Virtual Business Purchasing

Determining the supply of goods & services for your store.

Importance of the Purchasing(Product) Decision Businesses must decide what products consumers want & be certain there is an adequate amount of stock to satisfy demand.

Buyer Person responsible for purchasing merchandise for resale. Small stores – the manager/owner is the buyer. Large stores – May have someone who is designated

Responsibilities of Buyer Must determine which products will have the highest demand in their store. Must have a purchasing plan in place that orders merchandise before it is needed based on the selling season. Must analyze sales reports to help determine how much of each product to buy.

Purchasing Conflict Shortage: If businesses purchase too little demand will not be satisfied & customers will become disgruntled and sales will be lost. Surplus: If businesses purchase too much they can incur losses for expired goods & excess inventory expenses. Equilibrium: At what point will consumers buy a certain amount of products at a given price.

Secret to Successful Purchasing A business must track their product sales to help determine what products to buy & adjust purchasing levels to meet consumer demand.

Purchasing Terms Inventory – The total amount of goods a business has in stock on the sales floor or in the stockroom. Purchasing Policy – Policy specifying when & the amount to purchase of a product. Just-In-Time Inventory – A computerized system that links stores to suppliers so that new inventory can be purchased automatically as sales are made and stock falls below a specified level. Reorder Point – The point at which merchandise is purchased to replenish stock levels. Shrinkage – The money a business loses due to broken, damaged, expired, or stolen inventory.