Contributing to Competitive Advantage

Many executives will agree that a focus on effective purchasing has become a critical way to gain competitive advantage. An indication of this enhanced status, reputation, and recognition is the higher salaries being paid to purchasing professionals. The most recent Inside Supply Management magazine salary survey showed an average annual income of $98,200.

Entry level professionals averaged $50,500 annually, supply managers $94,400, and those classified as vice presidents earned $226,500 per year. Having a bachelor’s degree counts, as they earned 60 percent more than colleagues with a high school degree and 20 percent more than those purchasers with an associate’s degree. Continuing education through certification also fattens the wallet. Those purchasers who attained their Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) earned 9 percent more than those without a CPSM designation.4 Additionally, an earlier survey found that purchasers continue to make more when compared to their colleagues in other related fields, such as logistics and engineering. This study also reported that bonuses averaged over 13 percent of base salaries.