In the procurement area, the term can be used in two ways: as a description of the procurement process, or as a basis for organising the procurement team. As a description of the procurement process, category management involves applying the end-to-end procurement process to a specific range of goods or services. This involves all the pre-award processes such as category analysis and demand management, sourcing and contract negotiation, as well as the post-award processes such as performance management. As a basis for structuring procurement resources category management usually involves defining the need, sourcing the market, negotiating the contract and managing the providers after the award. In order to ‘scale the role’ so that different categories represent approximately equal challenge, three key factors are considered: the value of spend in each sub-category, the diversity of the sub-categories and the challenge in the supply markets. See also Category and Procurement.

Category Management Essentials and Masterclass – Category Management training is available at Academy of Procurement.