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The differences between supply chain planners and procurement agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a supply chain planner and a procurement agent. Additionally, a supply chain planner has an average salary of $80,668, which is higher than the $72,384 average annual salary of a procurement agent.
The top three skills for a supply chain planner include supply chain, customer service and supply chain planning. The most important skills for a procurement agent are supply chain, strategic sourcing, and supplier performance.
| Supply Chain Planner | Procurement Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $80,668 | $72,384 |
| Hourly rate | $38.78 | $34.80 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 36,145 | 45,198 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
The job of supply chain planners, or logisticians, is to plan, develop, and schedule project management tools in support of an organization's operations. They are responsible for managing and monitoring inventories, forecasting production and sales levels, and tracking response time and delivery performance. Other duties include analyzing the levels of finished products, developing and monitoring production plans, and generating reports. Supply chain planners are also responsible for supervising other team members and ensuring that customer service best practices are followed.
A procurement agent develops profitable measures to save the client money and ensure the quality of goods supplied. Procurement agents obtain the purchased items through suppliers, monitor them, and expedite the orders. They oversee the activities and performance of the suppliers for compliance. Their duties include the verification of item receipts, resolving shipment-related problems, and authorizing purchase payments through documentation. The necessary skills for this job include being accomplished, decisive, and strong communication skills.
Supply chain planners and procurement agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Supply Chain Planner | Procurement Agent | |
| Average salary | $80,668 | $72,384 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $110,000 | Between $49,000 And $106,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a supply chain planner and a procurement agent in terms of educational background:
| Supply Chain Planner | Procurement Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between supply chain planners' and procurement agents' demographics:
| Supply Chain Planner | Procurement Agent | |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% | Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 7% |