Forecasting analyst vs procurement agent

The differences between forecasting analysts and procurement 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 forecasting analyst and a procurement agent. Additionally, a procurement agent has an average salary of $72,384, which is higher than the $69,708 average annual salary of a forecasting analyst.

The top three skills for a forecasting analyst include supply chain, SQL and data analysis. The most important skills for a procurement agent are supply chain, strategic sourcing, and supplier performance.

Forecasting analyst vs procurement agent overview

	Forecasting Analyst	Procurement Agent
Yearly salary	$69,708	$72,384
Hourly rate	$33.51	$34.80
Growth rate	19%	11%
Number of jobs	31,811	45,198
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	37	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does a forecasting analyst do?

A forecasting analyst is responsible for predicting a business's future production and financial condition by analyzing the company's current data statistics. Forecasting analysts evaluate the company's sales performance, inventory levels, production speed, and turnaround time of deliverables. They also study the latest industry trends, identifying business opportunities from consumer demands and interests to develop revenue resources to maintain the business' financial stability. A forecasting analyst must have excellent communication and analytical skills, especially on creating report models and finance measurement accuracy.

What does a procurement agent do?

A procurement agent develops profitable measures to save the client money and ensure the quality of goods supplied. Procurement agents obtain the purchased items through suppliers, monitor them, and expedite the orders. They oversee the activities and performance of the suppliers for compliance. Their duties include the verification of item receipts, resolving shipment-related problems, and authorizing purchase payments through documentation. The necessary skills for this job include being accomplished, decisive, and strong communication skills.

Forecasting analyst vs procurement agent salary

Forecasting analysts and procurement agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Forecasting Analyst	Procurement Agent
Average salary	$69,708	$72,384
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $90,000	Between $49,000 And $106,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	New Jersey
Best paying company	Apple	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between forecasting analyst and procurement agent education

There are a few differences between a forecasting analyst and a procurement agent in terms of educational background:

	Forecasting Analyst	Procurement Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Pennsylvania

Forecasting analyst vs procurement agent demographics

Here are the differences between forecasting analysts' and procurement agents' demographics:

	Forecasting Analyst	Procurement Agent
Average age	37	48
Gender ratio	Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7%	Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	10%	7%

Differences between forecasting analyst and procurement agent duties and responsibilities

Forecasting analyst example responsibilities.

Manage National/Global RFP project process by creating pricing models and coordinating pricing efforts of different ManpowerGroup brands.
Enter sales and freight information in company ERP software program.
Work with logistics to track shipments to distribution center and ensure customer delivery dates are met.
Develop and execute the POS and inventory forecasts and analysis for mass merchants and national /international sales accounts.
Create promotional, POS, & inventory reports for both domestic and international accounts and submit to company each week.
Utilize Nielsen data to create category reviews, new product presentations, and attend customer meetings to support customer category managers.

Procurement agent example responsibilities.

Achieve $200k cost savings buy locating excess material from OEM.
Manage project size OEM bills of material from supplier negotiation through final invoice.
Monitor and manage cost of components for bill of material (BOM), schedule lead times and performance with budgets.
Prepare strategic commodity business plans for globally manage commodities, performing spend analysis, and identifying part cost drivers.
Process purchase requisitions to POs for different commodities for MCI s end-user community.
Perform category spend analysis of indirect spend for hotel expenses to determine hotel candidates for 2010 RFP corporate rate negotiations.

Forecasting analyst vs procurement agent skills

Common forecasting analyst skills

Supply Chain, 9%
SQL, 9%
Data Analysis, 7%
Strong Analytical, 6%
SAS, 5%
Demand Planning, 5%

Common procurement agent skills

Supply Chain, 15%
Strategic Sourcing, 6%
Supplier Performance, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Inventory Control, 4%
Purchase Orders, 4%

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Forecasting Analyst vs Procurement Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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