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The differences between supply chain specialists and senior purchasing 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 specialist and a senior purchasing agent. Additionally, a senior purchasing agent has an average salary of $73,386, which is higher than the $71,414 average annual salary of a supply chain specialist.
The top three skills for a supply chain specialist include supply chain, logistics and chain management. The most important skills for a senior purchasing agent are purchase orders, project management, and supplier relationships.
| Supply Chain Specialist | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $71,414 | $73,386 |
| Hourly rate | $34.33 | $35.28 |
| Growth rate | 28% | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 25,129 | 43,833 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
It is the responsibility of the supply chain specialist to procure materials to manufacture and ship products. The supply chain specialist determines and orders the proper quantities and negotiates pricing and their shipment terms. They oversee the delivery of necessary materials for the fulfillment of orders made by customers. The specialists need to develop strong skills in project management, business ethics, problem-solving, understanding of financial statements, communication skills, and cost accounting skills.
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.
Supply chain specialists and senior purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Supply Chain Specialist | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Average salary | $71,414 | $73,386 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $102,000 | Between $52,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Meta | Levi Strauss & Co. |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between a supply chain specialist and a senior purchasing agent in terms of educational background:
| Supply Chain Specialist | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between supply chain specialists' and senior purchasing agents' demographics:
| Supply Chain Specialist | Senior Purchasing Agent | |
| Average age | 47 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.6% Female, 41.4% | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 7% |