CompGeo Salary Survey Benchmark Job Summary and Competencies

Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

The Benchmark Job Description below represents the specific Position Characteristics of the job used in the Salary Survey. Benchmark Job Descriptions should be inspected carefully to review the degree of matching between an organizations' Job and the Salary Survey Benchmark. Matching internal Jobs to Salary Survey Benchmark Jobs should not be done on Job Title alone. A thorough comparison of Salary Survey Benchmark to Internal Job Descriptions is recommended. A good overlap should exist on any comparisons used on critical Job Dimensions and Competencies.
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Summary Job Description Tasks
Buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods. Analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality of merchandise to determine value and yield. Select, order, and authorize payment for merchandise according to contractual agreements. May conduct meetings with sales personnel and introduce new products. Includes assistant wholesale and retail buyers of nonfarm products. Examine, select, order, and purchase at the most favorable price merchandise consistent with quality, quantity, specification requirements and other factors.
 
Negotiate prices, discount terms and transportation arrangements for merchandise.
 
Analyze and monitor sales records, trends and economic conditions to anticipate consumer buying patterns and determine what the company will sell and how much inventory is needed.
 
Interview and work closely with vendors to obtain and develop desired products.
 
Authorize payment of invoices or return of merchandise.
 
Inspect merchandise or products to determine value or yield.
 
Set or recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, and selling prices for merchandise.
 
Confer with sales and purchasing personnel to obtain information about customer needs and preferences.
 
Consult with store or merchandise managers about budget and goods to be purchased.
 
Conduct staff meetings with sales personnel to introduce new merchandise.
 
Manage the department for which they buy.
 
Use computers to organize and locate inventory, and operate spreadsheet and word processing software.
 
Train and supervise sales and clerical staff.
 
Provide clerks with information to print on price tags, such as price, mark-ups or mark-downs, manufacturer number, season code, and style number.
 
Determine which products should be featured in advertising, the advertising medium to be used, and when the ads should be run.
 
Monitor competitors' sales activities by following their advertisements in newspapers and other media.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Important Knowledge Competencies Competency Description
Customer and Personal Service Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
 
Administration and Management Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 
Sales and Marketing Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
 
English Language Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 
Economics and Accounting Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
 
Production and Processing Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
 
Mathematics Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 
Clerical Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
 
Computers and Electronics Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 
Education and Training Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
 
Building and Construction Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Important Skill Competencies Competency Description
Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
 
Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
 
Persuasion Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
 
Negotiation Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
 
Critical Thinking Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
 
Mathematics Using mathematics to solve problems.
 
Active Learning Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
 
Monitoring Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
 
Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
 
Coordination Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
 
Complex Problem Solving Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
 
Judgment and Decision Making Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
 
Reading Comprehension Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
 
Writing Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
 
Management of Financial Resources Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
 
Learning Strategies Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
 
Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
 
Systems Evaluation Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
 
Time Management Managing one's own time and the time of others.
 
Management of Personnel Resources Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
 
Instructing Teaching others how to do something.
 
Management of Material Resources Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Important Ability Competencies Competency Description
Oral Comprehension The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
 
Oral Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
 
Speech Clarity The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
 
Problem Sensitivity The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
 
Deductive Reasoning The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
 
Mathematical Reasoning The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
 
Speech Recognition The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
 
Written Comprehension The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
 
Category Flexibility The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
 
Number Facility The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
 
Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
 
Inductive Reasoning The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
 
Information Ordering The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
 
Written Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
 
Fluency of Ideas The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
 
Originality The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
 
Visual Color Discrimination The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
 
Flexibility of Closure The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
 
Selective Attention The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Tools/Technology Example Product Category
Accounting software Accounting software
 
Advanced Retail Management Systems Retail Pro Point of sale POS software
 
Biztrak Business Solutions Biztrak Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
CAM Commerce Solutions Retail STAR Point of Sale POS Point of sale POS software
 
Claritas ConsumerPoint Customer relationship management CRM software
 
Contact management software Calendar and scheduling software
 
Eclipse software Development environment software
 
Email software Electronic mail software
 
Enterprise resource planning ERP software Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
Enterprise risk management software ERMS Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
Graphics software Graphics or photo imaging software
 
Infor Supply Chain Management Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
 
Intuit QuickBooks software Accounting software
 
Inventory control systems Inventory management software
 
JDA Software Group Advanced Warehouse Replenishment by E3 Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
JDA Software Group Assortment Planning by Arthur Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
Kliger-Weiss Infosystems software Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
 
Material requirement planning MRP software Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
 
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software
 
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software
 
Microsoft Internet Explorer Internet browser software
 
Microsoft Office software Office suite software
 
Microsoft Outlook Electronic mail software
 
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software
 
Microsoft Project Project management software
 
Microsoft Word Word processing software
 
Millennium Software Atrex Point of sale POS software
 
Oracle Advanced Procurement Procurement software
 
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Supply Planning Multi-Site Material Planner Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
 
POSitive Software POSitive for Windows Point of sale POS software
 
Plexis Software Plexis POS Point of sale POS software
 
Point of sale POS software Point of sale POS software
 
Presentation software Presentation software
 
Product development management software Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
Project management software Project management software
 
SAP POS Data Management Point of sale POS software
 
Sage ERP Accpac Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
Scheduling software Calendar and scheduling software
 
Sourcing Simulator Procurement software
 
Specialized Business Solutions Keystroke POS Point of sale POS software
 
Spreadsheet software Spreadsheet software
 
Web browser software Internet browser software
 
Windward Software Windward System Five Point of sale POS software
 
Word processing software Word processing software
 
10-key calculators Calculators or accessories
 
Desktop computers Desktop computers
 
Personal computers Personal computers
 
Point of sale POS systems Point of sale POS terminal
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Prerequisite Qualification Category Education and Experience Level
Related Work Experience Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
 
Required Level of Education Some College Courses
 
On-the-Job Training Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
Alternate Job Title(s)
Art Dealer
Assistant Buyer
Assistant Merchandise Buyer
Associate Merchandise Buyer
Buy Boat Operator
Buyer
Buyer Assistant
Category Manager
Commodity Manager
Contracts Specialist
Department Manager
Fashion Buyer
Fashion Merchandiser
Fur Buyer
Gold Buyer
Head of Merchandise Buying
Importer
Importer Exporter
Internal Wholesaler
Jobber
Mechandiser
Merchandise Buyer
Merchandise Manager
Merchandise Planner
Merchandise Worker
Merchandise for Resale Purchasing Agent
Merchandiser
Merchant
Old Gold Buyer
Print Buyer
Procurement Specialist
Product Manager
Purchaser
Purchasing Agent
Purchasing Coordinator
Purchasing Manager
Purchasing Specialist
Purveyor
Resident Buyer
Retail Buyer
Senior Merchandise Buyer
Sustainability Purchasing Agent
Tie Buyer
Trader
Tradesman
Wholesale Buyer
Wholesale and Retail Merchant
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Finance
Job Family: Buyer
Benchmark Title: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
 
 
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