Purchasing administrator vs buyer

The differences between purchasing administrators and buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a purchasing administrator, becoming a buyer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a buyer has an average salary of $54,049, which is higher than the $40,133 average annual salary of a purchasing administrator.

The top three skills for a purchasing administrator include purchase orders, invoice and data entry. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.

Purchasing administrator vs buyer overview

	Purchasing Administrator	Buyer
Yearly salary	$40,133	$54,049
Hourly rate	$19.29	$25.99
Growth rate	-8%	-
Number of jobs	63,681	23,589
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	6	-

What does a purchasing administrator do?

A purchasing administrator is primarily in charge of overseeing a company's purchasing procedures. As a purchasing administrator, it is their duty to monitor the company's inventory of supplies, gather and analyze purchase requests, and process purchase orders, resolving issues should there be any. They must also negotiate with vendors and suppliers, building positive relationships with them. Furthermore, as a purchasing administrator, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions, producing progress reports regularly for a smooth and efficient workflow.

What does a buyer do?

A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.

Purchasing administrator vs buyer salary

Purchasing administrators and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Purchasing Administrator	Buyer
Average salary	$40,133	$54,049
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $53,000	Between $37,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Englewood, NJ
Highest paying state	Washington	New Jersey
Best paying company	Rivian	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	Health Care	Automotive

Differences between purchasing administrator and buyer education

There are a few differences between a purchasing administrator and a buyer in terms of educational background:

	Purchasing Administrator	Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Purchasing administrator vs buyer demographics

Here are the differences between purchasing administrators' and buyers' demographics:

	Purchasing Administrator	Buyer
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 24.0% Female, 76.0%	Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 75.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	15%

Differences between purchasing administrator and buyer duties and responsibilities

Purchasing administrator example responsibilities.

Manage the RFP preparation and analysis, cost negotiations, and vendor performance management.
Manage logistics and materials receive for appropriate quantities, timeliness and accuracy to complete project project.
Resolve RMA s on all engineering material.
Schedule product delivery against customer needs and MRP.
Administer the ISO 9001 and vendor performance evaluation process.
Maintain and update supplier master information in the ERP system.

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Buyer example responsibilities.

Achieve QA initiatives by increasing transparency and communication with multiple departments and suppliers to achieve daily/weekly/monthly production requirements and expedites.
Manage all incoming RMA equipment, processing and directing to correct locations and departments.
Create, analyze and manage recaps pertaining to inventory, trends, OTB, and markdowns.
Manage KanBan spreadsheets to optimize inventory levels and supplier performance.
Manage business relationship with Japanese OEM of wide-format printer engines.
Manage MRB and IQA escalations to facilitate defective material resolutions.

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Purchasing administrator vs buyer skills

Common purchasing administrator skills

Purchase Orders, 33%
Invoice, 10%
Data Entry, 10%
ERP, 4%
Office Equipment, 2%
Credit Card, 2%

Common buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 22%
Customer Service, 11%
Logistics, 5%
Supplier Performance, 4%
MRP, 4%
Commodities, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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