CATEGORY MANAGEMENT – CATEGORIES THAT COUNT: A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO MAXIMIZE BUSINESS PROFITABILITY
Driving Profitability, Customer Value & Supply Chain Efficiency through Strategic Category Management
Course Schedule
| Date | Venue | Fees (Face-to-Face) |
|---|---|---|
| 06 – 10 Oct 2025 | Dubai, UAE | USD 3495 per delegate |
Course Introduction
Category Management is no longer just a retail or procurement function—it is a cross-functional strategic discipline that aligns product or service groupings (categories) with business goals to deliver measurable value. Effective category management enhances supplier collaboration, customer satisfaction, cost optimization, and organizational profitability.
This hands-on course equips participants with the methodologies, tools, and techniques to analyze, segment, and manage categories based on spend, risk, and value contribution. Participants will learn to develop data-driven category strategies, influence stakeholder decisions, and implement best-in-class sourcing, marketing, and supply chain approaches.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
• Apply structured category management frameworks for strategic decision-making
• Segment and prioritize categories using spend analysis and risk/value models
• Develop and implement category plans aligned with organizational goals
• Enhance supplier and stakeholder collaboration within each category
• Drive profitability, cost savings, and innovation across key business areas
Key Benefits of Attending
• Gain deep expertise in strategic category management
• Build category strategies that balance cost, risk, innovation, and service
• Use spend analytics and market intelligence to make data-driven decisions
• Deliver measurable business impact through structured category plans
• Strengthen cross-functional collaboration across procurement, sales, and operations
Intended Audience
This program is designed for:
• Procurement and sourcing managers
• Supply chain, inventory, and logistics professionals
• Category and product managers
• Finance, operations, and strategic planning leaders
• Anyone involved in cost optimization, supplier strategy, or demand planning
Individual Benefits
Key competencies that will be developed include:
• Category segmentation and prioritization skills
• Strategic planning and stakeholder engagement techniques
• Spend and market analysis for category insight
• Supplier relationship management by category
• Execution of sourcing strategies and performance tracking
Organization Benefits
Upon completing the training course, participants will demonstrate:
• Better alignment of category strategies with business objectives
• Reduced total cost of ownership across key spend categories
• Higher ROI through demand management and supplier innovation
• Improved negotiation and sourcing outcomes
• A more strategic, analytical, and value-driven procurement function
Instructional Methdology
The course follows a blended learning approach combining theory with practice:
• Strategy Briefings – Best practices and frameworks in category management
• Case Studies – Real-world examples of category transformation
• Workshops – Development of actual category plans and sourcing strategies
• Peer Exchange – Group discussions on challenges across sectors
• Tools – Category planning templates, spend analysis dashboards, scorecards
Course Outline
Detailed 5-Day Course Outline
Training Hours: 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Daily Format: 3–4 Learning Modules | Coffee breaks: 09:30 & 11:15 | Lunch Buffet: 01:00 – 02:00
Day 1: Foundations of Category Management
Module 1: Introduction to Category Management (07:30 – 09:30)
• Definition, objectives, and business impact of category management
• The category lifecycle and key stakeholders- Module 2: Spend Segmentation & Analysis (09:45 – 11:15)
• Data classification, cleansing, and opportunity identification
• ABC and Pareto analysis - Module 3: Category Segmentation Models (11:30 – 01:00)
• Kraljic matrix, portfolio analysis, risk/value mapping
• Strategic vs. tactical category management - Module 4: Workshop – Spend Segmentation (02:00 – 03:30)
• Group activity: analyzing spend data to categorize priorities
Day 2: Strategy Development and Market Insight
- Module 1: Internal Needs and Demand Management (07:30 – 09:30)
• Understanding category stakeholders and business needs
• Demand planning and internal compliance challenges - Module 2: Market Intelligence and Supplier Analysis (09:45 – 11:15)
• Analyzing supply markets and external drivers
• Benchmarking tools and cost modeling - Module 3: Building a Category Strategy (11:30 – 01:00)
• Creating vision, objectives, and strategy statements
• Category value levers: cost, innovation, risk, service - Module 4: Workshop – Drafting a Category Strategy (02:00 – 03:30)
• Group work on strategy development for chosen categories
Day 3: Strategic Sourcing and Implementation
- Module 1: Sourcing Strategy Options (07:30 – 09:30)
• Competitive bidding, negotiation, strategic partnerships
• Global vs. local sourcing considerations - Module 2: Supplier Relationship Management (09:45 – 11:15)
• Segmenting suppliers by category
• Performance monitoring, scorecards, and collaboration - Module 3: Risk Mitigation in Category Plans (11:30 – 01:00)
• Supply continuity, compliance, ESG, and geopolitical risk
• Building resilience into the sourcing model - Module 4: Workshop – Supplier Evaluation Matrix (02:00 – 03:30)
• Hands-on activity to assess suppliers using scoring criteria
Day 4: Execution, Negotiation & Measurement
- Module 1: Category Plan Execution (07:30 – 09:30)
• Timeline, stakeholder alignment, and governance
• Contracts and implementation tactics - Module 2: Negotiating by Category (09:45 – 11:15)
• Negotiation strategies tailored to strategic vs. tactical categories
• Behavioral and power-based negotiation tools - Module 3: Category Performance Measurement (11:30 – 01:00)
• KPIs, scorecards, and dashboards
• Tracking savings, service levels, and innovation metrics - Module 4: Workshop – Category Scorecard Development (02:00 – 03:30)
• Designing a practical category performance tracker
Day 5: Final Presentation, Integration & Action Planning
- Module 1: Integrating Category Management Organization-Wide (07:30 – 09:30)
• Cross-functional collaboration, communication, and systems
• Embedding category thinking into procurement and business units - Module 2: Final Case Study – Category Plan Presentation (09:45 – 11:15)
• Groups present full category plans
• Peer and instructor feedback - Module 3: Knowledge Review & Wrap-Up (11:30 – 01:00)
• Final course review and evaluation - Module 4: Action Planning and Certificate Distribution (02:00 – 03:30)
• Participants draft their real-world category implementation plan
• Certificates awarded
Certification
Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion in Strategic Category Management, confirming their ability to apply structured approaches, tools, and insights to manage categories for profit, performance, and competitive advantage.