Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Buying Assistant
💰 $40,000 - $60,000
ProcurementBuyingRetailMerchandisingSupply Chain
🎯 Role Definition
The Buying Assistant supports the buying team in executing procurement and merchandising activities across assigned categories, ensuring accurate purchase orders, timely product flow, healthy inventory levels, competitive costing, and strong supplier relationships. This role combines day-to-day transactional ownership with analytical tasks — including sales and margin analysis, inventory forecasting, and supplier performance tracking — to support category managers and senior buyers in maximizing sales and profitability while maintaining operational efficiency.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Retail Sales Associate with exposure to inventory or merchandising
- Purchasing Coordinator / Procurement Administrator
- Inventory Analyst or Stock Control Specialist
Advancement To:
- Junior Buyer / Assistant Buyer
- Buyer / Merchandise Planner
- Category Manager or Senior Buyer
Lateral Moves:
- Merchandising Analyst
- Supply Chain Planner
- Vendor Relations / Supplier Account Coordinator
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Assist senior buyers in creating, reviewing, and issuing accurate purchase orders (POs) across multiple vendors and product categories, ensuring correct pricing, delivery terms, and lead times to meet merchandising plans and promotional calendars.
- Maintain and update the buy plan and purchase order tracker, reconciling PO status, confirmations, ship dates, and delivery discrepancies to ensure inventory availability and minimize stockouts.
- Monitor weekly and monthly inventory levels, turn rates, and sell-through performance; prepare variance reports and recommend action plans such as reorder windows, promotions, or markdowns to optimize inventory health.
- Conduct supplier and vendor communications, including order acknowledgments, delivery confirmations, backorder management, and follow-ups to maintain on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery targets.
- Support cost management by validating supplier invoices, performing price checks, and assisting with cost-comparison analyses to identify savings opportunities and preserve margin targets.
- Collaborate with planning and forecasting teams to provide historical sales data, seasonal trends, and promotional insights used to inform demand forecasting and replenishment strategies.
- Prepare detailed purchase summaries and category performance reports for buyers and merchandising leadership, highlighting key performance indicators (KPIs) such as gross margin, sell-through, and stock cover.
- Coordinate product assortment execution by assisting with SKU creation, product attributes, and migration of product data into merchandising systems or ERP platforms to ensure catalog accuracy.
- Assist with vendor onboarding and compliance tasks, including collecting and validating vendor documents, certificates, and lead-time agreements to ensure suppliers meet company standards.
- Support promotional planning and execution by ensuring promotional POs are placed, delivery windows are confirmed, and inventory is allocated properly for planned campaigns and seasonal events.
- Monitor inbound logistics and warehouse receipts, investigating discrepancies between expected and actual deliveries and liaising with warehouse, transportation, and vendor partners to resolve exceptions promptly.
- Assist in sample management and quality control communication by coordinating product samples for review, logging sample outcomes, and relaying feedback to suppliers to drive product improvements and compliance.
- Maintain accurate purchase order and invoice records in the ERP or buying system and assist with month-end close tasks by providing PO reconciliation and accrual information to finance teams.
- Support price negotiation and contract administration efforts by preparing negotiation briefs, compiling supplier performance data, and capturing agreed terms within procurement systems under buyer guidance.
- Perform ad hoc product research and market scans to identify potential new suppliers, competitive product launches, and pricing trends that inform category decisions and assortment opportunities.
- Help run regular supplier performance reviews by collecting delivery, quality, and lead-time metrics, summarizing findings, and suggesting corrective action items to the buying team.
- Coordinate with the visual merchandising and store operations teams to confirm product allocations and ensure timely deliveries for in-store displays and seasonal rollouts.
- Track product lifecycle metrics and assist in executing end-of-life or clearance strategies, including creating final purchase guidelines, return arrangements, or vendor buyback discussions when required.
- Assist with compliance and documentation for imports/exports, including customs paperwork tracking, freight documentation, and coordination with logistics partners for international shipments.
- Support continuous improvement initiatives by documenting buying processes, proposing system enhancements, and participating in cross-functional projects to improve buying efficiency and data accuracy.
- Maintain proficiency with merchandising and procurement systems (ERP, PIM, Excel) to ensure high-quality data entry, accurate reporting, and effective collaboration across merchandising, planning, and supply chain teams.
- Escalate critical supplier or inventory issues to buyers and management with clear recommended remediation steps to minimize sales disruption and customer dissatisfaction.
- Provide training and onboarding support to junior buying team members on PO procedures, system workflows, and supplier communication best practices.
Secondary Functions
- Assist the analytics team with basic data pulls and report builds to support category reviews and executive presentations.
- Help manage promotional calendars and cross-functional timelines to coordinate buying, marketing, and operations efforts.
- Support corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives by collecting supplier data related to sourcing, packaging, and compliance as requested.
- Participate in vendor site visits or virtual supplier meetings to gather sourcing insights and confirm production capabilities.
- Contribute to seasonal merchandising planning sessions by preparing historical performance summaries and inventory projections.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- Proficiency with enterprise buying and merchandising systems (e.g., Oracle NetSuite, SAP, JDA, Manhattan, or similar) and strong ability to learn new procurement software quickly.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting, and basic macros for reporting and reconciliation tasks.
- Purchase order management expertise: creating, tracking, confirming, amending, and closing POs with accuracy and auditability.
- Basic financial literacy: understanding gross margin, markup, cost of goods sold (COGS), accruals, and how purchasing decisions impact profitability.
- Familiarity with inventory management techniques: safety stock calculation, lead time analysis, EOQ considerations, and sell-through metrics.
- Experience with vendor relationship management, including managing confirmations, lead times, and supplier performance tracking.
- Knowledge of import/export documentation, Incoterms, customs clearance basics, and coordination with freight forwarders (preferred).
- Ability to use BI tools or reporting platforms (Tableau, Power BI) for creating and interpreting merchandising dashboards is advantageous.
- SKU-level data management skills and experience updating product information in product information management (PIM) systems or ERP catalogs.
- Comfortable performing ad hoc data analysis and generating actionable insights from POS data, sales trends, and inventory reports.
Soft Skills
- Strong communication skills — both written and verbal — to liaise effectively with vendors, cross-functional partners, and internal stakeholders.
- High attention to detail and accuracy, especially for PO creation, invoice matching, and replenishment planning.
- Analytical mindset with problem-solving ability to interpret sales data, forecast inventory needs, and recommend corrective actions.
- Time management and prioritization skills to manage competing tasks such as urgent POs, inventory shortages, and promotional deadlines.
- Collaborative team player who works closely with buying, planning, operations, and finance teams to deliver results.
- Negotiation and influencing skills to support buyers in achieving favorable terms and service levels with suppliers.
- Adaptability and resilience to operate in fast-paced retail cycles and changing seasonal demands.
- Initiative and ownership — proactively identifying risks and opportunities within assigned categories and driving follow-up.
- Customer focus — understanding the end-customer and aligning buying decisions to maximize assortment relevance and sales.
- Confidentiality and ethics in handling supplier contracts, pricing data, and proprietary merchandising information.
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- High school diploma or equivalent with relevant retail or procurement experience.
Preferred Education:
- Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Retail Merchandising, Finance, or a related field.
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Retail Merchandising
- Supply Chain / Logistics
- Business Administration
- Finance / Accounting
- Economics
- Data Analytics
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range:
- 1–3 years in retail buying support, purchasing, inventory control, or merchandise operations; entry-level candidates with strong retail exposure and analytical aptitude may be considered.
Preferred:
- 2+ years working in a buying or merchandising support role in a retail or wholesale environment with hands-on experience managing POs, inventory reporting, and supplier communications. Prior experience with ERP or merchandising systems and proven Excel proficiency is highly desirable.