Be An Effective Category Manager

By Author: Tanvi Wadhwa
Total Articles: 30
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Category Management is a retailing and supply management concept in which the mutually substitutable items are put together. The products that are purchased by a manufacturer and sold by a retailer are categorized into discrete groups which are similar in nature. These groups are called product categories and managing these product categories systematically as a business unit is called category management.

Each category is considered as a separate business unit and is expected to meet its own profitability and turnover targets and strategies. A category manager is also referred to as “cat-man.” He is a strong medium to build a relationship between the supplier and the retailer.

The role of a category manager has undergone a lot of changes in the recent years. Category managers are required to have some essential qualities. The question that most of the organizations face is “What makes a good category manager?”

Category manager greatly needs skills like strategic, interpersonal and change management skills. It is anticipated that due to the increasing complexities and expectations in the retail scenario, ...
... the organizations will hire a lot of category managers with differing profiles ten years hence. Organizations won’t only hire these skills but also people who have the skill to develop with the organization.

Some of the most important skills that are required in a category manager are integrity, negotiation skills, cost management and category expertise. These qualities are essential for a category manager to succeed.

Industry experts claim that due to the changing responsibilities of a category manager, the qualities required in a cat-man are also adding-up. Some of the qualities that are required are strategic thinking, ability to work as a team, influencing and persuasion skills and the ability to manage change.

Soft skills are the life blood of a category manager. In addition to having a knack for numbers, a category management must possess the right balance between emotional intelligence and numerical ability to strike the best deal. Inter-personal skills and political acumen is necessary to succeed as a category manager.

Category Managers need to develop these skills if they want to remain competitive in the future. Also, they need to keep developing themselves and adapt themselves to the changes of the corporate world.

Tanvi Wadhwa is a graduate in commerce and holder of Post Graduate diploma in Business Journalism and Corporate Communication, from the University of Delhi. Tanvi Wadhwa loves to write on the Online Education domain and has written many articles on Online Education in India. Ritika Pradhan is now associated with Edukart.com, which is one of the leading Online Education Portal in India offering various Online Courses which includes Online Career Enhancement & Skills Courses, Online Retail Management Courses, Online Project Management Courses, Online Financial Management Courses, Online Digital Marketing Courses and recently launched Online MBA Degree Courses.