How To Become A Purchase Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a purchase analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Purchase analysts may also be referred to as procurement analysts, agents, or administrators. They are hired by businesses and associations to buy products or services from bulk dealers, suppliers, or other service providers. They also focus heavily on observation, decision-making, and leadership skills to determine which product or service better fits their needs.

The key role of the purchase analysts is to assess suppliers based on price, cost, supply, efficiency, and technical assistance. They would then contract the required good or services to be shipped. Analysts collaborate with other teams to recognize corporate requirements by engaging in specifications like studying sales reports, inventory trends, reprocessing times, and product lead time.

Although small firms can recruit candidates without formal experience, most large firms favor college graduates with a background in engineering, industry, accounting, or finance. Some companies may prefer professional experience with computers, Microsoft Office, spreadsheet analysis, and SAP business management software. Some employers may pursue candidates with an apprenticeship in the sector in which the employer specializes; for example, a retailer may seek an engineering degree from purchase analysts.

ScorePurchase AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,581

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 10.62%

Black or African American 8.36%

Hispanic or Latino 9.10%

Unknown 4.52%

White 67.23%

Gender

female 54.16%

male 45.84%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a purchase analyst

Explore purchase analyst education requirements

Most common purchase analyst degrees

Bachelor's

69.6 %

Associate

13.0 %

Master's

11.5 %

Start to develop specific purchase analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Purchase Orders	12.70%
Supplier Performance	11.43%
Continuous Improvement	5.09%
ERP	4.66%
Cost Analysis	4.57%

Complete relevant purchase analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New purchase analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a purchase analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real purchase analyst resumes.

Research purchase analyst duties and responsibilities

Transport purchases and contract and manage carriers (freight forwarders in order to arrange and manage the transportation of purchases.
Write RFI and RFP documents and manage the process for each.
Compile and manage the RFP excel database containing incumbent supplier pricing and alternative supplier pricing.
Manage purchasing data within proprietary applications and ERP systems with accuracy.

Prepare your purchase analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your purchase analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a purchase analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable purchase analyst resume templates

Build a professional purchase analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your purchase analyst resume.