Written by Marijn Overvest | Reviewed by Sjoerd Goedhart | Fact Checked by Ruud Emonds | Our editorial policy
Procurement Analyst: Career Guide + Job Description (2025)
What is a procurement analyst?
- A procurement analyst evaluates suppliers/vendors to achieve their company’s purchasing goal.
- Procurement analysts oversee the procurement process and help companies by advising on the right suppliers and products.
- A procurement analyst optimizes business operations by securing cost savings, fostering strong supplier relationships, and ensuring efficient acquisition of resources.
What is a Procurement Analyst?
A procurement analyst evaluates suppliers/vendors to achieve their company’s purchasing goal. This role’s duties include vendor engagement and product testing. The process helps the company’s procurement team avoid supply and product uncertainties. All while achieving goals and objectives. Other procurement specialist duties include the following:
In my experience as a procurement manager and lead procurement analyst at Ahold Delhaize and Royal Friesland Campina, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with various sourcing analysts.
To start with a misconception about procurement analysts: analysts are not assistants and have a completely different profile and level of expertise. The similarity is that both are supportive of the Procurement Manager.
The difference is that a procurement analyst does this, among other things, by conducting various analyses that help the procurement manager in their negotiations.
Two great examples from my experience are as follows:
1. For preparations for negotiations, our team created a tool to track relevant raw materials. When procurement managers negotiated, they could counter suppliers if they came with price increases.
2. Another tool that built on this was the cost breakdown we created so that procurement managers could even see at the product level what a good price would be. In both cases, I am convinced that we added a lot of value, and every company should consider how procurement analysts can add value to a business.
Procurement Analyst Job Description Template
Job Title: Procurement Analyst
Location: [Insert location]
Reports to: [Insert name and title of supervisor]
A procurement analyst is a professional responsible for assessing and choosing suppliers for a company. They assist organizations in finding suitable suppliers when external items, materials, or services are needed.
Key Responsibilities:
- Identifying the supplies or materials needed for company operations.
- Researching potential suppliers for required items or materials.
- Assessing suppliers based on pricing, shipping times, and product quality.
- Testing new items to ensure they meet quality standards.
- Communicating with suppliers regarding purchases.
- Negotiating prices and terms of purchase.
- Managing procurement contracts between the company and suppliers.
- Tracking invoices and costs through recordkeeping.
- Reviewing costs to align with budget requirements and enhance supply chain efficiency.
- Monitoring supply demands to maintain adequate inventory for production or operations.
KPIs for this role
- Compliance rate: Compliance rate refers to the procurement analyst’s level of adherence to rules or regulations.
- PO accuracy: Low purchase order (PO) accuracy results in increased operating costs.
- Rate of emergency purchases: The emergency purchase ratio is the proportion of unplanned purchases to total purchases within a specific timeframe.
- Supplier lead time: Supplier lead time is the duration between order receipt and shipment.
- Spend under management: Spend under management indicates the portion of procurement spend controlled or overseen by management.
- Procurement ROI: Procurement ROI assesses the profitability and cost-effectiveness of procurement investments.
Key Skills and Qualifications:
- A Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Accounting, Business administration, or related field
- Experience in supply chain management is advantageous
- Familiarity with SAP ERP software
- Strong organizational skills
Procurement Analyst Responsibilities & Tasks
- Identifying the supplies or materials needed for company operations.
- Researching potential suppliers for required items or materials.
- Assessing suppliers based on pricing, shipping times, and product quality.
- Testing new items to ensure they meet quality standards.
- Communicating with suppliers regarding purchases.
- Negotiating prices and terms of purchase.
- Managing procurement contracts between the company and suppliers.
- Tracking invoices and costs through recordkeeping.
- Reviewing costs to align with budget requirements and enhance supply chain efficiency.
- Monitoring supply demands to maintain adequate inventory for production or operations.
Procurement Analyst Skills Description
- Analytical reasoning: Procurement analysts evaluate suppliers and product information, comparing factors like costs and shipping times.
- Communication: They collaborate with supply chain and finance teams to determine supply needs and budget guidelines, and regularly communicate with suppliers.
- Negotiation: Procurement analysts negotiate prices for goods or services to find the best deals.
- Decision-making skills: They decide which products and suppliers are best for the company’s budget and objectives.
- Technical knowledge: Procurement analysts use industry-specific knowledge about items, materials, and production processes to make informed decisions.
Procurement Analyst KPIs
- Compliance rate: Compliance rate refers to the procurement analyst’s level of adherence to rules or regulations.
- PO accuracy: Low purchase order (PO) accuracy results in increased operating costs.
- Rate of emergency purchases: The emergency purchase ratio is the proportion of unplanned purchases to total purchases within a specific timeframe.
- Supplier lead time: Supplier lead time is the duration between order receipt and shipment.
- Spend under management: Spend under management indicates the portion of procurement spend controlled or overseen by management.
- Procurement ROI: Procurement ROI assesses the profitability and cost-effectiveness of procurement investments.
Salary of a Procurement Analyst
This is the part that everyone is always excited about when it comes to procurement analysts. So, just how much money do procurement analysts make?
According to Indeed, a US Procurement Analyst’s average annual salary is $82,224. The top-performing procurement analysts though make as high as $125,668. On the other hand, the procurement analysts who are not performing well are still making a good wage at $53,798.
While in The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows an average of more than $60,000 per year. The information is also similar for procurement-related sectors.
The Qualifications of a Procurement Analyst
In performing the procurement analyst role, you need a diverse skill set. This skill set helps you traverse the complex procurement landscape. Below are the following skills you’ll need:
- A procurement analyst must excel in data analysis and data interpretation. This skill helps teams identify procurement trends and drive decision-making.
- Analysts must create actionable reports to guide companies with their insights. This skill helps companies process their procurement performance.
- These analysts must understand how ERP systems work in tandem with modern procurement. This process makes the data flow smoother and data management easier.
- Opportunity identification is crucial for analysts in improving efficiency and recognizing cost values.
Your educational attainment must match the procurement analyst career path. This alignment makes the work transition smoother. A bachelor’s degree emphasizes this value. Also, it serves as proof of dedication to the career. Additionally, employers also look for degree-holders in the following:
- Engineering
- Accounting
- Business
- Finance
The financial knowledge from these degrees can improve cost-related aspects of the work. Learning communication skills are also integral in this procurement role. It helps these individuals maintain communication lines smoothly. This process prevents misunderstanding and uncertainties. Moreover, it has a positive impact on supplier relationships.
Candidates must also engage in on-the-job training after the educational task before graduating. This training lasts over one year with procurement analysts learning basic procurement duties. It includes using SAP business management software and spreadsheet analysis.
How to Find a Procurement Analyst Job?
Today, searching for a job opportunity is easy. With the push of technology, everything is smoother. You need to open your laptop, type the job title in the search box, and many job opportunities will pop up.
Additionally, various websites can help you find a procurement analyst job. Select the one that suits you well. Here are some job websites that we recommend:
1. Indeed
Indeed is the most popular job website in the world. It has many job listings which you can check to apply. Additionally, it is free but you need to create an account. You’ll receive vital information, boosting your job-searching tasks!
2. Glassdoor
Glassdoor is another efficient and effective job-finding website. It enables you to see the salary and employer information.
It also shows employee reviews of a company to help you decide whether you want to apply for that company.
It is also free of use but you need to create an account if you want to receive email alerts and upload your resume.
3. Foundit
Foundit, formerly known as Monster, helps you to find the dream job that you want. Like Indeed, it caters to job seekers from all experience levels and work styles.
Just like the two websites we mentioned earlier, it is free. But, you need to have an account for you to save job positions. Also, save search queries, and sign up for email alerts when new jobs appear on the website.
1st Procurement Expert’s Advice on Procurement Analyst
Before you continue reading, check these insights from a seasoned procurement professional regarding procurement analyst.
Sjoerd Goedhart
Owner, Goedhart Interim Management & Consultancy
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjoerdgoedhart/
1. Can you share a personal example of being a procurement analyst? What can readers learn from it?
“I worked during the Ukraine crisis for a big food retailer. The impact of the crisis was huge and many A-brand and private-label suppliers wanted to intermediate increase their prices.
To avoid paying too much price increase, it’s essential to have a good understanding of the impact of the crises on the supplier and to know exactly what the impact per product is.
In this situation, the role of a procurement analyst is essential to have his/her knowledge about this topic, the input during the preparations, and their point of view on what is realistic to pay and what is not, and to have this person besides during the negotiation with the supplier.”
2. What should readers know about procurement analysis?
“I will help a lot to have well-qualified procurement analysts in the procurement team. The position of procurement analyst is a very good basis for becoming a successful procurement officer.”
3. What is the biggest misconception about procurement analysts? What do most people get wrong about it?
“In my opinion, is that people think that the position of procurement analyst is a sort of assistant to the procurement officer. This is not! A procurement analyst is leading in analyzing trends and developments, informing and guiding the procurement officers in their (negotiation) strategy.”
4. What are the key skills and tools a procurement analyst should master in today’s market?
“Today it’s important to have interest in and knowledge about the raw material markets. A procurement analyst should have a deep understanding of the dynamics of the raw material market.”
5. How has the role of a procurement analyst evolved with the advent of digital transformation?
“Driven by digital development, the role has evolved because there are many more digital tools available to capture data, but also an increase in the available data.
It becomes important, therefore, to determine which data is truly relevant and how to capture it to have the right management information and translate it into strategy and actions.
With the rise of AI, there will once again be a rapid development in the role of a procurement analyst, as AI makes certain tasks obsolete but also requires new skills and provides new insights that need to be translated into strategy and action.”
6. Is there a difference between a procurement specialist and a procurement analyst?
“A procurement analyst is more focused on analyzing data and optimizing procurement processes. A procurement specialist focuses on the research for suppliers of goods and services, asking for quotes, proposals, purchase terms and conditions, and executes the purchase of goods or services approved by management.”
7. In practice, what is the main job of a procurement analyst?
“To support a procurement officer in analyzing the supplier market, its trends, and dynamics, consolidate relevant information about suppliers, and support the officer in preparation for the negotiations.”
2nd Procurement Expert’s Advice on Procurement Analyst
For this article, we asked another experienced procurement expert to share her insights to help answer common questions about procurement analysts.
Faiza Iftikhar
Co-Founder, Procura
Pakistan
LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/faiza-iftikhar
1. Can you give us an example of what you did when you were a procurement analyst?
“Yes, there are very fluctuations in the dollar. Mostly Pakistan does import It looks like Pakistan is a consumer country so it’s very important to make a buffer stock. Order on time is very important. And know the supplier trends in Pakistan. Make a scorecard for the supplier.
Always must have alternate suppliers and must know the capabilities of suppliers. And further I would have analyzed purchasing data, identified cost-saving opportunities, assessed supplier performance, and recommended procurement process improvements based on data-driven insights.”
2. What does it like to be a procurement analyst?
“Being a procurement analyst is a highly challenging role as it involves navigating numerous obstacles to secure high-quality products at competitive prices.
Supplier evaluation and lead time management are critical aspects of this challenge. The role demands a keen ability to analyze data, assess supplier performance, and optimize procurement processes to achieve cost savings while ensuring the availability of essential goods and services.”
3. What’s the most important lesson you learned as a procurement analyst?
“Procurement analyst is the significance of data accuracy and analysis in making informed decisions and achieving cost savings in procurement processes.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the role of a procurement analyst offers a promising career path with its accompanying responsibilities requiring dedication and commitment. From vendor evaluation and supply chain management to negotiation skills, aspiring procurement analysts must possess a diverse skill set.
Leveraging industry resources. popular job websites and continuous learning can help aspiring procurement analysts build their careers and be successful in the industry.
Now that you have finished reading the article, I want to share that I created a free-to-download PDF file about everything you need to learn about a procurement analyst.
Frequentlyasked questions
What is a procurement analyst?
A procurement analyst is someone who checks the supplies and decides who to get the supplies from for the company.
How to become a procurement analyst?
To become a procurement analyst, you need to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business, or Finance. You also need to have good conversation and negotiation skills.
What is the salary of a procurement analyst?
According to Indeed, the average salary of a procurement analyst is $82,224 per year while the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows an average of more than $60,000 per year.
About the author
My name is Marijn Overvest, I’m the founder of Procurement Tactics. I have a deep passion for procurement, and I’ve upskilled over 200 procurement teams from all over the world. When I’m not working, I love running and cycling.
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