Assistant buyer vs produce buyer

The differences between assistant buyers and produce buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both an assistant buyer and a produce buyer. Additionally, a produce buyer has an average salary of $55,778, which is higher than the $49,586 average annual salary of an assistant buyer.

The top three skills for an assistant buyer include purchase orders, vendor relations and customer service. The most important skills for a produce buyer are purchase orders, logistics, and inventory control.

Assistant buyer vs produce buyer overview

	Assistant Buyer	Produce Buyer
Yearly salary	$49,586	$55,778
Hourly rate	$23.84	$26.82
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	15,090	17,664
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

What does an assistant buyer do?

An assistant buyer participates and assists in the procurement procedures in a retail company. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around selecting products according to company guidelines, handling and organizing purchase orders, and monitoring the budget. An assistant buyer may also have administrative support tasks such as responding to calls and correspondence, preparing paperwork and progress reports, arranging schedules, keeping records of invoices and inventory, and staying updated with trends. Furthermore, an assistant buyer must reach out to new suppliers and engage with vendors to maintain and establish a positive business relationship.

What does a produce buyer do?

Being a produce buyer requires commercial awareness, confidence, the ability to be a team player, interpersonal, math, and IT skills, as well as the ability to cope with high pressure. This position will demand negotiation and collaboration with produce suppliers in promoting, pricing, and advertising products. You will also be the primary contact between stores and suppliers, and also be responsible for maintaining supply quality through determining the best sources of produce.

Assistant buyer vs produce buyer salary

Assistant buyers and produce buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Assistant Buyer	Produce Buyer
Average salary	$49,586	$55,778
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $67,000	Between $40,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Fashion Nova	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between assistant buyer and produce buyer education

There are a few differences between an assistant buyer and a produce buyer in terms of educational background:

	Assistant Buyer	Produce Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	California State University - Bakersfield

Assistant buyer vs produce buyer demographics

Here are the differences between assistant buyers' and produce buyers' demographics:

	Assistant Buyer	Produce Buyer
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 23.5% Female, 76.5%	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 6.6% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 6.6% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between assistant buyer and produce buyer duties and responsibilities

Assistant buyer example responsibilities.

Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Inspect, grade and appraise agricultural commodities, durable goods, and merchandise for sale.
Train employees on POS system to keep accurate sales, inventory levels, and employee hours.
Collaborate with DMM and GMM to complete accurate financial strategy to be sign off by CEO.
Partner with advertising to execute POS and brand driven events through mailers, email blasts and marketing.
Analyze product trends and historical data at classification level; review IMU, AUR and penetration variances.

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Produce buyer example responsibilities.

Analyze and manage goals for increasing sales, profit margins, turns, fill rate and manage logistics.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Coordinate with transportation department to ensure efficiency in logistics of transporting employees and products using company vehicles.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Track all incoming requests for quote (RFQ) from customers, sales managers, and outside sales representatives.
Review purchase requisitions and engineering specifications to determine which suppliers to RFQ.

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Assistant buyer vs produce buyer skills

Common assistant buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 16%
Vendor Relations, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Math, 7%
Apparel, 4%
Open-To-Buy, 4%

Common produce buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 12%
Logistics, 11%
Inventory Control, 10%
Quality Standards, 10%
Manage Inventory, 8%
Product Knowledge, 8%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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