Produce buyer vs purchaser

The differences between produce buyers and purchasers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a produce buyer, becoming a purchaser takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a produce buyer has an average salary of $55,778, which is higher than the $50,031 average annual salary of a purchaser.

The top three skills for a produce buyer include purchase orders, logistics and inventory control. The most important skills for a purchaser are purchase orders, FDA, and POS.

Produce buyer vs purchaser overview

	Produce Buyer	Purchaser
Yearly salary	$55,778	$50,031
Hourly rate	$26.82	$24.05
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	17,664	6,852
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	47	48
Years of experience	-	6

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.

What does a purchaser do?

A Purchaser is responsible for buying goods and services from distribution centers to sell to customers or other companies. They conduct data analysis and research current market trends to identify public demands and generate resources that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. They also ensure the adequacy of supply inventories for deliveries, respond to customers' inquiries and concerns, and recommend products according to their needs and budget requirements. A Purchaser must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in documenting purchase transactions and negotiating contracts with suppliers and vendors.

Produce buyer vs purchaser salary

Produce buyers and purchasers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Produce Buyer	Purchaser
Average salary	$55,778	$50,031
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $77,000	Between $36,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	-	Atlantic City, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Barnes Group
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between produce buyer and purchaser education

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchaser
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	University of Pennsylvania

Produce buyer vs purchaser demographics

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchaser
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between produce buyer and purchaser duties and responsibilities

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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Purchaser example responsibilities.

Purchase components for production; run daily production schedule; manage inventory of items; source alternative items for production
Work extensively with customers to identify business and project requirements through RFI's, RFP's, and RFQ's.
Handle RFQ (request for quotation) and the RFB (request for bid).
Insure day to day operations run smoothly.
Operate ERP system in factory and keep the data update.
Order parts & MRO items as needed for production workers.

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Produce buyer vs purchaser skills

Common produce buyer skills

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

Common purchaser skills

Purchase Orders, 38%
FDA, 7%
POS, 6%
Commodities, 5%
Logistics, 4%
Expedite, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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