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The differences between inventory specialists and distribution specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a distribution specialist has an average salary of $36,140, which is higher than the $35,752 average annual salary of an inventory specialist.
The top three skills for an inventory specialist include customer service, sales floor and reservations. The most important skills for a distribution specialist are work ethic, windows, and strong customer service.
| Inventory Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $35,752 | $36,140 |
| Hourly rate | $17.19 | $17.38 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 161,107 | 45,554 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An Inventory Specialist's responsibility is to oversee the inventory in a warehouse or establishment. Most of the tasks of an Inventory Specialist revolve around monitoring the requisition, storage, and deliveries of supplies and merchandise to ensure the quality and quantity of the products. Moreover, the Inventory Specialist also has the responsibility to coordinate with store management when issues arise, train newly hired staff to be a valuable part of the workforce, and provide inventory reports and records to the administration.
A distribution specialist specializes in the real-time, time-bounded, secure distribution of products from factories and manufacturing plants to various stores and companies. They are also responsible for making inventories of incoming goods and machines to the factory where he/she works. They can be liable to any lost goods, erroneous inventories, malicious products, and troublesome staff sometimes. Every distribution specialist must ensure that production quotas are achieved and that any barriers to achieving these goals are resolved
Inventory specialists and distribution specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inventory Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Average salary | $35,752 | $36,140 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $49,000 | Between $24,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Ensign Energy | Gilead Sciences |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an inventory specialist and a distribution specialist in terms of educational background:
| Inventory Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between inventory specialists' and distribution specialists' demographics:
| Inventory Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1% | Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |