Category Manager (MI, Troy)

Responsible for the category profit for the region.

The category manager is directly responsible for development, maintenance and deployment of the Internal Category Business Plan and the External Category Plan and accountable for development of the 4 Ps for the category.

Approves all New To Range products and regional product changes.

Category Business Planning and Execution for the Region:

• Accountable for profit at the Region level for the category
• Proactively identify critical insights needed to support Category Plans for the Region
• Responsible for developing the internal category business plan and external category plan
• Assess environmental, consumer, customer, installer and category situation; establish additional research & needed funding
• Create/confirm category definition and structure; role suggestions
• Create/confirm the category vision
• Develop category strategies, initiatives and scorecard measures
• Ensure alignment and execution of the product value proposition in the region through effective 4P management
• Lead a multi-functional team to create the Region Category plan
• Adjust category elements for channels and key customers and work directly with sales and key customer(s) on developing Joint Business Plans
• Design implementation plan, track against scorecards and revise the Category Plan as appropriate. Create Sales Playbook content.
• Support development of the Global Product Line Plan
• Accountable for developing the ideal assortment (offer for sale & customer inventory location) and supporting inventory deployment
• Review and approve category specific marketing materials and promotional plans
• Create price strategy to achieve regional financial goals
• Develop and monitor the category scorecard

• Responsible for identifying New To Range product requirements and implementing at the region level
• Generating product ideas with support from Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Engineering and Suppliers.
• Approve and manage the implementation of product lifecycle changes in the region (e.g. CR process)
• Identify NTR needs pipeline with products that fit with the category vision, category role suggestions, and key category strategies.
• Customer Support
• Provides customer support as required (e.g. analysis, market insights, customer strategy recommendations, response to inquiries)
• Contributor to developing Customer Business and Joint Business Plans in the region, and participates in key customer meetings (as needed)