Category Management Transformation Assessment & Operating Model Development
Clarkston Consulting recently partnered with a CPG company on a category management transformation assessment. Read a synopsis of the project below or download the full case study.
Download the Category Management Transformation Assessment Case Study Here
A global food and beverage company recently engaged Clarkston Consulting to assess and elevate its Category Management function, aiming to evolve from a tactical support model to a strategic growth driver. Category Management in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) space plays a critical role in understanding the consumer’s path to purchase, influencing shopper behavior, and driving retailer partnerships. Despite a strong market presence, the client’s current approach lagged industry standards due to fragmented roles, inconsistent tools, skill gaps, and misaligned ways of working with their Sales function.
Clarkston led an assessment and transformation roadmap project to help the organization refocus its Category Management function on high-value activities aligned with long-term growth. The engagement aimed to clarify work allocation between the internal team, Sales, and current third-party partner to align customer and category priorities to the company’s 10-year strategy, and position the function as strategic, trusted advisors to their retailers.
Clarkston conducted over 80 stakeholder interviews, administered surveys across three teams, and benchmarked industry-leading CPG practices. This assessment revealed five major pain points: internal misalignment on strategy, limited strategic focus, the absence of a center of excellence, inconsistent execution of core activities like planograms, and siloed data and reporting. To address these pain points, Clarkston developed a transformation roadmap that included customer and category segmentation, the creation of a new operating model leveraging offshore and onshore support, and upskilling the function with standardized processes and tools.
As a result, the client secured senior leadership buy-in and launched a path toward foundational excellence across people, process, and technology. This success sets the stage for stronger, strategic retailer partnerships, value-add captaincies, and measurable NSV growth within their beloved brands.
