Associate Manager, Category at BIC

Job Summary
MAIN PURPOSE

• To analyze data (IRI | Cognos | Trade Intelligence) to drive insights to deliver the business and category growth objectives.

To define channel guidelines across Category Management levers with a focus on: -

• Driving incremental sales and profit for BIC and Retail partners
• Gain optimized distribution and visibility for BIC products in the retail environment.
• Provide analytical inputs on category opportunities.
• Drive alignment between the functions involved in Category Development (Marketing, Sales, RGM) and coordinate programs and actions needed to implement recommendations.
• Lead identified category management projects.
• Translate global Category Management strategies by Category into locally relevant strategies where applicable.
• Ongoing relationship building and communication with the Marketing and Sales Teams, driving alignment on opportunities and building data credibility with the teams.

Main Responsibilities / Tasks

• Strategically focused, decision-making support function to the Sales and Marketing Departments to maximize customer focused opportunities.
• Monitor and track internal and external performance of demand creation initiatives.
• Identify key performance gaps and opportunities for demand creation initiatives across the categories.
• Maintain, operate, and actively assess IRI, QlikView Insights, Trade Intelligence, Shoprite Webbie, GS1 and for detailed reporting to the business.
• Monthly reporting on performance of categories to the BIC business, locally and internationally.
• Producing detailed Retail Reviews which encompasses category strategies.
• Tracking performance, new product innovations, pricing and distribution of competitors and their products.
• Working with GS1 to generate barcodes for new products and to load new products onto GS1 (data net).
• Listings of all new products for Major Retailers such as Game, Shoprite, SPAR, PnP, Makro, Dis-Chem, Clicks, Boxer, etc.
• Strike Rate reports (listing shortfalls by channel and store, OOS reporting)
• Ensure that the planograms are built on accepted industry guidelines.
• Assist Sales where necessary, to improve the merchandising standards within various channels according to company guidelines.
• Attend meetings with Key Account Managers to assist with delivering the Category plans.
• Competitor analysis and understanding.

Key performance Indicators/ Key Figures

• Meeting of deadlines for all reporting.
• Results of key marketing initiatives and promotional activities to be updated and communicated monthly assisting in the achievement of the sales budget.
• Interaction and collaboration with key stakeholder in Sales and Marketing to develop and enhance strategies to deliver the operating plan.
• Distribution gains and improvement of each POP.
• Analysis of key price points by category ensuring that the pricing strategies are delivering (price volume interaction) propose course corrective action when necessary.
• Build and develop sustainable collaborative relat ionships with internal stakeholders and external data service providers.

Qualifications And Technical Skills

• 4 YEARS Category Management Experience in FMCG
• Strong computer literacy in IRI Software, QlikView Insights Software, MS Office, MS Windows, and PowerPoint
• High Numeracy skills – detail analytical ability.
• A proven record in excellent internal and external customer liaison skills and outstanding supplier relations & service excellence experience.

Knowledge, Skills, Competencies
R= Required D= Desired
Simple Criteria

• R – Maintain, operate & actively assess IRI, QlikView Insights, Trade Intelligence, GS1 and the Shoprite Webbie for detailed reporting to the business
• R – Advanced Excel Skills
• R – Relationship Builder
• D- Passion for people and management

Complex Criteria

• R – Be able to influence and persuade others to take a specific course of action
• R – Energy and passion for achievement of own commitments and delivering company objectives
• R – Building strong relationships with key customers and internal customers within the organization
• R – Respect others and mange diversity regarding diverse cultures, management styles
• R – Consistently manage projects and meet deadlines as per expectation, be well organized
• R - Think creatively to deliver practical solutions to problems
• R – Good communication skills
• R – Understanding of the decision-making process
• R – EQ influencing skills
• R – Ability to Multi-tasking, detail driven and focused
• R – Deadline driven
• R – Drive for Results
• R – Action Orientated
• R – Must be able to work under pressure
• R – Must be numerically strong

Additional Information

• 3-year Marketing degree with statistics as a major.
• Traveling – essential
• Current exposure and working on and with IRI data will be advantageous