Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between procurement supervisors 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 supervisor and a senior purchasing agent. Additionally, a senior purchasing agent has an average salary of $73,386, which is higher than the $72,602 average annual salary of a procurement supervisor.
The top three skills for a procurement supervisor include logistics, purchase orders and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a senior purchasing agent are purchase orders, project management, and supplier relationships.
| Procurement Supervisor | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $72,602 | $73,386 |
| Hourly rate | $34.90 | $35.28 |
| Growth rate | 11% | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 16,985 | 43,833 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Procurement supervisors are professionals who supervise the activities and work of procurement personnel while participating in the implementation of goals and priorities for an organization's procurement activities and operations. These supervisors are required to conduct technical audits on logistics equipment and analyze logistics data to identify opportunities for improvement in performance and output. They must implement an inventory management system that will reduce inventory shortages while increasing turn rates. Procurement supervisors must also prepare purchase orders for goods and services to improve customer satisfaction.
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 supervisors and senior purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Procurement Supervisor | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Average salary | $72,602 | $73,386 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $100,000 | Between $52,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Everett, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | Natera | Levi Strauss & Co. |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between a procurement supervisor and a senior purchasing agent in terms of educational background:
| Procurement Supervisor | 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 |
Here are the differences between procurement supervisors' and senior purchasing agents' demographics:
| Procurement Supervisor | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2% | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.1% 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% |