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The differences between demand planners and buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a demand planner, becoming a buyer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a demand planner has an average salary of $82,287, which is higher than the $54,049 average annual salary of a buyer.
The top three skills for a demand planner include supply chain, customer service and logistics. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.
| Demand Planner | Buyer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,287 | $54,049 |
| Hourly rate | $39.56 | $25.99 |
| Growth rate | 28% | - |
| Number of jobs | 27,351 | 23,589 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A demand planner specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop forecast models that will help determine a supply chain's demands. They are also responsible for monitoring the inventory of products, maintaining knowledge and awareness on the latest trends, producing progress reports and presentations, establishing demand plans, and detecting any changes in the forecast, reporting them to management right away. Furthermore, as a demand planner, it is essential to coordinate with everyone in the team, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
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.
Demand planners and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Demand Planner | Buyer | |
| Average salary | $82,287 | $54,049 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $109,000 | Between $37,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Englewood, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a demand planner and a buyer in terms of educational background:
| Demand Planner | Buyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between demand planners' and buyers' demographics:
| Demand Planner | Buyer | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.5% Female, 43.5% | Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 11.1% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 75.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 15% |