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Category Transformation at a DIY retailer
Category management isn’t just a procurement tactic—it’s a strategic engine that drives profitability, customer engagement, and operational coherence across retail. When done right, it’s where business acumen meets consumer insight.
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What Is Category Management?
Let’s start with a clear definition. According to CIPS, category management is “a strategic approach to procurement where organisations segment their spend into areas which contain similar or related products.” But within retail, it reaches deeper. The IGD defines it as “the strategic management of product groups through trade partnerships to maximise sales and profit by satisfying consumer and shopper needs.”
In essence, it's the art and science of aligning internal goals with external market realities—grouping products not just by similarity, but by strategic potential. It enables businesses to think like their customers and act like strategic operators.
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Real-World Impact: DIY Retailer Decorative Transformation
During my time at this 230-stores and e-commerce DIY retailer, I led a category transformation in Decorative—a space ripe for reinvention. Here's how we approached it:
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Category Definition: Paints, wallpapers, DIY decorative materials including wall panelling kits.
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Strategic Role: Inspire consumers, simplify home improvement, and encourage multi-item purchases.
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Performance Review: We identified complexity, seasonal inefficiencies, and a disjointed shopper experience.
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Tactics and Execution: Introduced curated product ranges aligned to trend-led palettes. Revamped merchandising with demo zones and clearer navigation. Leveraged supplier partnerships to streamline assortments and reduce working capital.
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Outcomes: Improved conversion rates, increased customer satisfaction, and more effective category forecasting. Most importantly, it became a category customers wanted to spend time in—not just transact with.
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02
Contract Lifecycle Management at Scale
Delivering a 2% Efficiency Gain for a Major UK Retailer
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At a leading UK household-name retailer, I led the end-to-end contract lifecycle management (CLM) process across a portfolio of 200 suppliers. Each contract underwent annual renegotiation, guided by granular performance data drawn from our ERP system—including revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), gross margin, inventory levels, and supply chain metrics such as delivery reliability and missed revenue from out-of-stocks.
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Contracts were directly linked to ERP KPIs, enabling rapid and routine updates for operational suppliers. For strategic and leverage vendors, I elevated the process: raw data was transformed in Excel and visualised in Power BI, crafting high-impact dashboards that guided more nuanced negotiations.
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Key outcomes included:
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Efficiency: All contract updates completed within a strict 3-month window
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Performance-Tied Renegotiation: Each deal aligned with real business impact
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Controlled Workflow: Automated sign-off flows enhanced speed and governance
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On-Target Delivery: Achieved a 2% expected gain, unlocking measurable value
CLM moved from being a compliance necessity to a driver of commercial and operational advantage.
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03
Driving ESG and Efficiency through a Smarter Supply Chain Model
​As part of a regional growth initiative, I redesigned the delivery model for stores in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia — new market entrants for a major European retailer. With the goal of maximising value for early-stage operations, I implemented a centralised procurement solution from Poland, ensuring access to competitive pricing and a consistent assortment.
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Initially, store managers could place ad hoc orders from the Polish warehouse, fulfilling both consumer purchases and local operational needs — right down to wrapping paper. But as volumes grew, this reactive model revealed cracks: the central warehouse faced operational inefficiencies, and transport relied heavily on individual courier shipments, creating cost overruns and unnecessary carbon emissions.
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Leveraging my experience from a global logistic provider, I transitioned the system to a milk run delivery model with a fixed schedule. This change introduced rhythm and predictability to operations, aligning warehouse planning with store demand and significantly improving both performance and sustainability.
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Key Outcomes:
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Cost Savings: Delivered a 74% reduction in transport costs
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Environmental Impact: Avoided 12 tonnes of COâ‚‚ emissions annually
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Operational Clarity: Established a consistent delivery cadence for stores and warehouse teams
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Procurement Efficiency: Centralised sourcing scaled smoothly with store growth
This ESG-focused supply chain transformation proved that commercial discipline and sustainability can — and should — go hand in hand.
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