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The differences between procurement agents 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 procurement agent and a senior purchasing agent. Additionally, a senior purchasing agent has an average salary of $73,386, which is higher than the $72,384 average annual salary of a procurement agent.
The top three skills for a procurement agent include supply chain, strategic sourcing and supplier performance. The most important skills for a senior purchasing agent are purchase orders, project management, and supplier relationships.
| Procurement Agent | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $72,384 | $73,386 |
| Hourly rate | $34.80 | $35.28 |
| Growth rate | 11% | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 45,198 | 43,833 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
Senior Purchasing Agents are experienced employees in the company's purchasing department. They oversee the purchase requisitions of the employees. They validate requests, ensure that the requestors followed company guidelines, check the availability of the items with the chosen supplier, and forward the purchase order to the supplier. Upon fulfillment of the request, Senior Purchasing Agents check the deliveries, ensure that the items are complete and correct, forward the items to the requestor, and process the payment for the supplier. Senior Purchasing agents also prepare reports, spot trends in employee or department purchases, and create recommendations based on observations. They are also expected to form good working relationships with suppliers.
Procurement agents and senior purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Procurement Agent | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Average salary | $72,384 | $73,386 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $106,000 | Between $52,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Levi Strauss & Co. |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Energy |
There are a few differences between a procurement agent and a senior purchasing agent in terms of educational background:
| Procurement Agent | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between procurement agents' and senior purchasing agents' demographics:
| Procurement Agent | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6% | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |