Produce buyer vs purchasing supervisor

The differences between produce buyers and purchasing supervisors 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 supervisor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a purchasing supervisor has an average salary of $68,702, which is higher than the $55,778 average annual salary of a produce buyer.

The top three skills for a produce buyer include purchase orders, logistics and inventory control. The most important skills for a purchasing supervisor are purchase orders, MRP, and supplier performance.

Produce buyer vs purchasing supervisor overview

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Yearly salary	$55,778	$68,702
Hourly rate	$26.82	$33.03
Growth rate	-	-6%
Number of jobs	17,664	19,412
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
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 supervisor do?

A purchasing supervisor orders supplies, equipment, and materials from vendors by buyers. The purchasing supervisors assess, select, and build relationships with the vendors. They do the negotiation for the contracts of goods and services. It is their job to review the purchase orders for accuracy and ensure to obtain the best prices. The skills supervisors need to develop include marketing, communication, leadership, and management. They should also know about purchasing products and services.

Produce buyer vs purchasing supervisor salary

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Average salary	$55,778	$68,702
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $77,000	Between $45,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	CDW
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between produce buyer and purchasing supervisor education

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	University of Pennsylvania

Produce buyer vs purchasing supervisor demographics

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

	Produce Buyer	Purchasing Supervisor
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%
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, 12.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between produce buyer and purchasing supervisor 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 supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage increasing procurement demands of inventory/supplies for manufacturing activities base on an ERP MRP system.
Lead and analyze all RFQ's, RFI's and RFP's from different qualify vendors.
Interview current and prospective suppliers to determine supplier capabilities, logistics and inventory control and management while negotiate delivery terms.
Review requisitions and RFP's, obtain quotations, negotiate pricing, examine bids and award contracts.
Assist in the yearly budgeting process including RFQ's and establishing contracts both locally and at the corporate level.
Direct large projects by creating RFP's, cost negotiation, and bid analysis on specifications and budget cost provided.

Produce buyer vs purchasing supervisor skills

Common produce buyer skills

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

Common purchasing supervisor skills

Purchase Orders, 20%
MRP, 5%
Supplier Performance, 4%
Logistics, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%
On-Time Delivery, 4%

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Produce Buyer
Produce Buyer vs Purchasing Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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