Conducting a Category Management Team Assessment for a Consumer Products Company
Clarkston Consulting recently partnered with a CPG client on a category management team assessment. Read a synopsis of the project below or download the full case study.
Download the Conducting a Category Management Team Assessment Case Study Here
A large consumer products company with a focus on confectionaries was seeking to optimize the workflows and efficiency of its Category Management team, including identifying opportunities to streamline manual work and create a greater focus on activities driving growth and strategic alliances with customers.
The Clarkston team assessed the current Category Management team and its processes through individual interviews with field team members, directors, and subject matter experts (SMEs), surveying more than 100 members of the team across all roles and levels of the organization, as well as reviewing industry best practices and research.
Through the discovery process, Clarkston identified key challenges and inefficiencies in how the team manages work and collaborates and in the workflow processes. Solutions were developed to address these unique challenges with both short-term attainable outcomes and a longer-term roadmap to achieve their bigger aspirations. The Clarkston team identified solutions for time requirements, financial investment, and change impact, allowing the internal leadership team to prioritize the opportunities.
Three key themes identified by the internal team to optimize their current Category Management team:
- Realign on field team roles and responsibilities to ensure the right people are in the right roles for an appropriate amount of time. Through this realignment, the client will be able to standardize roles and expectations for each customer team and provide catered onboarding and training.
- Implement of a Centralized Planogram COE (Center of Excellence) to serve as planogram software experts to both assist field team members and provide advanced technical functions that aren’t a standard among rotating field teams.
- Develop a Reporting COE and Capabilities Team, with the vision of these teams being to provide technical and advanced reporting tools, templates, and customizations, as well as engage SMEs for critical reporting analytics and tools to support field teams.
After developing all solutions, the internal team prioritized the advancement and support of these three key themes found throughout the discovery. The Clarkston team shifted the focus on the wide array of solutions to develop a more in-depth roadmap, next steps, and key considerations for moving forward on the solutions best suited for the internal team and their vision for improvement within the identified key areas.
Clarkston rounded out the project by presenting findings and recommendations to internal stakeholders and senior leadership to advance individual and department commitments toward achieving the company’s newly established Category Management goals. Clarkston will continue to work with the team toward implementing the new structures going forward.
Download the Conducting a Category Management Team Assessment case study, and learn more about our CPG Sales + Marketing Consulting Services by contacting us below.
Contributions by Taylor Phillipe
