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The differences between strategic buyers 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 strategic buyer, becoming a buyer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a strategic buyer has an average salary of $74,725, which is higher than the $54,049 average annual salary of a buyer.
The top three skills for a strategic buyer include supply chain, purchase orders and strategic sourcing. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.
| Strategic Buyer | Buyer | |
| Yearly salary | $74,725 | $54,049 |
| Hourly rate | $35.93 | $25.99 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 23,156 | 23,589 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 48 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A strategic buyer defines detailed plans and objectives for each project as per the organization and business unit purchasing strategies. Besides undertaking benchmarking and updating activity and project progress, strategic buyers also control the supply chain actions and supply chain risks to keep the supply chain secure. Also, these professionals negotiate favorable, effective, and precise terms and conditions as per the rules. Moreover, strategic buyers control the projects' risks and create an effective action plan to achieve all project objectives.
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.
Strategic buyers and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Strategic Buyer | Buyer | |
| Average salary | $74,725 | $54,049 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $109,000 | Between $37,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Pleasanton, CA | Englewood, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Entegris | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a strategic buyer and a buyer in terms of educational background:
| Strategic Buyer | Buyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between strategic buyers' and buyers' demographics:
| Strategic Buyer | Buyer | |
| Average age | 48 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% | Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1% |
| 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, 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% |