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.
Assistant buyer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real assistant buyer resumes:
- 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.
- Negotiate terms relating to IMU, price, delivery, discounts, markdown assistance, RTV's.
- Assist the DMM in merchandising accessories and footwear in addition to covering the responsibilities of a merchandise coordinator.
- Analyze store inventory levels, OTB and rates of sale by product and store to identify trends and new business opportunities.
- Support and assist the buyer in vendor selection, OTB management, markdown projections, and the analysis of vendor profitability.
- Place produce orders on daily basis via FoodLink; partner with vendors to deliver perishables at best cost in the market.
- Assist in development of merchandise assortments across apparel and accessories categories.
- Develop and purchase e-commerce merchandise specific to the e-commerce assortment lines.
- Create and analyze selling reports of top-selling apparel items for company distribution.
- Develop strategic programs for improving specific category and commodities for produce procurement.
Assistant buyer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Assistant Buyers are proficient in Purchase Orders, Vendor Relations, and Customer Service.
We break down the percentage of Assistant Buyers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Purchase Orders, 16%
Generated and processed purchase orders for procurement of Medical/Surgical supplies, materials and equipment, including stationary and office supplies.
- Vendor Relations, 10%
Establish positive vendor relationships in order to effectively influence vendors and maintain daily interaction to solve problems and follow-up.
- Customer Service, 8%
Served as additional personnel to the MyColder's customer service experience by providing timely and accurate solutions to customer concerns.
- Math, 7%
Displayed comprehensive understanding of broadcast functions and media math, software and broadcast research tools.
- Apparel, 4%
Developed relationships with Asian factories and wholesalers for Private Label and branded apparel and accessories verticals.
- Open-To-Buy, 4%
Managed open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertised events and promotions.
Most assistant buyers use their skills in "purchase orders," "vendor relations," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential assistant buyer responsibilities here:
The three companies that hire the most assistant buyers are:
- Hudson Group
88 assistant buyers jobs
- Ross Stores9 assistant buyers jobs
- Bloomingdale's8 assistant buyers jobs
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Compare different assistant buyers
Assistant buyer vs. Grain origination specialist
A purchasing agent's general task is keeping purchase records and making sure that there won't be any discrepancies with the handling of orders. The purchasing agent should be responsible for the order processing and payment collection. Purchasing agents should also be proficient in interpreting and evaluating data, researching on best marketing sources and alternatives, issuing required documentation for suppliers, as well as managing customer queries as needed. Being a purchasing agent requires critical-thinking skills in assessing concerns and providing solutions should there be any possible negotiation conflicts.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between assistant buyers and grain origination specialist. For instance, assistant buyer responsibilities require skills such as "purchase orders," "vendor relations," "math," and "apparel." Whereas a grain origination specialist is skilled in "origination," "harvest," "commodities," and "customer list." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Grain origination specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than assistant buyers. In fact, grain origination specialists are 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Assistant buyer vs. Grain merchandiser
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that assistant buyer responsibilities requires skills like "purchase orders," "vendor relations," "math," and "apparel." But a grain merchandiser might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "commodities," "market data," "origination," and "dpr."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Grain merchandisers tend to reach similar levels of education than assistant buyers. In fact, they're 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant buyer vs. Livestock commission agent
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from assistant buyer resumes include skills like "purchase orders," "vendor relations," "customer service," and "math," whereas a livestock commission agent is more likely to list skills in "hvac," "electrical equipment," "design reviews," and "leed. "
When it comes to education, livestock commission agents tend to earn higher degree levels compared to assistant buyers. In fact, they're 8.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Assistant buyer vs. Purchasing agent
Types of assistant buyer
Updated January 8, 2025
