Our industry is changing. Has your organization responded? Are you stuck in a holding pattern or waiting for a signal? This blog will help you to get started in leading the journey for your organization.

The direction you need to achieve your goals. You’ve completed a category review or category assessment, ultimately identifying your biggest areas of opportunity to help you achieve your target goals and objectives in the category. Now what? 

We’re all searching for better ways to tap into Shopper insights data to address the “why” in category management — why aren’t we finding it?

Today, many Manufacturers are spending more dollars than ever before on data, technology and Shopper understanding. While the complexity of the data and technology increases, resources are being cut, requiring us to do more with less. 

Note: This content is part of our new eBook on Category Management with Limited Data. Feel free to read and share.

Which Opportunities Match Your Priorities for the Year? With change comes opportunity. And there are tons of changes happening in category management unfolding as you read this post. Most are being driven by CatMan 2.0™, and the commitment of Retailers like Walmart who are demanding more advanced solutions and approaches both internally and from their Vendor community.  So where are the biggest changes and what are the opportunities for YOU? 

In case you haven’t heard … Things have changed! It’s time to face the facts. Our industry and category management have been evolving for awhile (decades, actually). And, although change can be hard to overcome, attendance at our live webinars last week for both Retail and Manufacturing organizations, as well as Solutions Providers confirm that awareness of the changes ahead is growing — and concerning to both practitioners and leaders alike. Here’s why it’s time to face the facts and consider category management mastery …

How are you going to stay relevant in this rapidly changing industry? Category management practitioners, executives and solution providers all need plans to move to more advanced catman approaches to reflect changing data, technology and Shopper. As an experienced category management professional in Retail, Manufacturing or as a Solution Provider, you’ll need concrete ways to reflect the changes that have happened over the past 30 years. Here’s what you need to understand CatMan 2.0 from your point of view …

Category Management Executives (including Directors, VPs and Managers) Face a Common Dilemma How to get from where you are, to where the industry is going … Here’s what you need to know: 

Category Management has become more sophisticated. It’s now CatMan 2.0™ — Are you adapting to more advanced approaches? Are you keeping up with competitors? the industry? Category management has been evolving and changing since its launch in the late 1980s. The changing Shopper, blurring channels, omni-channel, the Internet & digital media and more advanced data & technology are the key drivers that have continued to change category management. It’s not that all of these changes are necessarily NEW, but all of these changes have all recently been captured in one place — in a new advanced approach which is creating buzz, questions, and uncertainty. In this blog, I’ll cover: Why CatMan 2.0™ is important (and more importantly, why you should care), Where some of the biggest changes are, and Next steps to help you plan your 2017.