Plant buyer vs purchasing agent

The differences between plant buyers 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 plant buyer and a purchasing agent. Additionally, a plant buyer has an average salary of $59,450, which is higher than the $51,950 average annual salary of a purchasing agent.

The top three skills for a plant buyer include purchase orders, lean manufacturing and MRO. The most important skills for a purchasing agent are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.

Plant buyer vs purchasing agent overview

	Plant Buyer	Purchasing Agent
Yearly salary	$59,450	$51,950
Hourly rate	$28.58	$24.98
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	24,593	45,856
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

Plant buyer vs purchasing agent salary

Plant buyers and purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Plant Buyer	Purchasing Agent
Average salary	$59,450	$51,950
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $80,000	Between $37,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	-	Maryland
Best paying company	-	Abiomed
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between plant buyer and purchasing agent education

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

	Plant Buyer	Purchasing Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Plant buyer vs purchasing agent demographics

Here are the differences between plant buyers' and purchasing agents' demographics:

	Plant Buyer	Purchasing Agent
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5%	Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 66.0% 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 plant buyer and purchasing agent duties and responsibilities

Plant buyer example responsibilities.

Manage plant ISO system for all procurement functions.
Manage MRP on all stock material to create plane orders.
Assure suppliers comply with safety and quality alignments within company standards and manage non-conformance reporting for logistics as per company policy.
Purchase production material and MRO supplies.
Maintain tool crib and all MRO materials.
Work with appropriate personnel to ensure effective and functional storage for all supplies and commodities.

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.

Plant buyer vs purchasing agent skills

Common plant buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 25%
Lean Manufacturing, 7%
MRO, 7%
Delivery Dates, 6%
Commodities, 5%
Indirect Materials, 5%

Common purchasing agent skills

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