to get products from regional and global markets to achieve cost-effectiveness and a solid supplier base for their companies. Collaborating with the commodity manager on certain issues by attending meetings and exchanging development updates is part of their job. They manage the procurement of commodities and enhance the benefits from the projects they work on by following the agreed-upon specifications. They resolve issues related to commodities by developing better plans for negotiation and cost reduction.

What does a purchasing manager do?

A purchasing manager is responsible for organizing and managing products to order or sell. Purchasing managers review product specifications, negotiate pricing details with the vendors, evaluate and choose the best suppliers, and assist purchasing agents. Purchase managers are also responsible for resolving order processing issues and analyzing current market trends to determine which products to purchase. A purchasing manager must have excellent decision-making and strategical skills to examine effects, inspect defective items, and create an in-depth analysis of customers' needs to improve their performance and sales.

Commodity specialist vs purchasing manager salary

Commodity specialists and purchasing managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Commodity Specialist	Purchasing Manager
Average salary	$126,153	$98,118
Salary range	Between $92,000 And $172,000	Between $70,000 And $136,000
Highest paying City	San Bruno, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	Maine
Best paying company	The Citadel	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Energy	Technology

Differences between commodity specialist and purchasing manager education

There are a few differences between a commodity specialist and a purchasing manager in terms of educational background:

	Commodity Specialist	Purchasing Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Commodity specialist vs purchasing manager demographics

Here are the differences between commodity specialists' and purchasing managers' demographics:

	Commodity Specialist	Purchasing Manager
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 60.8% Female, 39.2%	Male, 67.0% Female, 33.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	7%	11%

Differences between commodity specialist and purchasing manager duties and responsibilities

Commodity specialist example responsibilities.

Manage the RFP and negotiation processes.
Manage daily trade maintenance for gas, energy and weather derivatives.
Manage purchases and sales of fix assets investments through Bloomberg and Sympro to maximize income and reduce risk for customers.
Manage relationships with high net worth institutional accounts; quoted prices and provide real-time trading activity information for commodities.
Utilize and implement advance knowledge of treasury procedures, facilitate FX sweeps post transactions and confirmation of banking payment instructions.
Prepare RFP's, review proposals and conduct negotiations.

Purchasing manager example responsibilities.

Manage payroll and accounts payable.
Lead major purchasing projects for automotive OEM vehicles.
Used RFI, RFP, RFQ techniques to identify, select, and engage with suppliers to ensure competitive market advantage.
Establish an integrate MRO supply program which eliminate specific company manage buying, inventory control and warehousing functions.
Manage all procurement activities to support manufacturing operations including raw materials, tooling, components and MRO services.
Manage several indirect sourcing RFP projects including categories for translation services, payroll services, capital equipment and engineering services.

Commodity specialist vs purchasing manager skills

Common commodity specialist skills

Supplier Performance, 10%
Commodities, 9%
Purchase Orders, 8%
RFQ, 8%
Strategic Sourcing, 7%
Chain Management, 5%

Common purchasing manager skills

Supply Chain, 15%
Strategic Sourcing, 7%
Project Management, 5%
Supplier Performance, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 4%
Purchase Orders, 4%

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Commodity Specialist vs Purchasing Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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