Welcome to the exciting world of category management! This is where data transforms into gold for both Retailers and Suppliers/Manufacturers. With heaps of data at our fingertips, there are some key measures you should know about to make the most of it. In this blog I'll be covering the "Index" calculation.

Do your team members possess the essential Excel skills for basic tasks? Excel stands as a crucial tool for analysts, sales professionals, category managers, and business individuals at large. While it might seem that everyone is familiar with Excel, the reality is different. Without foundational Excel skills, sales teams and category managers struggle to analyze their business effectively, administrators face challenges in creating comprehensive worksheets, and analysts may find fundamental concepts difficult to grasp. Additionally, there's the risk of errors and incorrect conclusions stemming from poorly constructed formulas and PivotTables. You might wonder, with automated reports available, why is Excel training necessary for organizations? The answer lies in the limitations of automated reports—they can't meet all needs. Meaningful analysis often requires data manipulation, cutting, formatting, and customization, necessitating strong foundational Excel skills. Consider a recent scenario where a client approached me about providing Excel skills training for their sales team. A sales manager had expressed concern about the team's inability to perform essential Excel tasks like formula writing, building PivotTables, and creating charts. Despite the assumption that everyone knows Excel, this proficiency was lacking. In response, I crafted a virtual training session covering Excel basics, including spreadsheet navigation, data sorting, formula writing (SUM, COUNT, RANK, UNIQUE), and creating charts and PivotTables. The session was optional, allowing those with existing proficiency to choose whether to attend. RESULTS? Due to high interest, I conducted two 3-hour sessions. The hands-on exercises focused on relevant scenarios for the sales team, incorporating data and item rank reports. Participants not only learned to create formulas but also gained insights into interpreting different KPIs. We used one of their extensive automated reports to build a practical PivotTable, bridging the gap between learning and application. Feedback from the sessions speaks volumes: "Best 3-hour lecture/class I’ve attended." "Time went by way too quickly!" "I learned many new things, i.e., formula building, shortcuts, and the importance of being clear on what I’m trying to say." "Handouts were helpful, and I will go back to reference them." Ask your team if they need Excel basics training! The response might surprise you. Learn more about Excel Virtual Team Training

Integrating strategy into your analytics is one of the main areas most struggle with when doing their analytics — knowing what's relevant and what's not, what's a true insight and what's not. But if you know the secret sauce to bringing strategy into your analytics you’ll be able to turn your data and analysis into effective action to grow your business. And so I want to talk about pizza. Yes, you read that right — pizza.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Category Management Association’s annual conference in Las Vegas, where category management and shopper insights professionals gathered to learn, share and network. It was particularly exciting for us at CMKG, because the CMA announced our new partnership at the conference. This venture will allow us to get our training into even more brilliant minds around the world. I facilitated 9 live training sessions over the course of the 3-day conference, spanning topics like: Identifying Growth Opportunities in Your Business, Fact-Based Presentations and Storyboarding, Shopper Insights (co-developed and facilitated with Leslie Warsaw from SIMA), Category Management in On-Premise (2-part session), and many more!

Common (Mis)Interpretations: Category Development Index in Category Analysis There is significant emphasis on deriving effective and strategic insights in category management. With all of the incredible data sources available to both Retailers and Suppliers / Manufacturers, there are certain measures that are consistently used to derive these insights. For some of the commonly used measures, there’s also a tendency to generalize the interpretation of the numbers, or not scratch below the surface and think about what the numbers really mean. Examples? Category Development Index (CDI) and Fair Share Index (FSI) …

When using data and analysis, the numbers on their own don’t tell the whole story. By applying thought and strategy to the interpretation of the data, you will come up with better category solutions. One of my favorite examples of this is the use of the “Retailer Market Share” number in category management. If you’ve ever heard, “You are underdeveloped in a brand, subcategory or category, and you need to fix this!”, then read on …

What are some opportunities for you to move to a more strategic approach in your seasonal categories? Seasonal merchandising represents a huge incremental sales and profit opportunity for Retailers and Manufacturers. What are seasonal categories? “Seasonal events” have evolved and expanded with changes in the Shopper, weather patterns, and new events to include everything from annual holidays, to multicultural holidays, to celebration and annual events, to special community events, and even weather-related events. Some major seasonal events are starting much earlier than in the past. Retailers who want to stand out in the marketplace now run “hot” priced features well in advance of the seasonal event to establish their stores as the best destination for the season. There is also a stronger concentration of sales during the few days before seasonal events. To realize and maximize the full potential of seasonal sales, you should apply the principles of category management to your seasonal categories. I've put together 4 best practices for managing seasonal categories that incorporate category management strategies, including a rigorous analysis post season to continuously improve your seasonal category plans.

Most retail and vendor organizations I have spoken to or interacted with in the past 6 months list at least one of the following objectives in their Corporate Strategic Plans: Collaboration. There is a big opportunity for Retailer and Vendor Collaboration, but organizations are not making any or enough progress. Shopper-Centricity. To win with Shoppers, Retailers and Vendors need to collaborate to be truly Shopper-centric. Limited collaboration is leading to misalignment of messages — meaning shoppers’ needs and wants are not being met. Big Data. Leveraging Big Data (by Retailers or Vendors) requires more precision and sophistication in its use and is similarly aided by strategic collaboration between Retailers and Vendors.

Progressive Grocer recently ran an article on “How Ineffective Promotions Are Dragging Down Top Consumer Packaged Goods Brands”.

Pricing is one of the tactics of the Marketing Mix. It is an important marketing tool in retailing, and has become much more analytically- and strategically-focused than in the past. Prices vary based on different promotions, and on differing Retailer strategies. A difference of 5 or 10% in price can influence sales and profit significantly. Pricing decisions directly affect category sales, inventory positions and category profitability.