Purchasing buyer vs purchase analyst

The differences between purchasing buyers and purchase analysts 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 buyer, becoming a purchase analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a purchase analyst has an average salary of $64,581, which is higher than the $47,471 average annual salary of a purchasing buyer.

The top three skills for a purchasing buyer include purchase orders, logistics and cost savings. The most important skills for a purchase analyst are purchase orders, supplier performance, and continuous improvement.

Purchasing buyer vs purchase analyst overview

	Purchasing Buyer	Purchase Analyst
Yearly salary	$47,471	$64,581
Hourly rate	$22.82	$31.05
Growth rate	-	11%
Number of jobs	21,158	88,542
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	48	44
Years of experience	6	4

What does a purchasing buyer do?

In a retail setting, a purchasing buyer is primarily responsible for devising strategies for procuring supplies, ensuring that it aligns with the company's needs and standards. They are also responsible for conducting thorough marketing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather and process documentation, liaising and negotiating with vendors and suppliers, and keeping track of all purchasing orders to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Furthermore, as a purchasing buyer, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions and submit regular reports to supervisors.

What does a purchase analyst do?

A purchase analyst is responsible for looking at the market outlook and determining what and when to buy when ordering supplies. They are responsible for making an investment in a product or technology, and contracting with vendors. You have varied duties and responsibilities that include researching product prices and comparisons, determining price history and cost-effectiveness, and providing leadership for logistics, resource management decisions, and sourcing. You will also be responsible for purchasing equipment from suppliers and working closely with leadership to develop sourcing strategies.

Purchasing buyer vs purchase analyst salary

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

	Purchasing Buyer	Purchase Analyst
Average salary	$47,471	$64,581
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $62,000	Between $42,000 And $98,000
Highest paying City	Goleta, CA	Milford, MA
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Aramco Services Company	MPS Horticulture
Best paying industry	Automotive	Retail

Differences between purchasing buyer and purchase analyst education

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

	Purchasing Buyer	Purchase Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Purchasing buyer vs purchase analyst demographics

Here are the differences between purchasing buyers' and purchase analysts' demographics:

	Purchasing Buyer	Purchase Analyst
Average age	48	44
Gender ratio	Male, 41.9% Female, 58.1%	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 10.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	12%

Differences between purchasing buyer and purchase analyst duties and responsibilities

Purchasing buyer example responsibilities.

Manage the development of RFP process per departmental and legal requirements.
Create and manage requisitions, code billing statements and reconcile monthly bills in PeopleSoft.
Manage logistics and materials receive for appropriate quantities, timeliness and accuracy to complete project project.
Complete request for quotation (RFQ), design reviews, and advance product quality planning (APQP).
Used MRP to track and develop orders for electronic and mechanical commodities for high volume 32,000 a day unit product.
Make purchasing decisions base on the examination and recommendations of the ERP planning system and issuing and maintaining supplier purchase orders.

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Purchase analyst example 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.
Manage and determine obsolete and/or slow moving inventory for all above mention commodities.
Manage factory activities for key commodities encompassing resource management in materials and production.

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Purchasing buyer vs purchase analyst skills

Common purchasing buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 29%
Logistics, 6%
Cost Savings, 5%
ERP, 4%
MRP, 4%
RFQ, 4%

Common purchase analyst skills

Purchase Orders, 13%
Supplier Performance, 11%
Continuous Improvement, 5%
ERP, 5%
Cost Analysis, 5%
Logistics, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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