The work of Category teams often feels like it’s always a peak rather than a trough. And then even more work comes in. Prioritising can only get you so far when some of your activities are time consuming and concentration intensive. Below are the top challenges teams face.
Moving to a new data system
Your business has decided to move to a new data provider. In the long run this may have cost and efficiency savings, but in the short term this might bring eye watering data alignment work for the category and insight team. At times new data systems might not even be a choice your business has made. Your data provider has launched a new platform or your retail partner has introduced a new data system. You have even less control over the timing of new retailer systems, its being imposed upon you and you’ll need to get up to speed to start using it immediately to manage your account.
Setting up recurring reports and scorecards
Setting up recurring reports are key to effective ways of working in the category team. But to get them all set up on top of your day job and making sure they are correct giving the information you need can take a lot of time. You might need to set up new reports if you’re changing how you measure performance, you’ve won some new business or you’ve moved to a new data provider.
Defining and Recoding categories
Recoding your data also falls into the description of eye watering data work. Categories, particularly chilled ones, change and evolve. You might also gain new understanding of how shoppers see your category. All of these might lead to you needing to recode your database and looking through thousands of lines of data to do so.
Managing projects on top of the day job
Additional projects often fall to the category team. Insight projects, assessing new markets to enter, competitor analysis, tender planning, innovation workshops and business planning to name a few. I would try and plan for strategy days as far out as possible to ensure I had the time to dip in and out of the work for it leading up to the date. If I was using a data agency for support, planning a long way out would also ensure I had the resource from them too if it was needed.
Multiple Range Reviews at the same time
Range reviews are one of the most important points in the Category team calendar as they are a key moment in time to influence what happens in the category, and set plans for the coming years. They should be high priority but multiple retailer windows could be at the same time doubling the workload.
Time limited events – Reviewing Christmas
Christmas, the biggest event of the year and likely the biggest work load you could ever get. Capturing all the activity in the market and having recommendations for the next years Christmas all completed for early January. This becomes even more challenging when you have lines that launch for a few days in the run up to the 25th. Some categories double in volume over Christmas making it even more important to understand what’s been happening in the market.
Time consuming data work
Are you trying to unpick something that’s happened in the market at SKU level? Do you need to do some thorough promotional analysis? These all take time and the work can sometimes be iterative, pulling one data view and then another to delve deeper and unpicking what’s going on.
Headcount cap or recruitment freeze
You have loads to do, not enough people to do it and you can’t have more. Sound familiar?
What can help?
Flexible resource to bring into your category team as and when you need it. If you are looking for some experienced extra hands and eyes in the coming month to use on an ad hoc basis
get in touch to see how I can help.
Comments