Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

Job purpose

To select, negotiate for and purchase merchandise and commodities for resale at wholesale or retail and to recommend the mark-ups, mark-downs and selling prices applied to them, so that the range bought matches consumer demand and yields the intended margin.

Skills

• Commercial knowledge of a merchandise market — sources of supply, product quality, value and yield, price and discount structures, transportation options and the mark-up arithmetic behind a selling price — with sales and marketing principles and the analysis of sales records, trends and economic conditions to anticipate buying patterns and inventory needs. A bachelor's degree is the most common qualification, though a substantial share enter with a high school diploma or less, plus one to two years of on-the-job training.
• Negotiates prices, discount terms and transport arrangements with suppliers and collaborates with vendors to obtain or develop desired products — work that turns on persuasion and on holding a position against a counterparty with opposed interests. Confers with sales personnel about customer needs, consults store and merchandise managers about budgets and goods to be bought, and conducts sales meetings to introduce new merchandise.
• Decides what to buy, in what quantity and at what price from evidence that is never complete: sales records, observed trends, economic conditions, competitors' advertising and inspection of the goods themselves. Weighs specification against price and delivery and forms a view on how consumers will respond to a new product. Precedent assists but does not decide the outcome, and a misjudged buy is not easily reversed.
• Commits to orders far enough ahead to have stock in place while sales are still being forecast, under evident time pressure. Determines own tasks and priorities to a considerable degree, and decides which products are advertised, in which medium and when.
• Desk and screen-based analysis of sales and stock data, with hands-on inspection of merchandise to assess quality, value and yield. Repetitive keyboard work, no significant physical demand.

Responsibilities

• No established line management, though sales or clerical staff may be trained or supervised, others are led and coordinated in the buying and merchandising work, and the outcomes of their work bear on results. Deals with suppliers, vendors and internal sales and store management.
• Commits purchasing spend: buys merchandise and commodities for resale, negotiates the prices, discounts and transport terms on which they are bought, and authorises payment of invoices or return of goods. Influences revenue as well as cost by recommending mark-up and mark-down rates and selling prices. The budget is not held — it is discussed with store or merchandise managers — and prices are recommended rather than set, but the buying decision and the terms obtained are the postholder's own and the sums committed are substantial.
• Responsible for what is bought into the business: examines, selects and orders merchandise against quality, quantity and specification requirements, inspects products to determine value and yield, and analyses sales trends to keep needed inventory at the right level. Compares transport options, including on energy efficiency, and returns goods that fall short of specification.
• Owns the buying record and the analysis behind it: sales, trend and price information, supplier terms, and the product data passed to others for pricing and ticketing. Monitors competitors' advertising and consumer and environmental trends to inform the range. Errors carry consequences and the analysis shapes decisions affecting results.

Effort required

• Analytical judgement under commercial uncertainty — reading sales history, trends and economic conditions to forecast demand — alongside exacting attention to order, price and specification detail. Decisions are frequent, taken under time pressure, and reach co-workers and company results.
• Negotiation is routine, conflict situations arise, and there is dealing with people who are unpleasant, angry or discourteous. Composure is needed to hold a commercial position in a competitive market where a buying error is visible in the results.
• Predominantly seated work with repetitive keyboard movements, and time spent examining merchandise. No lifting or exertion.

Working conditions

• An indoor, environmentally controlled workplace throughout, with no physical hazards, but work in close proximity to others and a large volume of telephone, e-mail and face-to-face contact. Psychosocial exposure is real: conflict situations, angry or discourteous behaviour, competitive pressure and error that carries consequences.
• Most incumbents work a regular established schedule, a minority on irregular patterns following production or contract demands, and the great majority work more than a standard week. Buying is done inside budgets and pricing approvals set by others, but within them tasks, priorities and purchases are settled with considerable freedom.