CatMan strategy and the actions needed to execute it form the connection between business functions and teams. Without this connection, each business team will function independently rather than aligned toward your organizational goals.
Create and maintain strategic, internal documentation that assembles relevant topline facts and insights about your overall category and brand strategies for broad sharing across the organization.
TIP: Include retail strategies, target Shopper, data availability, goals and objectives, and tactical insights.
RESOURCES:
Organizations are struggling to meet Shopper needs and improve Shopper insights in the face of mounting data and technology, more sophisticated and diverse Shoppers, and new retail and online formats. Not sure what’s changed? Watch our introductory Master’s Training "CatMan 2.0 Introduction: What’s Changed?". For more tips, visit our CatMan Master’s YouTube Playlist.
RESOURCES:
First, target the level of collaboration you want to achieve before selecting partners with which you want a truly collaborative partnership. Then, clarify how collaboration will occur with your optimal partners.
TIP: Be both selective and strategic about who you partner with — not every organization is a good fit.
RESOURCES:
Category scorecards and strategies are often skipped parts of the process, but they are two important steps that bridge the gap between opportunities and development of tactics. Without scorecards and strategies, the success of the category plan is limited. Do you have internal category scorecards that go beyond corporate reports? Have you developed and implemented effective, Shopper-focused Category Scorecards?
RESOURCES:
Create best-in-class category reviews and business reviews with standard, automated templates that integrate data from multiple sources, and that:
RESOURCES:
Assortment and space planning are two tactics where many CatMan teams spend much of their time and resources, yet lack strategic focus. By integrating CDTs, Shopper perspective, more data and strategic considerations you will yield better insights, decisions, and recommendations.
QUESTION:
RESOURCES:
If you find that your strategy and the processes used to execute are ineffective or non-existent, you are going to struggle to move forward with a more complex approach in today's world - regardless of the data and tools that you purchase. Integrating organizational best practices on category management data, tools, strategy, and processes will help you move to a more strategic, Shopper-focused organization.
A global training company based in Canada. Our clients and students represent both retailer and supplier organizations, including a variety of business units and roles such as category management, sales, and marketing. Training and assessments are accessed through our online Training & Learning Resource Center or through client-based LMS systems.
