Director of purchasing vs purchasing supervisor

The differences between directors of purchasing and purchasing supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a director of purchasing and a purchasing supervisor. Additionally, a director of purchasing has an average salary of $106,945, which is higher than the $68,702 average annual salary of a purchasing supervisor.

The top three skills for a director of purchasing include supply chain, purchase orders and product development. The most important skills for a purchasing supervisor are purchase orders, MRP, and supplier performance.

Director of purchasing vs purchasing supervisor overview

	Director Of Purchasing	Purchasing Supervisor
Yearly salary	$106,945	$68,702
Hourly rate	$51.42	$33.03
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	17,847	19,412
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	47	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does a director of purchasing do?

A director of purchasing oversees the procedures related to buying resources and supplies, directing operations from planning to execution while adhering to standards and company policies. They primarily perform research and assessments to understand project needs in terms of price, quality, and delivery time. They also identify ideal suppliers, negotiate deals, and build positive business relationships. Additionally, a director of purchasing has the authority to make significant decisions, delegate responsibilities among staff, oversee employment procedures within the department, and solve issues and concerns when any arise.

What does a purchasing supervisor do?

A purchasing supervisor orders supplies, equipment, and materials from vendors by buyers. The purchasing supervisors assess, select, and build relationships with the vendors. They do the negotiation for the contracts of goods and services. It is their job to review the purchase orders for accuracy and ensure to obtain the best prices. The skills supervisors need to develop include marketing, communication, leadership, and management. They should also know about purchasing products and services.

Director of purchasing vs purchasing supervisor salary

Directors of purchasing and purchasing supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Purchasing	Purchasing Supervisor
Average salary	$106,945	$68,702
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $166,000	Between $45,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Rivian	CDW
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between director of purchasing and purchasing supervisor education

There are a few differences between a director of purchasing and a purchasing supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Purchasing	Purchasing Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Director of purchasing vs purchasing supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between directors of purchasing' and purchasing supervisors' demographics:

	Director Of Purchasing	Purchasing Supervisor
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 75.1% Female, 24.9%	Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.5% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between director of purchasing and purchasing supervisor duties and responsibilities

Director of purchasing example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of the RFQ process, contracts, cost and rebate negotiations, and awarding of business.
Manage out-bound logistics services and third-party logistics providers to expand the range of commodities need to support automobile and aerospace manufacturing.
Develop standards and implement procedures for materials planning, product acquisition, inventory control, material distribution and logistics management.
Implement cost controls using commodity segmentation, vendor KPI's and cost justification base on key market indicators.
Monitor KPI indicators such as inventory turns, supplier on time delivery, inventory cycle count accuracy, and PPV.
Develop RFP (request for proposal) analysis, negotiation strategy, contract drafting and agreement execution plans on all contracts.

Purchasing supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage increasing procurement demands of inventory/supplies for manufacturing activities base on an ERP MRP system.
Lead and analyze all RFQ's, RFI's and RFP's from different qualify vendors.
Interview current and prospective suppliers to determine supplier capabilities, logistics and inventory control and management while negotiate delivery terms.
Review requisitions and RFP's, obtain quotations, negotiate pricing, examine bids and award contracts.
Assist in the yearly budgeting process including RFQ's and establishing contracts both locally and at the corporate level.
Direct large projects by creating RFP's, cost negotiation, and bid analysis on specifications and budget cost provided.

Director of purchasing vs purchasing supervisor skills

Common director of purchasing skills

Supply Chain, 18%
Purchase Orders, 9%
Product Development, 7%
Vendor Relations, 6%
Logistics, 5%
Cost Savings, 4%

Common purchasing supervisor skills

Purchase Orders, 20%
MRP, 5%
Supplier Performance, 4%
Logistics, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%
On-Time Delivery, 4%

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Director Of Purchasing
Director Of Purchasing vs Purchasing Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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