Category Management

Selling an enormous number of products in retail networks requires a though job for suppliers and retailers alike. Category management is a process for cooperation between suppliers and retailers where they take care together for the whole product category, designed as a business unit. This process includes many elements, such as:

• Consumer research for category definition and segmentation, on the basis of specific consumer needs. Category management also requires understanding of the decision-making process (so-called decision tree) and consumer behavior/attitudes towards shopping
• Shelf layout optimization, based on consumer research results and using specialist software to create detailed planograms
• Merchandising, POS materials and visual communication
• Building up a common platform for data exchange
• Analysis of sales results, product dynamics and effectiveness of marketing actions.

The aim of this process is to mutually boost category profits, satisfy clients’ needs and generate maximum value for the consumer. It is worth to emphasize that the notion of category covers the entire product group, as defined by the model of consumer decision-making – for example all products used for washing, not just one supplier’s brand.

For suppliers, who want to obtain data supporting negotiations with retailers, Inquiry offers Store↑Effect, a research methodology which includes category definition and segmentation, reconstruction of the decision tree and optimization of shelf layout structure.

Write us to find out more