Produce buyer vs purchasing buyer

The differences between produce buyers and purchasing buyers 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 buyer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a produce buyer has an average salary of $55,778, which is higher than the $47,471 average annual salary of a purchasing buyer.

The top three skills for a produce buyer include purchase orders, logistics and inventory control. The most important skills for a purchasing buyer are purchase orders, logistics, and cost savings.

Produce buyer vs purchasing buyer overview

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Buyer
Yearly salary	$55,778	$47,471
Hourly rate	$26.82	$22.82
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	17,664	21,158
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
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 buyer do?

In a retail setting, a purchasing buyer is primarily responsible for devising strategies for procuring supplies, ensuring that it aligns with the company's needs and standards. They are also responsible for conducting thorough marketing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather and process documentation, liaising and negotiating with vendors and suppliers, and keeping track of all purchasing orders to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Furthermore, as a purchasing buyer, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions and submit regular reports to supervisors.

Produce buyer vs purchasing buyer salary

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Buyer
Average salary	$55,778	$47,471
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $77,000	Between $35,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	Goleta, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Aramco Services Company
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between produce buyer and purchasing buyer education

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	University of Pennsylvania

Produce buyer vs purchasing buyer demographics

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Buyer
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 41.9% Female, 58.1%
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, 9.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between produce buyer and purchasing buyer 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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Purchasing buyer example responsibilities.

Manage the development of RFP process per departmental and legal requirements.
Create and manage requisitions, code billing statements and reconcile monthly bills in PeopleSoft.
Manage logistics and materials receive for appropriate quantities, timeliness and accuracy to complete project project.
Complete request for quotation (RFQ), design reviews, and advance product quality planning (APQP).
Used MRP to track and develop orders for electronic and mechanical commodities for high volume 32,000 a day unit product.
Make purchasing decisions base on the examination and recommendations of the ERP planning system and issuing and maintaining supplier purchase orders.

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Produce buyer vs purchasing buyer skills

Common produce buyer skills

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

Common purchasing buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 29%
Logistics, 6%
Cost Savings, 5%
ERP, 4%
MRP, 4%
RFQ, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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