Buyer Duties, Skills & Responsibilities

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When hiring Buyers, it’s important to properly describe the job opening with the duties, skills and responsibilities of the role. We’ve compiled a guide to Buyer Duties, Skills & Responsibilities using data from actual job postings on Indeed.

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Popular Buyer Duties and Skills

Here are some commonly found skills and other specifications in job postings for Buyers.

Purchasing

Definition : Experience conducting business-to-business payment transactions and receiving goods, materials, or services. Purchasing is a subset of the Procurement process.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 46.1% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Negotiation

Definition : Skill or experience with negotiation, typically in a business, financial, or legal context.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 16.5% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Procurement

Definition : Experience related to vetting and establishing relationships with suppliers or vendors, and negotiating contracts and payment terms for purchasing materials, goods, or services.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 14.2% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

ERP systems

Definition : Enterprise resource planning systems. An ERP system integrates business processes across an organization.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 10.2% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Contracts

Definition : Knowledge of or experience with drafting, interpreting, revising or otherwise working with contracts.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 9.4% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

MRP

Definition : A class of software products used to implement material requirements planning systems, manage manufacturing processes, including production scheduling and inventory tracking.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 4.8% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Sourcing

Definition : Experience related to evaluating potential suppliers or vendors of materials or goods.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 3.5% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Merchandising

Definition : Knowledge of or experience with merchandising.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 3.5% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Supply chain management

Definition : Knowledge of or experience with managing supply chains.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 2.4% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Inventory control

Definition : Experience related to managing product inventory, including inventory planning and tracking systems.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 2.4% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Production planning

Definition : Experience related to scheduling and planning manufacturing processes and inventory.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.9% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Supply chain

Definition : Experience related to the movement and production of materials and goods.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.8% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Pricing

Definition : Experience in determining the selling price of a product or service.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.7% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

SAP ERP

Definition : Software suite from SAP containing modules on accounting, business intelligence, customer relations, human resources, supply chain, inventory, and manufacturing.
Years of experience most commonly required: 4-5
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.4% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

SAP

Definition : A suite of software programs and applications developed by SAP SE.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.2% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

E-commerce

Definition : Skill or experience with the online sale of goods and services.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.1% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

JD Edwards

Definition : Enterprise resource planning software from Oracle.
Years of experience most commonly required: 4-5
How common is it? This skill is found in 1.1% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

AS400

Definition : An IBM server computer often used in hospitals, logistics, manufacturing, retail, and financial industries.
Years of experience most commonly required: 2-3
How common is it? This skill is found in 1% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Materials management

Definition : Experience sourcing manufacturing material, forecasting inventory, and managing supplier relationships.
Years of experience most commonly required: 3-4
How common is it? This skill is found in 0.9% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.

Logistics

Definition : Experience coordinating the flow of goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption while meeting customer requirements.
Years of experience most commonly required: 4-5
How common is it? This skill is found in 0.7% of Buyer job postings on Indeed.