Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between strategic buyers and 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 strategic buyer and a purchasing manager. Additionally, a purchasing manager has an average salary of $98,118, which is higher than the $74,725 average annual salary of a strategic buyer.
The top three skills for a strategic buyer include supply chain, purchase orders and strategic sourcing. The most important skills for a purchasing manager are supply chain, strategic sourcing, and project management.
| Strategic Buyer | Purchasing Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $74,725 | $98,118 |
| Hourly rate | $35.93 | $47.17 |
| Growth rate | - | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 23,156 | 30,430 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 48 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 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 purchasing manager is responsible for organizing and managing products to order or sell. Purchasing managers review product specifications, negotiate pricing details with the vendors, evaluate and choose the best suppliers, and assist purchasing agents. Purchase managers are also responsible for resolving order processing issues and analyzing current market trends to determine which products to purchase. A purchasing manager must have excellent decision-making and strategical skills to examine effects, inspect defective items, and create an in-depth analysis of customers' needs to improve their performance and sales.
Strategic buyers and purchasing managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Strategic Buyer | Purchasing Manager | |
| Average salary | $74,725 | $98,118 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $109,000 | Between $70,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | Pleasanton, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maine |
| Best paying company | Entegris | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a strategic buyer and a purchasing manager in terms of educational background:
| Strategic Buyer | Purchasing Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between strategic buyers' and purchasing managers' demographics:
| Strategic Buyer | Purchasing Manager | |
| Average age | 48 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% | Male, 67.0% Female, 33.0% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |