Buyer
Career information and advice on being a Buyer

In your role as a Buyer you would be responsible for buying the goods that your company sells to its customers for a profit. 

In some companies your role as a Buyer would be to buy raw materials in order for your company to manufacture products. In other companies you may be expected to purchase goods that will be sold directly to the consumer. 

It is a highly pressured job as you will be responsible for making decisions that could potentially cost your company a considerable amount of money.  Your job will involve a combination of office work and travel, in the United Kingdom and possibly abroad. 

In the office you will perform tasks such as checking forecasts and liaising with Suppliers. When travelling you will be required to attend tradeshows in order to discover the latest trends and visit with overseas suppliers.

Buyer functions include

Your first role as a Buyer would be to choose products, taking into account Market Trends, your budget and customer demand. 

In order to fulfil this function you would need to find suppliers of a particular product and negotiate on the basis of delivery lead times and price. You will also be required to maintain relationships with existing suppliers and source new suppliers for future products.

You will need to conduct research into buying patterns and future trends.  This information can be found through research on the Internet, attending trade fairs, liaising with other departments in the organisation, talking to shop personnel and seeking Merchandise feedback from customers.

One of your functions will be to present your ideas and product range to the Senior Management team.  Presentations would need to be a combination of product samples and figures based on future sales forecasts.

You would need to place orders in time to ensure sufficient stock levels to meet planned sales or production volumes. For the retail sector this could include seasonal goods and month-end shopping volumes.  You would also need to have contingency plans in place in the event a change in demand arises and your stock levels are too high or too low, or a supplier fails to deliver on time.

Your daily tasks would include analysing stock figures and taking care of logistical problems with suppliers.  To succeed you would need to work closely with the sales/production teams to review weekly, monthly and quarterly forecasts.  On the receiving side you need constant feedback from your warehouse on stock levels.

You may also be required to act as a Mentor for junior staff members who are training to become Buyers.