Produce buyer vs purchasing assistant

The differences between produce buyers and purchasing assistants 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 purchasing assistant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a produce buyer has an average salary of $55,778, which is higher than the $38,331 average annual salary of a purchasing assistant.

The top three skills for a produce buyer include purchase orders, logistics and inventory control. The most important skills for a purchasing assistant are purchase orders, purchase requisitions, and customer service.

Produce buyer vs purchasing assistant overview

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Yearly salary	$55,778	$38,331
Hourly rate	$26.82	$18.43
Growth rate	-	-8%
Number of jobs	17,664	8,415
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
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 purchasing assistant do?

A purchasing assistant is responsible for obtaining raw materials and goods for a business or company. They primarily function to assist purchasing managers or supervisors by keeping records, maintaining inventory, reviewing purchase orders, and monitoring shipments and deliveries. Furthermore, a purchasing assistant may perform administrative support tasks ranging from arranging appointments and managing schedules, answering calls and inquiries, reaching out to vendors and suppliers, producing reports, and coordinating with various departments to ensure the smooth flow of products within the company.

Produce buyer vs purchasing assistant salary

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Average salary	$55,778	$38,331
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $77,000	Between $31,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	-	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	-	Maryland
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between produce buyer and purchasing assistant education

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	University of Pennsylvania

Produce buyer vs purchasing assistant demographics

Here are the differences between produce buyers' and purchasing assistants' demographics:

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 22.8% Female, 77.2%
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, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between produce buyer and purchasing assistant 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.

Purchasing assistant example responsibilities.

Manage RFP process and play a key role in minimizing the cost of printing.
Schedule and manage new product trials, liaise with vendors, surgeons and specialty coordinators.
Manage activities of purchasing, production planning and scheduling, inventory management, warehousing and logistics.
Master point of service (POS) computer system for automate order taking.
Input of purchase orders into ERP system, order acknowledgments, follow-up, and expedition of orders.
Prepare purchase orders using MRP, inspect incoming shipments for quality, and attend press checks for production approval.

Produce buyer vs purchasing assistant skills

Common produce buyer skills

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

Common purchasing assistant skills

Purchase Orders, 30%
Purchase Requisitions, 18%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 8%
Logistics, 3%
POS, 2%

Produce Buyer vs. similar jobs

Produce Buyer related careers

Produce Buyer related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Produce Buyer
Produce Buyer vs Purchasing Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs