Plant buyer vs senior purchasing agent

The differences between plant buyers and senior 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 senior purchasing agent. Additionally, a senior purchasing agent has an average salary of $73,386, which is higher than the $59,450 average annual salary of a plant buyer.

The top three skills for a plant buyer include purchase orders, lean manufacturing and MRO. The most important skills for a senior purchasing agent are purchase orders, project management, and supplier relationships.

Plant buyer vs senior purchasing agent overview

	Plant Buyer	Senior Purchasing Agent
Yearly salary	$59,450	$73,386
Hourly rate	$28.58	$35.28
Growth rate	-	-6%
Number of jobs	24,593	43,833
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

Plant buyer vs senior purchasing agent salary

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

	Plant Buyer	Senior Purchasing Agent
Average salary	$59,450	$73,386
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $80,000	Between $52,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Levi Strauss & Co.
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between plant buyer and senior purchasing agent education

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

	Plant Buyer	Senior Purchasing Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Plant buyer vs senior purchasing agent demographics

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

	Plant Buyer	Senior Purchasing Agent
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5%	Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3%
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, 8.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between plant buyer and senior 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.

Senior purchasing agent example responsibilities.

Manage patterns for older, obsolete OEM part outsource production to locally foundries.
Interact within an ERP system environment and manage various reporting tools to support operations and control the flow of information.
Manage subcontracts activity including RFQ analysis, major negotiations and construction of complex subcontracting orders and milestones.
Provide management for warehousing, transportation, documentation requirements, cost analysis, third-party logistics, and reverse logistics.
Help create new purchasing procurement program base on customer forecasting and JIT programs (KANBAN).
Update & maintain ERP system part master data including new item creation, discontinuations and site planning changes.

Plant buyer vs senior purchasing agent skills

Common plant buyer skills

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

Common senior purchasing agent skills

Purchase Orders, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Supplier Relationships, 6%
Strategic Sourcing, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%

Plant Buyer vs. similar jobs

Plant Buyer related careers

Plant Buyer related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Plant Buyer
Plant Buyer vs Senior Purchasing Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs