The commodity specialist

In recent years, it is the commodity scientist who is responsible for the quality of products, their estimation and status. The modern buyer is used to the fact that you can choose the right thing from the offered because the market of goods is full of products of different value and quality. It is a competition for a paying client who has taught manufacturers and companies to fight for their buyer. That is why the companies and organizations of all levels employ a staff of professionals who quickly determine the competitiveness of products and services, its quality, the external state of goods.

Marketing wars, price fluctuations, improving technologies for evaluation of quality, mass research, market demand forecasting, and analysis of the work of competitors – this is the area where a specialist in commodity research works every day. In addition, such a specialist must have knowledge of modern fashion, aesthetics and psychology of society.

Description of the profession

The main direction of the work of such a specialist is already clear from the name of the profession – a specialist in the goods. This is a practically living encyclopedia that has all the knowledge about the product, how much harmful substances are in foreign products, terms and conditions of storage, commodity neighborhood, rules for returning low-quality goods and much more.

A skilled commodity specialist should have a deep knowledge of the methodology of product quality assessment, use of innovative marketing and management techniques, use the latest methods of the sales organization, have a knowledge of the technology of manufacturing products. It is important to know well-known international brands and their products.

Commodity scientist – this is also an analyst who is ready to distinguish high-quality products from falsification, fake.

Prospects for employment

Commodity researchers can work and successfully climb a career ladder, working in organizations such as:

• Companies engaged in trade, including international ones;
• Shops, supermarkets and hypermarkets;
• Market;
• Companies with retail and wholesale trade;
• Export-import organizations;
• Advertising agencies;
• Intermediary institutions;
• Commercial agencies from different companies;
• Warehouses;
• Customs;
• Communities of consumer protection;
• Laboratories that carry out expert examination and certification of products.

Duties

The commodity specialist has a lot of responsibilities that he performs depending on the place of work and position:

• Determination of requirements in accordance with existing material resources, standards, technical specifications, regulations and contracts;
• Verification of projects and compliance with the technical and material support of the enterprise, institution;
• Control over fulfillment of contract terms, income and use of raw materials, consumables, equipment, manufactured goods;
• Preparation of documents and analytical data for claiming low-quality raw materials;
• Control over availability and feasibility of the use of material resources at the enterprise;
• Control over the availability and preservation of products in warehouses;
• Establishing contacts between the supplier and the final buyer;
• Development of schemes and control over compliance with standards, norms, product quality, sales, timeliness of shipment;
• Search for unloaded goods if needed;
• Carrying out of inventory, elimination of “non-liquidated”;
• Control over the proper storage of products in warehouses;
• Preparation for shipment, registration of documents, preparation of reports.

How to become a commodity scientist

To work as a commodity specialist, you need to get a complete higher education in such specialties as “Commodity and Commercial Activity”, “Commodity”, “Entrepreneurship and Trade” and related areas.

The specialist in commodity research during studying should familiarize himself with such disciplines as the basics of marketing, economics, commodity research of food and non-food products, logistics, customs, equipment, sensory analysis, the technology of trading processes, protection of consumer rights, commercial activity and management, etc.