Summary Report for:
13-1022.00 - Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
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:
Buyer, Trader, Product Manager, Purchasing Manager
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
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.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Calculators or accessories — 10-key calculators |
| Desktop computers |
| Personal computers |
| Point of sale POS terminal — Point of sale POS systems |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Enterprise resource planning ERP software — JDA Software Group Assortment Planning by Arthur; Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Product development management software; Sage Accpac |
| Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software — Infor Supply Chain Management; Kliger-Weiss Infosystems software; Material requirement planning MRP software; Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Supply Planning Multi-Site Material Planner |
| Point of sale POS software — Millenium Software Atrex; Plexis Software Plexis POS; Specialized Business Solutions Keystroke POS; Windward Software Windward System Five |
| Procurement software — Oracle Advanced Procurement; Sourcing Simulator * |
| Project management software — Microsoft Project |
| Word processing software — Microsoft Word |
* Software developed by a government agency and/or distributed as freeware or shareware.
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Knowledge
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Economics and Accounting — Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
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Skills
| 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. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| 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. |
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Abilities
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
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Work Activities
| Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
| Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
| Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
| Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
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Work Context
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Spend Time Sitting — How much does this job require sitting? |
| Time Pressure — How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? |
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed |
| Overall 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. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. |
| Job Zone 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. |
| SVP Range |
(6.0 to < 7.0) |
| Education |
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. |
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Interests
Interest code: EC
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
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Work Styles
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
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Work Values
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2006) |
$21.46 hourly, $44,640 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
157,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Little or no change (-2% to 2%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
35,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- American Purchasing Society
, North Island Center, Suite 203, 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, IL 60506. Phone: (630) 859-0250. Fax: (630) 859-0270.
- Association for Operations Management, APICS
, 5301 Shawnee Rd., Alexandria, VA 22312-2317. Phone: (773) 867-1777. Fax: (773) 409-5576.
- Institute for Supply Management
, P.O. Box 22160, Tempe, AZ 85285-2160. Phone: (480) 752-6276. Fax: (480) 752-7890.
- National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc.
, 151 Spring St., Suite 300, Herndon, VA 20170-5223. Phone: (703) 736-8900. Fax: (703) 736-2818.
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