Have you ever asked yourself, ?What is a purchasing agent?? Maybe you have seen the question, ?What is a purchasing agent?? online before, or you yourself has wondered what a purchasing agent job description looks like. If you or your company has ever needed to find a certain product or service and it involved a wholesale distribution or a large organization, you have probably dealt with a purchasing agent. If you chose not to use one, you might do differently in the future after learning about purchasing agents.
You are probably still wondering how a purchasing agent is involved with your purchase of goods or services from large organizations, though. Why is there the need for a middleman in the purchase? Keep reading to get the answer to your question, ?What is a purchasing agent?? and to find out one specific job a purchasing agent can have.
So, what is a purchasing agent?
Purchasing agents act as the middlemen when people want to buy goods or services from an organization or a wholesale distribution center. They take over the role of managing that purchase whether it be finding the best items, selecting the items, finding the best deals and more. It is generally easier than having someone at your company take time away from their role in the business to find and order products or services needed temporarily or permanently. That is why hiring a purchasing agent might save you money, time and energy in the long run.
So, what types of jobs can a purchasing agent have?
There are plenty of jobs that purchasing agents can find for different companies and organizations. One way that purchasing agents can help is by managing the procuring and ordering of products that require air and ocean cargo. When you purchase something nationally or internationally that needs shipping, you can choose to ship using cargo airlines. These airlines only ship cargo, not people.
Just like how helpful a purchasing agent can be for your company, air cargo services are helpful when it comes to shipping your items. They manage the flow of the products from purchase to end destination. The air cargo industry is continuing to prosper in the United States as it made nearly $75.4 billion in revenue in 2013, according to IBIS World research.
Additionally, this type of shipping helps items that a purchasing agent buys get to their destination quicker and more safely. Using cargo airlines means there is a decrease in time as there are less connections and less interruptions. This, therefore, provides a safer trip for your products. They are less likely to get damaged if there are fewer interruptions, delays and stops.
Whether you work for a company that purchases products and services from distributors frequently or you are simply interested in finding out what a purchasing agent does, hopefully now you are aware of the benefits of using a purchasing agent, especially when it comes to air and ocean logistics for shipping.
Have you ever wondered, ?What is a purchasing agent?? Let us know in the comments what your experience with ordering large shipments is.