Procurement and purchasing agents and officers
Career Overview
Purchasing agents and officers buy the supplies and business services that their companies need to create their own goods and services.
People in this occupation:
- Assess the materials, equipment and service their organization needs and develop requirements for the units to be purchased
- Apply and sometimes determine policies for purchasing
- Help manage their organization's supply chain, since they plan which materials and services to purchase, and schedule when materials arrive
- Help the business save money and be more productive
- Are employed throughout the public and private sectors
- Possess good reasoning and judgment, and an ability to see the broad needs of the organization
- Have an interest in comparison shopping and strategic business planning, and have an understanding of corporate financial tasks
- Have excellent organization, customer service and communication skills and attention to detail
- Have a working knowledge of shipping, transportation, customs and tax regulations
Job Titles
Duties
Purchasing agents and officers:
- Purchase general and specialized equipment, materials or business services for use by their organization
- Assess requirements of an organization and develop specifications for equipment, materials and supplies to be purchased
- Invite supply offers, consult with suppliers and review quotations
- Determine or negotiate contract terms and conditions, award supplier contracts or recommend contract awards
- Establish delivery schedules, monitor progress and contact clients and suppliers to resolve problems
- Negotiate land acquisition or access rights for public or private use, and may conduct field investigations of properties
- May hire, train or supervise purchasing clerks
Special duties
Purchasing agents and officers may specialize in the purchase of particular materials or business services such as furniture or office equipment.
Earnings
Earnings is income that workers receive in exchange for their labour. Depending on the type of employment, earnings can be in the form of wages (hourly), salaries (fixed monthly or annual) or self-employed earnings.
Work Environment
# Workers Employed
5,155% Employed Full Time
78%Purchasing agents and officers work in offices of large organizations. Work is typically conducted during a regular Monday to Friday work week and some overtime and travel to trade shows may be required.
Organizations prefer to have purchasing agents and officers on staff, since jobs require an in-depth knowledge of their corporate requirements, budgets and policies. While some individuals work on a contract basis, very few in this field are self-employed.
Purchasing agents and officers do much of their work at computer workstations, issuing online purchase orders or using computerized information management systems to track orders and small projects.
Some purchasing agents and officers will spend time in different departments of their organization. They may work in suppliers' offices and in receiving areas as they gather information about sales records, inventory of stock and changes to the demand for certain materials or services.
Career Pathways
Purchasing agents and officers may hold entry level positions such as junior buyer, purchasing assistant, warehouse or logistics clerk, production administrator or material handler.
With experience, workers in this occupational group take on the responsibilities of placing larger orders and negotiating contracts. They may hold positions such as commodity manager, purchasing analyst or officer, supervisor, team lead, warehouse distribution supervisor, material requirement planner, or material manager. Purchasing agents and officers may specialize in the purchase of particular materials, furniture or office equipment, or the procurement of business services.
With more experience and further education, they may progress to occupations with stronger planning roles, such as purchasing manager or director, general manager of procurement or sourcing, vice- president of materials or supply chain management, warehouse manager, vice president of strategic sourcing, or chief procurement or supply chain officer.
Related Careers
Occupational Interests
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For more about occupational interests visit Skills for the Future Workforce > Characteristics.
Here are the top occupational interest(s) for this career profile:
Education, Training and Skills
- A bachelor's degree or college diploma in business administration, commerce or economics is usually required.
- Purchasing agents and officers purchasing specialized materials or business services may require a related university degree or college diploma. For example, a bachelor's degree or college diploma in engineering may be required for purchasers of industrial products.
- A certificate in purchasing from the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) may be required.
- Previous experience as a purchasing clerk or as an administrative clerk may be required.
- Certification from the International Right of Way Association (IRWA) may be required.
Education programs in B.C.
Top Skills
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 10 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Talking to others to share information effectively.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Convincing others to change their mind or behaviour.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Being able to solve novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Understanding how new information could be used to solve current and future problems in making decisions.
Keeping track of and assessing your performance, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Labour Market Statistics
Discover data, facts and information that have been gathered and analyzed. Learn about the characteristics of the economy and labour market in B.C.
Employment
Find out about employment types and trends by region and industry.
Employment
5,155Employment by Region
| Region | Employment | % Employment of this Occupation |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 160 | 3.1% |
| Kootenay | 100 | 1.9% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 3,370 | 65.4% |
| North Coast and Nechako | 60 | 1.2% |
| Northeast | 125 | 2.4% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 455 | 8.8% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 880 | 17.1% |
Labour Market Outlook
The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is a 10-year forecast of the expected supply and demand for labour in the province. It’s usually updated every year. The purpose is to provide British Columbians with the knowledge to make informed decisions on careers, skills training, education and hiring.
Forecasted Job Openings (2024-2034)
2,950Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2024-2034)
| Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 100 | 0.9% |
| Kootenay | 40 | 0.6% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 2,000 | 1.6% |
| North Coast and Nechako | Not available | Not available |
| Northeast | 70 | 1.3% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 300 | 0.8% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 430 | 0.7% |
Industry Highlights
Learn about the opportunities in B.C.'s major industries, including employment trends, earning potential, locations of work and more.
Forecasted Job Openings by Industry
| Industry | Job Openings (2024-2034) |
|---|---|
| Public Administration | 500 |
| Manufacturing | 470 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 330 |
| Wholesale Trade | 320 |
| Construction | 240 |
Insights from Industry
As the average age of those working in these occupations is older than the provincial average, it is expected that the majority of future openings will arise from retirements.
Industry sources report that the availability of online tools has resulted in decreased demand for workers in this occupation, since it now requires fewer people to do the same work. Currently, there appear to be more individuals looking for employment in the lower mainland than there are jobs available.
As Manufacturing industries employ a significant number of purchasing agents and officers, changes in these industries have a considerable impact on employment. In particular, manufacturing activity has experienced a regional shift in the past 20 years. Much of the physical plant operational capacity is now performed offshore, while the design, marketing and distribution facilities remain in the Lower Mainland region. Despite this shift in the Manufacturing industry, resource processing is still dominant in B.C., especially in northern B.C., where the province's pulp and paper mills, mineral processing plants, and petroleum and coal production plants are located.
Changes in the public sector have an effect on employment of purchasing agent. Industry sources report that fewer purchasing agents are needed in the public sector due to the declining importance of goods-acquisition. There is, however, an increasing need for service procurement specialists who work on much higher volumes of services procurement, which are often more complex acquisitions. These acquisitions require greater responsibility, independent decision-making and a wider range of skills.
Industry sources also report that the number of workers employed in supply chain management in the service sector in B.C. is growing, and has become larger than in other provinces. Technological changes have led purchasing agents and officers into more strategic supply management as they spend less time processing manual purchasing requests or doing more routine work of keeping record of past bids and offers and tracking supplier performance. Instead, these workers are able to spend more time consulting with product development teams. Employers will look for purchasing agents and officers with well developed strategic business planning skills and knowledge of office and supply management software.
Resources
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Canadian Supply Chain Management Associationwww.scmanational.ca
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Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC)www.pmac.ca
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Supply Chain Management Association of B.C.www.scmabc.ca