Retail Category Manager at Colgate-Palmolive

Job Summary

The Retail Category Management Manager is responsible to develop and deliver the Retail Category Development Services to our customers through:

• Category Knowledge
• Category Optimization
• Joint Category Planning

He / she will be responsible for championing the RCD deployment within the organization, and demonstrates enhanced capabilities working collaboratively with customers. He/ she will play an integral role in disseminating Category Knowledge and will drive retail category focus within the commercial team.

The role requires a strong understanding of the shoppers in different RE’s across categories, needs to identify the category business challenges at a RE level and for priority customers.

The Category Management Manager will develop and deliver shopper based solutions for our customers promoting cross-functional collaboration to address the RE and retailer’s category opportunities.

The successful incumbent will work with Customer Management (CDT’s) to ensure alignment and execution against the category & brand strategies by coordinating the RCD process with customers and providing the tools required to define and deploy the 5Ps and shopper solutions for the category

Responsibilities/Accountabilities
Deliver RCD Services
Getting ready

• Develop a priority matrix to recommended customers for 1-way / 2-way and gain alignment with CDTs/ CDD
• Establish a roadmap for RCD for priority customers
• Define what the RCD services will look like and develop road-map for service delivery (which service to whom, when) – to be updated annually
• Understand the role of the category within all RE’s (one way) and priority customers (two way)
• Gather and document customers’ category strategies and KPIs (for 2-way priority customers)
• Develop local e-guidebooks for the prioritized categories; consolidate Consumer & Shopper knowledge and retail trends in a Category Story, leveraging the global eGuidebooks
• Master information from Global Sites (e.g. Planet Retail, CP Cust engagement center)

Develop and deliver two-way services

• Identify 2-way customers’ category challenges and articulate questions to understand the “why”
• Work with Insight team to develop the insights and opportunity.
• Work with RE Managers, Marketing and Insights team to ensure allocation of resources / budget.
• Develop retail category strategy (using the Category Strategy blueprint)
• Ensure development of solutions that maximize category growth for all RE’s and priority customers.
  • Develop Recommended Assortment and Planogram
  • Coordinate cross-functional team to develop category solutions (e.g. Breakthrough initiatives)
• Coordinate a Customer-CP RCD Workshop
• Responsible for the quality of CP’s Category Review process and output.
• Monitor Category Review outcomes and communicates to commercial organization.
• Monitor and share with customer category results of agreed solutions
• Market RCD services with customer (including Senior Management)

Develop and deliver one-way services

• Develop one-way category knowledge sharing protocol (e.g. newsletter)
• Develop “Ideal Store” recommendation for priority categories
• Develop and deliver training to CP team for “Ideal Store” implementation
• Monitor implementation and results and communicate to commercial team

Share Category Knowledge Internally

• Build category knowledge bundle for internal use (incl. CP Category Strategies)
• Develop and deliver internal category coaching sessions to disseminate category knowledge (annual) and retailers’ perspective
• Provide input to annual commercial planning by highlighting category dynamics and opportunities by RE / customer, including category promotion learning, ASP trends, category portfolio opportunities etc.

Drive Retail Category Focus Internally

Retailers’ category challenges & strategies

• Share two-way customer category challenges / opportunities and retail category strategies (blueprint) with the commercial team (gaining customer’s approval where required by confidentiality agreements)

Customer Category Profitability

• Track Retailer category/brand profitability where possible for each RE/Customer
• Identify ‘at risk’ brands, forms, sizes where there are gaps vs category average performance and average customer margins
• Develop CP Customer margin targets. Ensure commercial strategies are developed to achieve targets by systematic NPD, Re-launches, Resizing, Mix, etc.

GTM/NPD

• Provide key inputs to GTM team for all NP development & new projects
• Develop Category based plan by RE for customers’ presentation.
• Provide anticipated trade acceptance for new products at product concept stage.
   

Level of Education

• Relevant Bachelor’s Degree / Honors will be an added advantage

Years Of Experience

• 4 - 6 years in an FMCG environment

Functional Experience And Technical Skills Required

• Proven leadership to drive the RCD process in the organization
• Analytical experience to conduct deep category assessments and identify category opportunities.
• Business & shopper knowledge to understand category and brand strategies.
• Proven ability to conduct customers presentations and business reviews
• Able to lead the cross-functional collaboration among Retail Shopper Mkt, CDT’s and customers to develop and implement the RCD recommended solutions.
• Work with the insight community to identify the shopper opportunities and answer the questions related to the identified business challenges
• Able to prioritize customers in alignment with RM team leader and CDT to provide RCD services
• Financial knowledge (P&L) to recommend initiatives that brings financial results and understanding the impact on the business and ROI.