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The differences between senior purchasing agents and senior 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 senior purchasing agent and a senior purchasing manager. Additionally, a senior purchasing manager has an average salary of $109,837, which is higher than the $73,386 average annual salary of a senior purchasing agent.
The top three skills for a senior purchasing agent include purchase orders, project management and supplier relationships. The most important skills for a senior purchasing manager are supply chain, purchase orders, and logistics.
| Senior Purchasing Agent | Senior Purchasing Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $73,386 | $109,837 |
| Hourly rate | $35.28 | $52.81 |
| Growth rate | -6% | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 43,833 | 19,183 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 48 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
A senior purchasing manager is responsible for spearheading and overseeing the efforts in purchasing supplies for a company. They are in charge of managing purchasing teams, gathering purchase requests, identifying the company's needs, and setting goals in adherence to the budget. They must also liaise with vendors and suppliers, negotiate contracts, and build positive relationships with them. Furthermore, as a senior manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Senior purchasing agents and senior purchasing managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Purchasing Agent | Senior Purchasing Manager | |
| Average salary | $73,386 | $109,837 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $103,000 | Between $79,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Levi Strauss & Co. | Tonix Pharmaceuticals |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior purchasing agent and a senior purchasing manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Purchasing Agent | Senior Purchasing Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior purchasing agents' and senior purchasing managers' demographics:
| Senior Purchasing Agent | Senior Purchasing Manager | |
| Average age | 48 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |