Category management improvement planning for 2023

Within the Global category management study, we have identified a series of critical activities which help organisations maximise their outcomes.

A core part of that is ensuring that there is a category management improvement plan in place, as this is the driver for ongoing changes in behaviour and outcomes which many businesses need.

Implicit within this is the need for not only a plan, but also a budget to deliver the key activities within the plan. As the plans usually contain a range of initiatives, including communications, training, support and the provision of adequate resource to deliver the plan, having a costed version for 2023 is a critical step in making sure you can deliver your objectives.

This also suggests that you need to have scoped some of the key activities for 2023: how many categories will you be focussing on? How much support will they need, both internally and externally? How much research and market data will be needed? How will the competencies of your team need to be improved, through training and coaching?

This all assumes that you already have the base information on where you stand, and where improvements are most needed to maximise outcomes. Our knowledge and research tells us that strategic alignment (ensuring the main activities of procurement are aligned with the organisational strategy) is crucial, along with high levels of good quality stakeholder engagement.

We believe that assessing where you are today, and building a plan from that, can ensure that your focus is in the right areas to grow your value contribution, even in the challenging economic times many are facing.

At this time of year, thoughts often turn to the next planning cycle, and ensuring that you have the right approach to delivering improvements in your category management approach, and the value you can deliver should be at the heart of that planning.