PROCUREMENT STRATEGY James May, Executive Vice President at Kantar, states:“ In today’ s rapidly evolving retail landscape, retailers and manufacturers are not just keeping pace but leading the charge. By leveraging advanced data analytics and AI, they are transforming category management into a strategic powerhouse.”
Critically, AI is viewed as a tool to enhance, not replace, human expertise.
Shifting power dynamics and category captaincy The Kantar study highlights evolving power dynamics: while retailers maintain influence( 78 % vs 64 % of manufacturers view tariffs as 2025’ s biggest threat facing category management), manufacturers are gaining ground amid economic pressures like inflation.
Category captaincy is also being reimagined, only one-third of retailers now offer formal roles, with both sides preferring flexible partnerships. Notably, one-quarter of manufacturers and retailers report growing category management teams.
Both sectors agree on strengths in performance monitoring, shopper insights and pricing optimisation, but gaps persist in trade promotion and shelf layout, areas ripe for deeper collaboration.“ Strategic collaboration is essential,” the study concludes.
An‘ omnichannel future’, according to Kantar Jeff Maloy, Senior Vice President of Retail Advisory at Kantar, says:“ The companies that will lead in the next era are those that treat category leadership as a strategic engine, not a support function.”
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