Services
Category Management
Effective sourcing can only be achieved with a good understanding of Procurement best practices. This requires detailed knowledge of the spend category and the market around us. Procurement function must strive to deliver more value outside of traditional spend categories;this can be done by leaving the cost discussion aside, initially. The need is to focus on strategic ways to achieve optimal sourcing.
Henry Ford
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
All effective category management plans start with a better definition of demand and accurate forecasting. This can’t be done without understanding the business goals of the organisation as a whole and developing a strategy for the category to manage that is well aligned with those goals. Once a plan is established, suppliers must be identified that can support these goals; in the short, medium and long-term. In addition, internal Procurement capability must be enhanced to facilitate the new category management objectives. Besides tracking supplier performance, continuous monitoring of industry trends should also be performed, and information should be shared with the user departments, as a matter of routine.
A strong category management program allows Procurement and strategic sourcing departments to get involved in the development of new products, technologies, services and strategies. An effective category management plan enables the company to work with suppliers to speed up the time between initiative adoption and full implementation while also providing a layer of continual strategy adjustment once a new supplier or contract has been initiated.
As part of the proactive category management duties, Procurement and sourcing groups must come to understand every department’s needs and concerns. It is only then that Procurement will earn its seat at the high table, which is where it needs to be in order to effectively manage, source, and develop category strategies.
Costmap is well equipped to help organisations with their category management duties. Our experts have delivered detailed Category Management plans to scores of clients , identifying needs, successes, and future opportunities. Our experts are known for defining industry best practices and are ready to work with your team to isolate and capitalize on the things that make your organisation stand above its peers.