What does a buyer do?
A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.
Buyer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real buyer resumes:
- Achieve QA initiatives by increasing transparency and communication with multiple departments and suppliers to achieve daily/weekly/monthly production requirements and expedites.
- Manage all incoming RMA equipment, processing and directing to correct locations and departments.
- Create, analyze and manage recaps pertaining to inventory, trends, OTB, and markdowns.
- Manage KanBan spreadsheets to optimize inventory levels and supplier performance.
- Manage business relationship with Japanese OEM of wide-format printer engines.
- Manage MRB and IQA escalations to facilitate defective material resolutions.
- Manage, expedite and maintain purchase orders for medical-relate equipment commodities and services in ERP system.
- Develop clear product assortment direction for apparel division.
- Create and transmit purchase orders using MRP methodology for several global manufacturing facilities, including in Canada and Mexico.
- Implement a totally digital MRO purchasing system where requisition where electronically approve and purchase orders are electronically track as well.
- Monitor daily PPV and NMR statistics and track performance.
- Negotiate and leverage costing between vendors saving over $200k annually in order to meet IMU targets.
- Execute quotes, purchase requisitions, and purchase orders for ITAR and non ITAR material for commercial and government contracts.
- Direct special programs including allocation procedures, government orders, requests for quotation (RFQ) /special pricing tracking and follow-up.
- Maintain POS system and sales/inventory reporting.
Buyer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Buyers are proficient in Purchase Orders, Customer Service, and Logistics.
We break down the percentage of Buyers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Purchase Orders, 22%
Review customer orders and as necessary initiate modifications and issue purchase orders to all vendors according to customer requirements.
- Customer Service, 11%
Partnered with outside vendors to ensure on-time deliveries and maintained relationships with internal customer service department to resolve trade partner concerns.
- Logistics, 5%
Coordinated with Logistics & brokerage firms regarding International orders, shipments and paperwork requirements for simplified transition of overseas goods.
- Supplier Performance, 4%
Maintain direct involvement with suppliers in acquiring product information, discussing supplier performance, and recognizing supply conditions and business updates.
- MRP, 4%
Compile and analyze current and anticipated material requirements consolidating volume wherever possible, using Material Requirements Planning (MRP) System.
- Commodities, 3%
Maintained accurate item buying factors in forecasting system for all warehouses to ensure optimum replenishment levels for highest moving commodities.
Common skills that a buyer uses to do their job include "purchase orders," "customer service," and "logistics." You can find details on the most important buyer responsibilities below.
The three companies that hire the most buyers are:
- Conagra Brands46 buyers jobs
- XPO Logistics
43 buyers jobs
- Raytheon Technologies37 buyers jobs
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Compare different buyers
Buyer vs. Planning analyst
As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues. Other duties include conducting risk analyses to identify areas of potential failure, maintaining the business continuity program, and handling internal and external corporate communications with the investment community and industry analysts.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between buyers and planning analyst. For instance, buyer responsibilities require skills such as "supplier performance," "commodities," "on-time delivery," and "cost reduction." Whereas a planning analyst is skilled in "project management," "data analysis," "strong analytical," and "sql." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Planning analysts tend to make the most money working in the automotive industry, where they earn an average salary of $76,869. In contrast, buyers make the biggest average salary, $59,735, in the automotive industry.The education levels that planning analysts earn slightly differ from buyers. In particular, planning analysts are 8.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a buyer. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Buyer vs. Senior purchasing agent
Senior Purchasing Agents are experienced employees in the company's purchasing department. They oversee the purchase requisitions of the employees. They validate requests, ensure that the requestors followed company guidelines, check the availability of the items with the chosen supplier, and forward the purchase order to the supplier. Upon fulfillment of the request, Senior Purchasing Agents check the deliveries, ensure that the items are complete and correct, forward the items to the requestor, and process the payment for the supplier. Senior Purchasing agents also prepare reports, spot trends in employee or department purchases, and create recommendations based on observations. They are also expected to form good working relationships with suppliers.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real buyer resumes. While buyer responsibilities can utilize skills like "market trends," "product quality," "quality issues," and "product development," senior purchasing agents use skills like "project management," "continuous improvement," "contract management," and "federal acquisition."
On average, senior purchasing agents earn a higher salary than buyers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, senior purchasing agents earn the most pay in the energy industry with an average salary of $89,158. Whereas buyers have higher pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $59,735.senior purchasing agents earn higher levels of education than buyers in general. They're 6.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Buyer vs. Director of purchasing
A director of purchasing oversees the procedures related to buying resources and supplies, directing operations from planning to execution while adhering to standards and company policies. They primarily perform research and assessments to understand project needs in terms of price, quality, and delivery time. They also identify ideal suppliers, negotiate deals, and build positive business relationships. Additionally, a director of purchasing has the authority to make significant decisions, delegate responsibilities among staff, oversee employment procedures within the department, and solve issues and concerns when any arise.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, buyers are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "commodities," "delivery dates," and "pos." But a director of purchasing is more likely to have skills like "supply chain," "chain management," "direct reports," and "process improvement."
Directors of purchasing earn the best pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $119,626. Buyers earn the highest pay from the automotive industry, with an average salary of $59,735.Most directors of purchasing achieve a similar degree level compared to buyers. For example, they're 4.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Buyer vs. Supply chain analyst
A supply chain analyst is responsible for handling the supply chain operations of an organization, aligning processes, and identifying areas of improvement to initiate procedures and create smooth supply delivery transactions. Supply chain analysts monitor the adequacy of stock inventory, including the trends in the market industry, to meet the public demands and ensuring that the business provides those interests. They also evaluate the supply cycle, from the planning stages to the final distribution, and analyzing aspects to minimize complexities and cost-reduction without compromising the quality of services.
Types of buyer
Updated January 8, 2025
