Difference between Buying and Procurement

Key difference: Procurement is a broad term that includes designing, sourcing, processing, negotiating and fixing standards, whereas buying is a simple concise term that incorporates giving money for a particular goods or product. It can even be said that buying is a single aspect of procurement.

Buying The terms, Buying and Procurement are quite similar in nature. They both mean to acquire something against payment of money or goods. However, there is a significant difference between the two, mainly in the context of the terms.

Dictionary.com defines buy as:

To acquire the possession of, or the right to, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, especially in money; purchase.
To acquire by exchange or concession: to buy favor with flattery.
To hire or obtain the services of: The Yankees bought a new center fielder.
To bribe: Most public officials cannot be bought.
To be the monetary or purchasing equivalent of: Ten dollars buys less than it used to.

Whereas, procurement is defined as:

The act of procuring, or obtaining or getting by effort, care, or the use of special means: The organ procurement procedure is very complicated.
The act of obtaining equipment, materials, or supplies: The secretary of defense argued in favor of increasing the budget for procurement.

The main difference between the two terms is the fact that buying is considered a casual informal term, whereas procurement is considered as a more formal business term. Buying is a process in which we partake everyday. We go out and buy stuff, whether the stuff is small and cheap or big and expensive. However, the term procurement is mainly used in business.

Procurement entitles the acquisition of goods, services or works from an external source. It is a vast service, of which buying is a part. In procurement, the staff tries to find the correct goods and services at the right and affordable price, ensure the quality of goods, and if they meet the purchaser’s requirement of quality, quantity, time, and location. In addition, procurement also incorporates aspects of specifications development, value analysis, supplier market research, negotiation, marketing, buying activities, administration of contract, and control of inventory, traffic, receiving and stores.

Procurement is a broad term that includes designing, sourcing, processing, negotiating and fixing standards, whereas buying is a simple concise term that incorporates giving money for a particular goods or product. It can even be said that buying is a single aspect of procurement.

Comparison between Buying and Procurement:

	Buying	Procurement
Definition	Buying is to obtain something in exchange for money or goods.	Procurement is the act of procuring, or obtaining or getting by effort, care, or the use of special means.
Type	Verb	Noun
Inference	Casual/Informal	Business/Formal
Context	A simple concise term that incorporates giving money for a particular goods or product.	A broad term that includes designing, sourcing, processing, negotiating and fixing standards
Incorporates	Incorporates purchasing an object or goods, i.e. paying money against the object or goods.	Incorporates aspects of specifications development, value analysis, supplier market research, negotiation, marketing, buying activities, administration of contract, and control of inventory, traffic, receiving and stores.
Examples	Jack usually buys his groceries on Saturdays. The Smiths are buying a new house. We need to buy a new car. The store was having a sale, we bought many items. I need to buy the books for this semester.	The procurement process took four or five months. The biggest savings are likely to come in procurement. The procurement department faced cutbacks recently. June has recently procured a large order of high-quality designer handbags. The procured shipment of spare parts will arrive next week.