Category Planner Job Description
Category planner
provides demand requirements for (short and long term) production plans together with the Strategic Business Unit Planning Leads and Supply Chain managers.
Category Planner Duties & Responsibilities
To write an effective category planner job description, begin by listing detailed duties, responsibilities and expectations. We have included category planner job description templates that you can modify and use.
Sample responsibilities for this position include:
Achievement of Food Commercial Shared Objectives
PromComm timings met and measured
Value simplicity compliant and on track with Conqueror
Category Plans delivered to timescales, on budget and within agreed retail hours
Provide insight/data on a timely basis to inform decisions or changes to plan
Lead and facilitate the relevant forums of the monthly demand cycle for your category / categories
Appropriate measures for improving forecast error and bias and reducing forecast volatility are developed and implemented
Historical sales performance is analysed, assessing the impact of various sales and marketing plans such as new product introductions
Challenge base & promotional volumes at customer level by SKU to produce an accurate demand forecast across the OP planning horizon
Proactive member of the category leadership team
Category Planner Qualifications
Qualifications for a job description may include education, certification, and experience.
Licensing or Certifications for Category Planner
List any licenses or certifications required by the position: APICS, CPIM, JDA
Education for Category Planner
Typically a job would require a certain level of education.
Employers hiring for the category planner job most commonly would prefer for their future employee to have a relevant degree such as Bachelor's and High School Degree in Business, Merchandising, Education, Finance, Engineering, Business/Administration, MBA, Management, Supply Chain Management, Business/Management
Skills for Category Planner
Desired skills for category planner include:
Supplier Management principles and techniques – desirable
Cargill Food Service team structure
Excel with strong analytical skills
Business unit trends
Food category processes & operation
Oil industry
Product performance with customers within the Emerging Markets cluster
Statistical modeling and demand systems
Strategic business plans
Desired experience for category planner includes:
APICS certification (CPIM or CSCP) highly desirable
Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Finance, Analytics or a related field
At least 2 years experience in merchandise planning required
Experience in direct marketing, catalog, online retailing preferred but not required
Strong analytical and planning ability and attention to detail
Advanced Excel required and experience using high-end planning and operating systems
Category Planner Examples
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Category Planner Job Description
Job Description Example
Our company is hiring for a category planner. Thank you in advance for taking a look at the list of responsibilities and qualifications. We look forward to reviewing your resume.
Responsibilities for category planner
- Successful leadership of the category team ascertained through feedback
- Valuable category relationships with the key suppliers
- Lead and facilitate the relevant forums of the monthly demand cycle for your category
- Develop strong communication and partnering links with Sales, Product Change Management, Marketing partners, Supply Planning and other parts of Customer Servise & Logistics
- Develop and implement appropriate measures for improving forecast error and bias and reduce forecast volatility
- Analyse historical sales performance, assess the impact of various sales and marketing plans such as new product introductions
- Maintain documentation of the forecasting process - including assumptions and clearly identify how the forecast is prepared, reviewed and approved and who is involved
- Condust internal and external benchmarking, identify opportunities to introduce best practice initiatives and share our experiences with Central Europe team
- Key category metrics of sales, market share, trading intensity and profit
- Trading initiatives delivered to timescales, and effectively implemented within agreed hours
Qualifications for category planner
- Experience with Access and SAS or similar BI tool desired but not required
- Perishables experience a MAJOR plus
- Must have the ability to manage multiple responsibilities and projects at the same time
- Must have initiative and ability to identify, devise and implement appropriate processes required for category planning, execution and control
- Ability to understand and re-define processes and procedures when warranted
- Great influence of the pricing and promotional plan including how we use the space and who has access to which locations for example
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Category Planner Job Description
Job Description Example
Our innovative and growing company is hiring for a category planner. We appreciate you taking the time to review the list of qualifications and to apply for the position. If you don’t fill all of the qualifications, you may still be considered depending on your level of experience.
Responsibilities for category planner
- Cash Margin Delivery in line with Business Unit target
- The timely delivery of shared Business Plans developed with the Buying team aligned to the Business Unit plans
- Production of effective future activity/event programme which fits and reflects Marketing framework
- Improvement in supplier category investment in line with Business Unit targets (ex GM)
- Facilitate and implement Category plans on time and to deliver targets
- Category Forecast Briefings
- Key category metrics of sales, market share and profit
- Successful promotional plan implemented that hits the financial metrics require - ROI
- ABCs delivered to time and target
- Represent Impulse successfully in marketing and activation prioritisation
Qualifications for category planner
- Ultimate control over Prom Comm
- Ownership of the range strategy including what, when and how we deliver relevant ranges
- Leadership of category planning team and their approach to delivering against the category planning teams objectives
- Two+ years equivalent work experience preferred
- Living in or willing to relocate to Houston, TX area
- Ability to travel 10-20% (potentially) to internal meetings and customer meetings / events
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Category Planner Job Description
Job Description Example
Our growing company is hiring for a category planner. We appreciate you taking the time to review the list of qualifications and to apply for the position. If you don’t fill all of the qualifications, you may still be considered depending on your level of experience.
Responsibilities for category planner
- Owns the development of Category/Department roadmaps
- Owns the development of 4P Guiding Principles
- May own creation of defense and new item stories
- Collaborates on the generation of insights internally within BU and HQ Shopper Insights
- Collaborates and influences across the BU (Category/Brand leads)
- Customer & Customer Team Engagement for assigned categories
- Actively participates with Sales on customer calls and solution / initiative development to drive the Category & Kraft business
- Brings back retailer and sales team learnings to the BU
- Provides project support as needed
- Provides input into tool development and data support systems
Qualifications for category planner
- Excellent proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint (to be tested)
- CRM database software experience preferred
- Experience in foodservice distribution channel a plus
- Minimum 1 to 3 years of experience in Material Requirements Planning, procurement, inventory management or other supply chain management function
- Hustle
- Deep understanding of consumers, accounts and retail trends
4
Category Planner Job Description
Job Description Example
Our company is looking for a category planner. To join our growing team, please review the list of responsibilities and qualifications.
Responsibilities for category planner
- Run monthly the plant specific Supply Reviews and contribute to the consolidated Hub input to IBP reviews to agree upon effective capacity plans that balance customer service, supply cost, and inventory targets to ensure that all derailing issues are effectively framed and escalated to the relevant forum for resolution
- Land promotional plans smoothly in line with strategy and delivering incremental sales, with all performance assessed and learnings applied
- Achievement of category shared targets
- Deliver category strategy activities to timescales and on budget
- Deliver trading initiatives to timescales, and effectively implemented
- Serve as a liaison between planning and inventory management to build delivery plans & flow forecasts
- Accountable for collaborating with Inventory Management Lead and Category Inventory Managers to resolve issues related to product shipment delays
- Support preparation of country S&OP and recommend profitable inventory decisions
- Demand and Supply Alignment- Identify demand signal across markets for individual categories and engage with SSM & RP to ensure that supply is in-line with demand
- Create and maintain reporting to evaluate recommended buys vs
Qualifications for category planner
- Ability to manipulate data and develop accurate category forecasts
- Cross functional relationship maangement with department including sales, marketing and supply chain
- Experience in short term and long forecasting
- Highly analytical with solid problem solving skills
- Familiar with demand planning tools APO DP, SAP R3, BI
- Milestone management
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Category Planner Job Description
Job Description Example
Our innovative and growing company is looking for a category planner. If you are looking for an exciting place to work, please take a look at the list of qualifications below.
Responsibilities for category planner
- Reviewing historical sales trends to prepare forecast data
- Developing statistical models to evaluating forecast results and optimise product launch and delists
- Taking full responsibility for creating a shop forecast for individual products within a certain category of products
- Ensuring retail forecasting system is maintained appropriately to consistently improve forecast accuracy and thus support a robust shop order
- Communicating effectively with Category, Retail and Supply Chain teams to ensure that forecast processes are adhered to and understood
- Providing data, analysis and direction on ranging decisions that can be implemented in collaboration with the Category teams
- Interacting with Category, Marketing, F&R and Finance to understand demand forecast drivers
- Using and Demand Planning software as the primary forecasting system tool
- Create the Victoria Secret’s Lingerie holistic financial roll-up for sales, margin, and inventory ensuring category architecture maximizes results and is in line with the overall Merchant vision
- Partner with Merchandise Planning leadership to develop forward looking projections with the appropriate gap between Plan and Trend during the monthly MPC process
Qualifications for category planner
- Coaching and development of range planners and new buyers on the category planning process
- Great influence of the promotional plan
- Great influence over ABC prioritisation
- Strength in Market and Business Analytics and supporting insights tools (Nielsen, KantarIQ, Mintel)
- Be seen as a trusted advisor, offering category and retailer centric recommendations to business unit and stakeholders
- Minimum 3 years of operational management experience with supply planning or related processes