Category management

Category management lacks a single definition thus leading to some ambiguity even among industry professionals as to its exact function.

However, this definition does not explain how the process often works in practical retailing situations, where demographic or marketing considerations take precedence.

The result is recorded in the Customer Decision Tree (CDT)[10] The industry standard model for category management in retail is the 8-step process, or 8-step cycle developed by the Partnering Group.

In the UK, the Groceries Code Adjudicator found in her 2015-16 investigation into Tesco plc that some suppliers paid "large sums of money in exchange for category captaincy or participation in a price review".

She found some evidence of benefits which suppliers derive from these arrangements but also recorded a concern, to be investigated further, as to whether the purpose of the Groceries Code was being circumvented by these payments.

[15] Many governments have viewed increased collaboration between suppliers and retailers as a potential source of antitrust breaches, such as price fixing.

The first challenge becomes incorporating analytical processes and value drivers that are largely indigenous to the MRP world in a manner that makes sense to an MRO environment.

Not only does electricity generation epitomize an MRO-driven environment, the nuclear energy source adds numerous dimensions of supply and procurement complexity – including federal and state regulatory compliance, nuclear industry standards compliance, nuclear-unique system and component design, and a tightly-audited (and very small) supply base, amongst others.

The fundamental adjustment made between the classical category management approach and the nuclear MCM approach is a shift from procurement strategies focused on leveraged spending to procurement strategies embracing nuclear value drivers, technology innovation, risk management, and strategic sourcing.