Summary for:
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
Description:
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.
Sample of reported job titles:
Sample of reported job titles: Buyer, Trader, Product Manager, Purchasing Manager
Tasks:
- 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.
Knowledge:
| Sales and Marketing ó 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. |
| Customer and Personal Service ó 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. |
| Economics and Accounting ó Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data. |
| English Language ó Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Clerical ó 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. |
| Administration and Management ó 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. |
| Mathematics ó Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
Skills:
| Active Listening ó 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 ó Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Reading Comprehension ó Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Critical Thinking ó Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Time Management ó Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Judgment and Decision Making ó Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Service Orientation ó Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Mathematics ó Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| Instructing ó Teaching others how to do something. |
| Management of Material Resources ó Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. |
Abilities:
| Oral Expression ó The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Oral Comprehension ó The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Speech Clarity ó The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Written Comprehension ó The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Inductive Reasoning ó The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Deductive Reasoning ó The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Mathematical Reasoning ó The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. |
| Problem Sensitivity ó 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. |
| Speech Recognition ó The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Near Vision ó The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
Work Activities:
| Selling or Influencing Others ó Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships ó Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge ó Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work ó Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others ó Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
| Thinking Creatively ó Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
| Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People ó Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
| Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information ó Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems ó Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public ó Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
Work Experience:
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Work Examples:
These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include funeral directors, electricians, forest and conservation technicians, legal secretaries, interviewers, and insurance sales agents.
Education Requirements:
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.
Work Style:
| Dependability ó Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity ó Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Cooperation ó Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Attention to Detail ó Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Persistence ó Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Stress Tolerance ó Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Initiative ó Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Achievement/Effort ó Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility ó Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Self Control ó Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
Work Values:
| Independence ó Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
| Achievement ó Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Relationships ó Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
Median Wage 2008:
$23.42 hourly, $48,710 annual
Estimated Employment Total 2008:
157,000 employees
Projected Growth 2008:
Little or no change (-2% to 2%)
Projected Need 2008:
35,000 additional employees
