Procurement consultant vs purchasing manager

The differences between procurement consultants and purchasing managers 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 consultant and a purchasing manager. Additionally, a purchasing manager has an average salary of $98,118, which is higher than the $81,254 average annual salary of a procurement consultant.

The top three skills for a procurement consultant include strategic sourcing, procure-to-pay and HR. The most important skills for a purchasing manager are supply chain, strategic sourcing, and project management.

Procurement consultant vs purchasing manager overview

	Procurement Consultant	Purchasing Manager
Yearly salary	$81,254	$98,118
Hourly rate	$39.06	$47.17
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	38,005	30,430
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a procurement consultant do?

A procurement consultant is an individual who is an expert in purchasing or procurement. Your duties will include researching and analyzing the supply marketplace, developing business requirements, and managing supplier relationships in collaboration with internal stakeholders, and managing and negotiating supply agreements across all commodities and complexity. Additionally, you are expected to participate in market intelligence analysis and assess productivity, costs, and demand patterns by collecting and interpreting data. As a procurement consultant, you are also responsible for managing and negotiating supply agreements.

What does a purchasing manager do?

A purchasing manager is responsible for organizing and managing products to order or sell. Purchasing managers review product specifications, negotiate pricing details with the vendors, evaluate and choose the best suppliers, and assist purchasing agents. Purchase managers are also responsible for resolving order processing issues and analyzing current market trends to determine which products to purchase. A purchasing manager must have excellent decision-making and strategical skills to examine effects, inspect defective items, and create an in-depth analysis of customers' needs to improve their performance and sales.

Procurement consultant vs purchasing manager salary

Procurement consultants and purchasing managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Procurement Consultant	Purchasing Manager
Average salary	$81,254	$98,118
Salary range	Between $64,000 And $101,000	Between $70,000 And $136,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	Maine
Best paying company	McKinsey & Company Inc	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between procurement consultant and purchasing manager education

There are a few differences between a procurement consultant and a purchasing manager in terms of educational background:

	Procurement Consultant	Purchasing Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Procurement consultant vs purchasing manager demographics

Here are the differences between procurement consultants' and purchasing managers' demographics:

	Procurement Consultant	Purchasing Manager
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 66.3% Female, 33.7%	Male, 67.0% Female, 33.0%
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, 9.2% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between procurement consultant and purchasing manager duties and responsibilities

Procurement consultant example responsibilities.

Manage RFI, RFQ and RTP process for all procurement, marketing and advertisement requirements.
Manage several SDLC phases for enterprise systems used by state government agencies to perform environmental and environmental management.
Train internal customers for creating purchase orders in Ariba.
Process NCQA/HEDIS audit contract requests through Ariba and DocuSign procurement systems.
Train and ongoing support of the VMI solution during and after go-live.
Work with the client to define procure-to-pay process that leverage the best practices of each business line.

Purchasing manager example responsibilities.

Manage payroll and accounts payable.
Lead major purchasing projects for automotive OEM vehicles.
Used RFI, RFP, RFQ techniques to identify, select, and engage with suppliers to ensure competitive market advantage.
Establish an integrate MRO supply program which eliminate specific company manage buying, inventory control and warehousing functions.
Manage all procurement activities to support manufacturing operations including raw materials, tooling, components and MRO services.
Manage several indirect sourcing RFP projects including categories for translation services, payroll services, capital equipment and engineering services.

Procurement consultant vs purchasing manager skills

Common procurement consultant skills

Strategic Sourcing, 9%
Procure-To-Pay, 7%
HR, 6%
Cost Savings, 6%
Business Process, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%

Common purchasing manager skills

Supply Chain, 15%
Strategic Sourcing, 7%
Project Management, 5%
Supplier Performance, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 4%
Purchase Orders, 4%

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Procurement Consultant vs Purchasing Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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