Note- I have not personally reviewed any of these category management training providers but would be willing to attend any provider training sponsoring a place on their training course for an independent review. For providers not listed, feel free to get in touch if you would like an independent review
1 CIPS
https://www.cips.org/en/learn/training/uk/introduction-to-procurement-and-category-management/
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Understand the basic fundamentals of the procurement cycle and how each phase contributes to the effective management of the supply chain function, enabling you to do your job better
- Identify when to apply a range of purchasing tools and techniques
- Understand the need for the involvement of procurement in specification development and build a basic understanding of the category sourcing process
- Understand the importance of supplier appraisal, post-tender appraisal and developing relevant tender documents
- Describe the difference between performance and supplier relationship management
2. MBM
Specifically tailored to the retail industry for grocery
This is a Category Management training Course of 1+1+1 classroom days, spaced over 4 months. Specifically designed for suppliers to the UK Grocery Industry, it includes support in between training days designed to make the learning stick. Furthermore, you will experience our unique training method Sticky Learning ®.
The course will be delivered by a world class tutor that has worked in the UK Grocery Industry. In addition, like all of our training courses, it includes our ROI guarantee.
Built and refined over a decade, this unique training course is designed to meet the specific and challenging demands of sales and marketing teams of suppliers to the big four UK supermarkets.
It will improve the way Learners identify opportunities within their Category. Moreover, it will increase their ability to gain buy-in from buyers to accept and implement their recommendations. In short, it will help Category Managers to increase their Category sales.
3. IGD
https://www.igd.com/events/learning-events/successful-category-management
Category management, what is it all about? This two-day workshop will introduce you to the tools, processes and methodology required to deliver growth opportunities through adopting category management.
You will learn how to use category management to build meaningful relationships with your retailers. You’ll get hands on with the data and partake in exercises that will ensure you know how to deliver meaningful recommendations across the key tactics.
This workshop will introduce you to and prepare you for the changing needs of category management.
Course aims
Understand what category management is and the benefits of adopting category management ways of working
Learn how to use a range of category management tools to start delivering business results
Understand the category management process and how to implement each stage
Harness the importance of shoppers and see what affects their behaviour
Learn how to develop compelling category plans and initiatives by channel and format
Understand how to build retailer and supplier category relationships and joint category plans
4. Future Purchasing
http://www.futurepurchasing.com/training-development/category-management-training
Tailoring exceptional Fundamental and Advanced procurement and category management training courses and materials to the needs of your business & your people using the most dynamic & inspiring materials, methods and trainers available. Our programmes feature
- Best-in-class procurement technical capability
- Proven change management approach built from experience of >100 projects
- Facilitative & Collaborative style
- Focus on building and embedding sustainability capability
- Courses can be run in UK, USA, Europe and Asia
5. Positive Purchasing
3-day Category Management covers all aspects of our 5i® Category Management process. The course fully equips your purchasing practitioners to deliver significant business benefits through reducing price and cost, reducing supply base risk, and unlocking innovation and greater value for your most important categories of spend.
- Understand Category Management how it adds value
- Apply Category Management to key areas of spend
- Explain the key steps of the process and determine which tools to apply for each category
- Establish a cross-functional team and engage the business
- Define business requirements
- Analyze a category and determine a category strategy
- Create a source plan
- Develop a detailed implementation plan
- Manage implementation and apply change management principles
- Describe how to link contractual terms with the category strategy
- Begin to implement suitable arrangements for supplier management
- Determine when to restart the Category Management process
6. Bywater
This 1 day Category Management Introduction training course is designed to build awareness of the category management process and factors which contribute to its success.
Category Management is a strategic and structured approach to the procurement of goods and services which ensures the way the sourcing process is conducted delivers enhanced value to the organisation.
Contributing to the development and achievement of organisational goals, category management is aimed at delivering optimal performance across the portfolio of products and services consumed by an organisation from both internal and external supply markets.
On completion of this course delegates will:
- Understand the concepts of Category Management and its scope across the whole of the procurement / contract management lifecycle
- Define the roles associated with Category Management
- Understand the importance and benefits of Category Management to organisational success
- Clarify the process steps involved in effective Category Management
- Introduction to some of the main tools and techniques used in Category Management
- Understand the process of Category Management in optimising overall contract performance
- Understand the barriers and enablers to effective category management
7. ADR
http://www.adr-international.com/services/learning/adr-academy/adr-category-management-academy
ADR’s Category Management Academy is a blended learning experience that responds to the needs and preferred learning styles of the modern procurement professional. This 5-Step blended learning Category Management program includes an online skills assessment to baseline current capability (Category Management Sourcing DNA), classroom training and eLearning (using ADR’s OSCA) as detailed below:
Pre-workshop Category Management Skills Assessment
Using ADR’s proprietary Strategic Sourcing DNA – Participants will answer questions covering all aspects of the strategic sourcing process based on their own real life experiences.
2-day Category Management Essentials Classroom Workshop
This experiential workshop introduces participants to the Category Management concept. We will use the participants’ own supplier and category experiences throughout the workshop to demonstrate application the strategic sourcing process.
2-day Category Management Advanced Classroom Workshop
This classroom workshop challenges participants by providing a deep dive into a range of advanced category management tools and approaches such as risk management, demand management and should & could cost analysis.
2-day Category Management Leadership Classroom Workshop
This classroom build on the previous workshop and enables participants to develop their own category plan using the participants’ own category experiences.
ADR’s Online Supply Chain Academy (ADR’s OSCA®)
ADR’s OSCA ™ is a collection of online learning courses. Each of the OSCA modules are clearly linked in terms of approach, process, methodology and language with ADR’s skills assessment (DNA) and classroom training. Together these 3 components make up the ADR Category Management Academy.
Post-training skills evaluation
Participants will revisit the pre-course Category Management DNA skills evaluation to register the uplift in their capability, as compared with their pre-workshop capabilities.
8. State of Flux
State of Flux’s category strategy training focuses on the science and art to driving high performing category management. We show you how to engage your organisation’s key stakeholders and develop best-in-class category strategy.
Taught by experienced practitioners and leading consultants, our category strategy training is designed to review the component disciplines of creating a category plan. It helps category managers and category specialists develop the thought processes and skills needed to take their category strategy to the next level. The key training topics are:
- The art and science of category management – the category manager role and what ‘good’ looks like
- Category planning and strategy – driving outcomes using best practice
- Category manager as trusted commercial advisor
- Profiling the category – applying segmentation criteria to prioritise sub-categories and projects
- Stakeholder mapping, influence and communications
- Supply market research and analytics
- Developing the category strategy
9. ISM
https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/education/content.cfm?ItemNumber=28754&SSO=1
Overview
This program teaches you to use spend analysis and proven category management techniques to remove cost and leverage value from spend categories. Students will get an idea of where the field is headed and why demand for increased contribution requires more sophisticated techniques.
Be Sure to Bring Your Calculator
Who Should Attend
Buyers, sourcing specialists, category managers, negotiators, strategists, those who manage these responsibilities, or others who seek to improve or create value-adding sourcing, category management and supplier relationship skills. The program will be useful to all levels, from entry level buyers to management.
You Will Learn…
How volume aggregation, standardization and resulting economies-of-scale contribute to aggressive cost takeout; How to use spend analysis to identify financial targets; Value-adding strategies and techniques specific to distributors, manufacturers, raw material suppliers, service providers, and the management of true commodities; Techniques for identifying and managing category-specific risk; Managing the costs of administration; and Considerations related to building and retaining a highly skilled, robust professional workforce. In addition, you will learn:
- Four ways to segment spend categories
- 14 important considerations when planning to outsource
- Seven key considerations for retaining skilled employees
You Will Earn…
21 continuing education hours
Course Outline
- Some Important Definitions: Economies-of-scale; Return on Assets; Profit Margin; Volume aggregation; Standardization; Outsourcing; Non-price related value
- Spend Analysis
- Category Segmentation: by spend category; through risk and value analysis (Quadrant analysis and SWOT analysis); other segmentation strategies
- Category Value
Optimization Techniques and Methodologies:
- Distributor Relationships — When buyer leverage is low (Distributor relationship management; Competitive bidding; Consortiums). When buyer leverage is high (Distributor relationship management; Understanding supplier cost behavior; Separating supplier fixed and variable costs; Volume aggregation; Standardization) how volume aggregation and standardization generate economies-of-scale
- Manufacturer Relationships — When purchasing standard goods (Single unit purchase; Multiple unit purchase); When purchasing non-standard goods (Single unit purchase; Multiple unit purchase); How to create and use leverage; Calculating the financial effect of leverage
- Raw Material Supplier Relationships — Assembly operations (Components); Process industries (Feedstocks); Contract manufacturing;
- Service Provider Relationships — typical issues related to purchase of services (Scope of work; Supply management expectations); Managing the quality of services (Stakeholder needs analysis); Content of request for proposal; Measuring service provider performance; Managing acquisition of services
- True Commodity Supplier Relationships — Commodity exchanges; Commodity pricing; Anti-trust law; Three key pricing arenas (Spot buy; 1-year in advance); the long term strategy — world supply and demand.
- Key Considerations When Dealing With International Sources
- Key Considerations in Managing Category-Related risk
- Managing Administration Costs — Software solutions; Automation techniques; Identifying and eliminating low-value-adding activity
- Hiring, Training and Retaining Skilled Supply Management Professionals — Hiring from within or from the outside: the pros and cons; A typical supply management training curriculum; Considerations in the retention of skilled employees
10. Accenture Academy
https://www.accentureacademy.com/lms/subject-area/Category-Management
Pricing turmoil in agriculture is forcing companies to implement best practices for commodity trading and risk management. Accenture Academy implements the systems and integration required across multiple business units to provide a comprehensive view and then helps develop risk metrics to support decisions and capital allocation.
Accenture Academy will help ensure the smooth integration of newly acquired businesses and focus on reducing material, equipment, and services spending through a strategic sourcing initiative.
Accenture Academy’s solutions in commodity trading and risk management allow businesses to take an integrated approach to trading that helps mitigate risk. With the proper tools and strategies, companies are able to both manage exposure and identify market opportunities in advance of competitors.
If you don’t want to shell out for category management training, you may also want to visit category management guidance