Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
Machines can already do 50% of this job's tasks. By 2035 that rises to 76%. Most of the work is changing now.
Share of the work machines can do
Worldwide baseline, 2026 to 2050
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products in 2026: the short answer
- Today: machines can do 50% of this job's tasks.
- Forecast: machines can already do half of its tasks, and 76% by 2035, according to the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit.
- Contact with people: it scores 73% for contact with people.
- Also called: Buyer, Contract Administrator (Contract Admin), Procurement and Contracting Administrator (Procurement and Contracting Admin), Procurement and Contracting Buyer.
Updated by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit. These are worldwide baseline figures; the Workforce Starburst shows them for your country. Go deeper: How ready am I? or an executive briefing.
How the work changes, task by task
The tasks that take up most of the day, with the share of each that machines can do in 2026 (dark) and 2035 (pink). Worldwide baseline.
| Task | Share of the day | Machines can do | 2026 to 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services | 16% | 58% to 88% | |
| Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives | 10% | 10% to 27% | |
| Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices | 9% | 60% to 90% | |
| Research and evaluate suppliers, based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier's reputation and history | 7% | 55% to 85% | |
| Maintain and review computerized or manual records of purchased items, costs, deliveries, product performance, and inventories | 7% | 60% to 90% | |
| Monitor shipments to ensure that goods come in on time, and resolve problems related to undelivered goods | 7% | 50% to 85% | |
| Confer with staff, users, and vendors to discuss defective or unacceptable goods or services and determine corrective action | 6% | 30% to 54% | |
| Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased | 5% | 85% to 97% |
The skills this job runs on
The skills purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products use most, most used first.
Safer jobs nearby
Jobs with a similar skill shape where machines can do less of the work by 2035.
- Purchasing Managers66% of tasks by 2035 · US median $148,080
- Chief Procurement Officers56% of tasks by 2035
- Chief Medical Officers55% of tasks by 2035
- Medical and Health Services Managers54% of tasks by 2035 · US median $123,860
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Questions
When will machines do half of the tasks of Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products?
Machines can already do half of its tasks. That is the worldwide baseline from the 311 Workforce Starburst, before adjusting for country.
Will AI take the job of purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products?
Machines can do 50% of the tasks of purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products today and 76% by 2035. Most of the routine work moves to machines, and the people in the job move to oversight, judgement and client work.
Sources and citing
Tasks and their share of the day: O*NET 31.0, occupation 13-1023.00 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0). Pay and jobs: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. AI use today: Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Scoring and forecast: the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit; after 2035 the figures extend each trend, with lower confidence. Foresight, not advice.
Cite as: 311 Institute (2026). Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products: the outlook to 2050. 311 Workforce Starburst. https://www.311institute.com/jobs/purchasing-agents-except-wholesale-retail-and-farm-products/