PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
Category management excellence is vital for providing value to our customers, which is why we were excited to extend our collaboration with Blue Yonder and Strategix.
“ This capability allows us to plan exactly where new items will be placed and determine the appropriate stock levels for each store.”
Fredrik Prada, Vice President of Retail – EMEA at Blue Yonder, emphasises the partnership’ s value:“ We take pride in our long-term collaboration with the Coop Group and are excited they chose to extend their category management footprint for their DIY division with us. Our Category Management solution provides Coop with the necessary speed and agility to keep up with customer demand and constant industry changes so they can stay ahead of their competition and meet business goals.”
A redefined procurement paradigm Barriers remain: data integration, cultural shifts towards AI trust, upskilling for hybrid human-AI teams and governance. Kantar’ s findings reinforce that success hinges on adoption speed and collaboration depth. Procurement leaders should:
1. Pilot AI in high-impact categories – aligning with Kantar’ s 79 % investment trend
2. Build data foundations – essential for omnichannel category definition
3. Foster flexible partnerships – moving beyond traditional captaincy models
4. Upskill for strategic roles – as one-quarter of teams expand
KEY PROCUREMENT-RELEVANT OUTCOMES MIRROR BROADER AI CATEGORY MANAGEMENT TRENDS
• Automated operations freeing category managers for strategic work
• Data-driven assortment decisions based on shopper behaviour
• Enhanced sustainability through waste reduction via optimised stock levels
Kantar’ s comprehensive 2025 study, McKinsey’ s AI agent framework and Coop’ s implementation prove category management is evolving from tactical support to strategic growth engine. AI investments( 79 % prioritisation), power balance shift and omnichannel challenges demand procurement professionals embrace data fluency, collaboration and automation.
The message is clear: organisations treating category leadership as“ strategic foresight” rather than shelf-space management will lead tomorrow’ s competitive landscape.
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