This report is available only to Outsourcing Excellence members. For information on membership, please contact us

This ready-to-use category strategy template offers editable frameworks for internal assessment and detailed industry and market category overviews to assist category managers, procurement professionals, and CPOs in creating an informed category strategy for Supply Chain Management (SCM) services.

SCM encompasses various functions such as planning, manufacturing, delivery, after-sales services, reporting and compliance support, and data management and analytics. Enterprises are developing strategies to leverage advanced technologies, such as predictive tracking, mechanized warehouses, inventory optimization, accurate forecasting, and automated after-sales support, to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of their supply chain.

Category managers can customize this template with internal category information, such as spend, suppliers, and subcategory overview. They can also use the industry and market insights provided in this template to build a strong supply base understanding. A category strategy’s goal is to create an action plan for effective category management, and this template provides the requisite tools, frameworks, and information to create a robust strategy. Best-in-class procurement organizations effectively leverage such tools and techniques to drive continuous improvements in their categories.

Scope

• All industries and geographies
• Category in focus: SCM

Contents

In this report, we offer comprehensive templates based on a four-step process to create a category strategy:

• Define internal needs: define category maturity and objectives, create a buyer profile to gauge the current supply base state and predict future demand, and conduct total cost modeling
• Understand the market: build industry and supply base understanding by evaluating aspects such as market trends, key suppliers, major delivery locations, pricing trends, performance benchmarks, and category risks
• Determine the sourcing strategy: decide between an in-house versus outsourced model for the category and identify best practices and value levers to drive category efficiency
• Create an action plan: identify and prioritize projects and drive them toward execution