What are the key steps and tools for developing a category strategy?

Understanding the spend is important, that includes these factors listed, however ROI is critical in defining spending baseline and the evolution of that spending over time and the overall value compared to the cost, including these categories and models.

Slight shifting of accents from "analysis can help to understand ..." to "to understand you need to analyze" will significantly robust analysis' outcome and save time.

Gather Data: Collect information on historical and current spending on each category, including supplier relationships, purchase volumes, and pricing data. Analyze Spend Trends: Identify patterns and trends in spending, such as supplier dominance, price fluctuations, or variability in usage. Benchmarking: Compare the company's spending patterns to industry benchmarks or competitors to assess its position and identify areas for improvement.

Spend cubes provide granular visibility into spending data by breaking it down into multiple dimensions such as supplier, category, geography, and time period. This level of detail allows procurement teams to identify patterns, trends, and opportunities for cost savings or consolidation within specific categories.

Once the main SMART goal/objective is defined, the spend analysis will be much simpler to find what we are looking for in a reliable database.

Adding two more tools to the list: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Calculate the total cost of ownership, including direct and indirect costs. Identify opportunities for cost reduction. Kraljic Matrix: Apply the Kraljic Matrix to categorize items based on their strategic importance and supply risk.

Assessing the market landscape through these tools and analysis is vital, but risk must be also include in this step to understand the landscape and segments in this analysis.

These Six steps are critical. it's also important to understand your category! this will make the implementation of your strategy plan more effective.

I would put defining of objectives in the very beginning. On the first stage of the developing category strategies. Because all analyses of spends and market can be more targeted and conducted more efficiently if we understand for what purpose we do them.

Measurable goals must be short-term and long-term, which will allow the organization to orchestrate resources to reach these goals and to overcome obstacles through strong channel communications and KPIs.

Furthermore, engaging key stakeholders across various departments within your organization, as well as external partners such as suppliers and customers, can provide valuable insights and perspectives that shape your category strategy. Techniques like stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and workshops can facilitate this collaborative process.

Development must be consider around a human-centric attitude which will bring enthusiasm and engagement, in turn multiple teams collaboration target will be met and exceed with shorten strategy cycle.

Evaluate Strategic Options: Brainstorm and evaluate various strategies to achieve the defined objectives, considering factors like market conditions, supplier capabilities, and internal resources. Select the Best Strategy: Choose the most effective strategy based on its feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with the business goals.

Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define KPIs to track progress towards the defined objectives and measure the effectiveness of implemented strategies. Conduct Regular Reviews: Regularly review the category performance against KPIs and make adjustments to strategies as needed.

Embrace a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging feedback, lessons learned, and best practice sharing to refine and enhance the category strategy over time.

Developing a category strategy starts with analyzing your spending. Next, evaluate your suppliers with a supplier relationship management system to ensure they meet your standards. Keep an eye on market trends and risks using market intelligence tools and reports. By integrating these steps—spending analysis, supplier evaluation, and market monitoring—you create a robust category strategy that boosts efficiency and aligns with your business goals.