purchaser
Purchasers select and purchase stock, materials, services or goods. They organise tender procedures and select suppliers.
purchaser purchasers select and purchase stock, materials, services or goods. They organise tender procedures and select suppliers. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include embargo regulations, export control principles, international import export regulations, supply chain management, identify suppliers.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £37,306 a year for Buyers and procurement officers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £30,065 to £46,937 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3551). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only purchaser, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 3. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- English Language
- Law and Government
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Administrative
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Economics and Accounting
What you'd actually do
- Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
- Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
- Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
- Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
- Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
- Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does purchaser do?
Purchasers select and purchase stock, materials, services or goods. They organise tender procedures and select suppliers.
What skills does purchaser need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include embargo regulations, export control principles, international import export regulations, supply chain management, identify suppliers, maintain relationship with customers. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace purchaser?
Our AI-durability model gives purchaser a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.