Purchasing Agent Responsibilities

The purchasing agents are the people responsible for purchasing the durable and nondurable farm products for their organizations and institutions. They are assigned for getting the best deal for their organization by delivering high quality goods and services at a lowest cost. They study the sale records and inventory levels of the current stock and manage the changes in supply and demand of the products and materials. They also consider the price, reliability, quality, availability, and technical support while choosing the suppliers. The purchasing agents are considered to have effective technical knowledge of the goods and services to be bought.

One of the purchasing agent responsibilities is evaluating the suppliers by undertaking the lean manufacturing schedule and using the just in time inventories. This helps in avoiding any delays in the supply chain and possibly costs the organization's customers. The purchasing agents also keep a track of various potential suppliers by attending meetings, trade shows, and conferences. The shows and conferences also help them in understanding new industry trends. The purchasing agents may also visit the plants and distribution centers of the prospective suppliers to assess their capabilities.

The purchasing agents also deal with various issues such as the design of products, quality concerns, shipping issues, and the receiving department. They are also responsible for delivering the desired goods and services on time with good quality and quantity as mentioned during the deal. The purchasing agent field will help you to build a great career. The key skills and job responsibilities sections below will help you gain adequate information about the purchasing agent field and choose it as a career option.

Key Skills Required For Purchasing Agent

A purchasing agent must be well experienced in managing people and all the levels of organization. Following are some of the most common key skills of a purchasing agent:

Expert in managing people
Experience of managing all levels of organization
Subject matter expertise development
Supplier relationship management
Expert skills in project management
Achieving the delivery of the decided targets
Knowledge about the end to end procurement process
Flexible approach and ability to manage any change effectively
Building effective relationships at all levels
Expert in managing and resolving conflicts
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
Able to work under any pressurized situations

Job Responsibilities For Purchasing Agent

A purchasing agent is responsible for buying any goods, materials, and services needed for the company to effectively continue the production of the company. Following are some of the purchasing agent responsibilities:

Meeting the dealers and agents and preparing the purchase orders for the required goods
Forwarding the available inventory items by verifying the stocks and scheduling the delivery
Evaluating the suppliers based on the quality, price, and the delivery speed
Interviewing the suppliers and visit the plants and supplying offices for checking and confirming the orders
Verifying the receipts of the items and comparing the items received and resolve any errors in the shipments
Keeping the information accessible by maintaining worksheets and filing documents
Performing the purchase planning by collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data and trends
Keeping track of the changing market trends
Updating the job knowledge by undertaking educational opportunities
Accomplishing the organization's requirements by completing the related results as needed

Career Details

The purchasing agents are required in all the important industries like hospitals, large cooperation, businesses, schools, etc. Thus, it is one of the most blooming fields to start a career with. Many organizations require a large number of purchasing agents to meet their daily needs. To start a career as a purchasing agent, one must possess all the above mentioned key skills and at least a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Salary

A purchasing agent may get an annual average salary in the range of $39000 to $67000. However, this salary may depend upon the industry the employee is working in and the department he or she is handling.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor, the purchasing agent field is one of the highly growing fields and going to reach its peak by the year 2016. Thus, the purchasing agent has a beautiful career to start with. The above information about the purchasing agent will definitely help you in planning your career.

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