Procurement Professional is the official publication of CIPS Australasia

#92 - Is category management the new black?

11 Nov 2009

Earlier in the year, The Buyer was loitering in the corridor outside a CIPS category management workshop.

A procurement manager for one of Australia’s best known business brands emerged.

“We might give that a try” he said.
“Give what a try?” asked The Buyer.
“Category management” he said, seriously.

Maybe trends, fads and vogues have a role after all – at least in converting the laggards of the profession to the new way.

But what is CATEGORY MANAGEMENT exactly? The Buyer asked CIPS who, after some thought, offered a definition:
The entire art & science of procurement applied to a single genre of spend

Not bad; but not the full answer perhaps. Category management is a genuine end-to-end process. Which is mostly what separates it from an upstream/downstream strategic sourcing role. Cat management envelops all aspects of the supply process more naturally than basic strat sourcing. Yes, it is more end to end. More supply chain management than procurement. Maybe even the fulfillment of the marketing proposition – from CONCEPTION to CONSUMPTION. Necessarily more involved with both the tip of the supply chain right through to the actual consumer need.

A Sydney based recruiter offered a definition too – a mini-CPO role for one category of expenditure. They elaborated that they saw an easy business case to justify it – for controlling both buying and marketing of a key supply line within a business, with a calculable RoI.

Maybe the real definition of category management is a mix of the two …. The entire art & science of supply chain management applied to a single category of expenditure. And, if that is the case, maybe “Cat Man” is the new black – or even more, a glimpse of the future of professional Procurement perhaps?

The Buyer – posted 11 November 2009

The views of THE BUYER are personal and are not necessarily those of Procurement Professional magazine, BTTB Marketing nor CIPS