Career profile Purchasing Agent

Table of Contents

• What does a Purchasing Agent do?
• What is a typical salary for a Purchasing Agent?
• What personality traits are common among Purchasing Agents?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Purchasing Agents need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Purchasing Agent do?

Purchasing Agents purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment.

In addition, Purchasing Agents

• purchase raw or semifinished materials for manufacturing,
• may negotiate contracts.

What kind of tasks does a Purchasing Agent perform regularly?

Purchasing Agents are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
• Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
• Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives.
• Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
• Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
• Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
• Hire, train, or supervise purchasing clerks, buyers, and expediters.
• Maintain and review computerized or manual records of purchased items, costs, deliveries, product performance, and inventories.
• Research and evaluate suppliers, based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier's reputation and history.
• Confer with staff, users, and vendors to discuss defective or unacceptable goods or services and determine corrective action.
• Evaluate and monitor contract performance to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and to determine need for changes.
• Monitor shipments to ensure that goods come in on time, and resolve problems related to undelivered goods.
• Study sales records and inventory levels of current stock to develop strategic purchasing programs that facilitate employee access to supplies.
• Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
• Review catalogs, industry periodicals, directories, trade journals, and Internet sites and consult with other department personnel to locate necessary goods and services.
• Monitor changes affecting supply and demand, tracking market conditions, price trends, or futures markets.
• Interview vendors and visit suppliers' plants and distribution centers to examine and learn about products, services, and prices.
• Arrange the payment of duty and freight charges.
• Attend meetings, trade shows, conferences, conventions, and seminars to network with people in other purchasing departments.

The above responsibilities are specific to Purchasing Agents. More generally, Purchasing Agents are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Purchasing Agent salary?

What personality traits are common among Purchasing Agents?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Purchasing Agent are usually higher in their Conventional and Enterprising interests.

Purchasing Agents typically have very strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Also, Purchasing Agents typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Purchasing Agent tend to value Working Conditions, Relationships, and Support.

Most importantly, Purchasing Agents strongly value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Second, Purchasing Agents moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Purchasing Agents moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Purchasing Agents must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, attention to detail, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Purchasing Agents, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Purchasing Agents need?

Many Purchasing Agents will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Purchasing Agents usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Purchasing Agents

• 2.8% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 19.9% completed high school or secondary school
• 24.1% completed some college coursework
• 10.2% earned a Associate's degree
• 34.2% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 8.0% earned a Master's degree
• 0.8% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Purchasing Agents

Important Abilities needed by Purchasing Agents

Purchasing Agents must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Purchasing Agents need abilities such as written comprehension, oral comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Purchasing Agents, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Purchasing Agents

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Purchasing Agents frequently use skills like reading comprehension, negotiation, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Purchasing Agents, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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