Individuals seeking a professional role in category management have a variety of career paths to choose from. One of most common types of category manager jobs is procurement category manager. This is a retail professional who is familiar with a certain kind of product and is able to order new brands and models that his or her organization can shelve and sell in order to keep up with competitor businesses. A category marketing manager, on the other hand, might guide other marketing professionals who are responsible for designing campaigns that are appealing both to new customers and to established customers to whom an organization wants to cross sell. Category development managers might be responsible for helping an organization continually to develop a particular kind of product so that it meets the needs of a customer base and keeps up with market trends.
Category management is a broad term that can be applied to a number of different contexts. Generally speaking, category management refers to a business model in which a retailer's products are divided into different classifications. For example, a pharmaceutical retailer might divide its products into categories such as cold and sinus medication, asthma medication, and joint relief. In most cases, a category manager is responsible for developing each category as a separate business unit. A category manager in a grocery store who is responsible for overseeing produce, for example, might be responsible for finding ways to make a produce department more appealing to customers.
Depending on how an organization is structured, category manager jobs might not always fit neatly into definitions such as procurement or marketing. Instead, many category manager jobs are a combination of roles. For example, one manager might be responsible for finding new products and determining new marketing strategies that can define a category based on recent procurements. Other category managers might gather and analyze market research and consult upper level management on issues such as pricing and placement within a store.
Assistant category manager jobs often are held by individuals who have a strong background in a particular category, but who lack managerial experience. This kind of professional might perform research and gather information for a category manager. He or she also might perform some hands-on merchandising tasks.
Many category manager jobs require professionals to act as important parts of supply chains. A supply chain describes all of the steps required to get products from manufacturers to customers. Category managers often communicate with vendors and suppliers to plan for promotions and other events that impact inventory numbers.