CATEGORY MANAGEMENT
What will category management look like by the end of 2025 ?
MATTHEW KIPPEN : While category management has traditionally been treated as synonymous with planograms , it will be given proper recognition as a core retail process in 2025 . Category management is the very essence of the in-store experience – combining assortment and space planning together to deliver the “ ideal ” end result to the customer . Everything that flows in and out of
FINAL THOUGHTS : THE AI- POWERED PROCUREMENT REVOLUTION
Santosh contends that AI is not just a technological enhancement , but a strategic imperative for modern procurement organisations .
“ By adopting intelligent category management , procurement leaders can transform their function from a cost centre to a strategic enabler , driving efficiency , resilience and long-term business value ,” he says .
“ Organisations that embrace AI-driven procurement now will future-proof their category management strategies and stay ahead in an increasingly complex and competitive global marketplace .” retail – from fulfilment to allocation and replenishment and more – is driven by the strategies and data gathered by effective category management . None of this should come as a surprise to retailers , who know how important category management is to their day-to-day business . However , from a market perspective , it sees less coverage compared to other foundational retail planning topics .
This will change in 2025 , especially with centralised data becoming so important alongside new AI initiatives .
DRASKO JELAVIC : I have been in this space for 25 years and can tell you the development of procurement is super slow . “ We are not mature enough for category strategies ” is something we hear quite often .
There is no qualitative change expected by the end of 2025 . Our mission is to increase the awareness of category strategy being key for driving business decisions in a complex business environment .
At Cirtuo , we are working on the next stage of incorporating AI agents into our product to further simplify the approach and reduce barriers to adoption . If we succeed in improving it a bit with our work , I would be very happy . procurementmag . com 117