Clarkston Consulting’s Amy Levine and Kathy Petruzzelli recently attended the CMA|SIMA Elevate Conference 2026 in Las Vegas. The event convened leaders across consumer products and retail to explore how category management is evolving amid rapid advancements in AI, analytics, and omnichannel complexity.

Across keynote sessions, emerging technology breakouts, panels, and peer discussions, one message was clear: category management is entering its next chapter. The function sits at the intersection of data, retailer partnership, shopper understanding, and emerging technology — and how organizations navigate that intersection will define competitive advantage in the years ahead. Below are our key takeaways. 

CMA|SIMA Elevate Conference 2026 Insights 

1. Category Management Is Expanding Its Strategic Influence 

This year’s sessions reinforced that category management is no longer confined to assortment optimization and space planning. Discussions such as “From Category Managers to Experience Architects” emphasized how the role is evolving into a strategic connector across shopper insights, revenue growth management, digital commerce, and supply chain.  

Category leaders are increasingly expected to design cohesive omnichannel strategies, translate complex data into retailer-ready narratives, and influence decisions well beyond the category function itself. As expectations rise, so too does the need for broader business acumen, stronger storytelling capabilities, and deeper cross-functional alignment. The role is expanding — and with it, the opportunity for category teams to shape enterprise-wide growth. 

2. AI Is an Accelerator — Not a Replacement 

AI and generative technologies were embedded throughout the conference agenda, including sessions such as “What Generative AI Really Changes for Category Teams” and “Unlocking Customer Growth with AI-First Revenue Management.” The tone across speakers was notably pragmatic. AI enhances speed, improves pattern recognition, and reduces manual analytical effort, but it doesn’t replace human judgment. 

In our breakout session, “Future-Ready: Tech’s Impact on Category Management,” Amy Levine facilitated a discussion alongside Victoria Osuna (Couche-Tard/Circle K) and Melinda Young (Kraft Heinz). The panel explored how leading organizations are thoughtfully embedding AI into their operating models and how different types of AI are adding value across the Category landscape, including facilitating functions around compliance, predicting, synthesizing and generating content. Common themes included: 

• Integrating AI directly into category workflows rather than layering tools on top 
• Automating repeatable analyses to free up capacity for strategic thinking 
• Establishing governance to ensure data integrity and responsible use 
• Empowering teams with best-in-class training to use tools strategically and with human oversight 

From these discussions and sessions, it was clear that while technology creates opportunity, true value is unlocked through disciplined integration, clear ownership, and sustained adoption. 

3. Organizational Capability Is the Differentiator 

While AI dominated headlines, organizational readiness dominated conversation. Across sessions focused on building category centers of excellence, leveraging behavioral insights, and advancing connected commerce, speakers consistently emphasized that tools alone do not drive transformation. 

Future-ready organizations are rethinking how category and cross-functional teams collaborate. They are clarifying ownership, aligning processes across digital and in-store planning, and investing in data literacy and AI fluency. Just as importantly, they are prioritizing change management to ensure new capabilities are adopted and scaled. 

Becoming “future-ready” is less about implementing new platforms and more about aligning people, process, and governance to support them. 

4. Human Insight Remains the Multiplier 

As analytics become more advanced, the human element becomes more critical — not less. Technology can surface trends and forecast outcomes, but category leaders must interpret nuances, challenge assumptions, and craft compelling narratives that resonate with retail partners. 

Sessions addressing shopper behavior, digital shelf performance, and connected commerce reinforced that empathy, curiosity, and collaboration remain foundational capabilities. Organizations that successfully combine advanced analytics with deep shopper understanding will be best positioned to drive sustainable growth. 

5. Omnichannel Is Embedded in Category Strategy 

Omnichannel was not treated as a separate workstream at this year’s conference. Instead, it was woven into nearly every discussion, from digital shelf optimization to AI-enabled revenue management. 

Leading organizations are integrating digital shelf visibility alongside in-store metrics, aligning revenue management with shopper journey data, and presenting a unified narrative across physical and digital environments. Omnichannel fluency is no longer aspirational but rather expected as part of modern category leadership. 

Clarkston’s Point of View 

At Clarkston, we see category management as one of the most strategic leverage points in the consumer products enterprise. As AI and advanced analytics become more embedded in everyday decision-making, the question is no longer whether to adopt new tools, of which we are seeing incredible growth in category management tools and technology – it is how to redesign processes, roles, and governance to extract meaningful value from them. 

Future-ready category organizations will treat technology as an enabler of strategic thinking, not a substitute for it. They will invest equally in data foundations, organizational design, and capability building, ensuring their teams can translate complex insights into retailer-aligned growth strategies. Retail partners are looking for manufacturers to bring those insights and actionable learnings to help prepare them for the future. 

The intersection of technology and human insight is where sustainable competitive advantage will be built.