Category management has traditionally been a discipline of highlevel architecture. We invest months into market analysis, supplier segmentation and sourcing strategies, all meticulously documented in slide decks and agreed upon by stakeholders. Yet, for many organisations, the journey from strategy to execution remains a broken bridge.
The moment a requisition is raised, the“ strategy” often vanishes. In its place, the practical application of category rules depends on the individual interpretation of a busy requester or the rigid, often unhelpful, limitations of a legacy ERP system. We create“ shelfware” – brilliant strategies that nobody actually uses at the point of purchase.
Category-based orchestration seeks to kill the shelf-ware. By translating category policy into system logic, organisations are finally closing the gap between what we plan to do and what we actually do.
From guidance to governance To understand orchestration, we must first define its predecessor.
170 March 2026