Category Manager
The Sultan Center
Total years of experience :12 years, 7 Months
• Develop and execute strategic plans for the assigned category, including assortment
planning, pricing strategies, and promotional activities to drive sales and profitability.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and vendors, negotiate pricing,
terms and contracts to ensure favorable terms for the company while maintaining high
quality standards.
• Monitor inventory levels, turnover rates, and stock levels to ensure optimal inventory levels
and minimize stock-outs or overstock situations.
• Collaborate with marketing and advertising teams to develop promotional campaigns,
product placements, and marketing strategies to drive traffic and sales within the category.
• Monitor category performance metrics, including sales, margins, and profitability, and
take proactive measures to address any deviations from targets.
• Work closely with various internal teams such as operations, finance, marketing, and
merchandising to align category strategies with overall business objectives and ensure
seamless execution.
• Conduct regular market research, competitor analysis, and consumer insights to identify
opportunities for growth and innovation within the category
• Manage receipt/dispatch and verification of commodities to maximize quality of
warehouse operations and mitigate losses and ensure implementation of the best storage
management practices and compliance with WFP warehouse guidelines and standards.
• Review, verify and sign off warehouse and transport documents, and ensure accurate
maintenance of confidential files and warehouse transaction records to enable immediate
reporting on commodity movements in line with the corporate requirements.
• Conduct daily warehouse closing reconciliation and accurate inventory checks supporting
internal control systems in compliance with the warehouse management requirements.
• Perform daily inspections and prepare reports on the quantity and quality of the
commodities received/dispatched and handled, detect promptly, and analyze reasons for
stock discrepancies/damages, investigate missing quantity and prepare warehouse loss
reports recommending appropriate solutions, to enable informed decision-making.
• Support regular physical stock inventory exercise, to ensure compliance with IPSAS and
standard business requirements.
• Implement appropriate measures to safeguard food and non-food commodities, to ensure
quality control using standard preventive measures in line with WFP established
procedures.
• Provide supervision, guidance and on-the-job training to warehouse staff supporting their
development and high performance.
•Develops and implements the Buying Plan for a defined product area within the Category Plan.
•Constructs and implements the supplier and Range Plan to meet Customer needs and exceed sales and profit target
•Manage the pricing plan for product range in line with corporate guidelines.
•Providing promotions for catalogs and flyers from local supplier and ensure floor implementation.
•Providing inputs on category needs and development based on local demands, competitors, suppliers, qualities, market, prices etc…
•Monitoring and communicating Category performances to the Corporate Merchandise
•Conducting market feasibility studies and placing orders for existing and new products in line with corporate direction on
•pricing, store positioning, promotions, replenishment and communication
•Sourcing local and foreign suppliers based on customer needs and market behavior.
•Ensuring availability of products in the warehouse and stores at all time.
•Analyze data or insights to determine industry and consumer trends.
•Devise long term development strategies for product categories.
•Developing exit strategies for unsuccessful products.
•Foster trust relationships with vendors to achieve better pricing and quality for services.
•Manage, improve, and recommend the product assortment for the company.
•Determine the positioning of a product category to maximize visibility.
•Liaise with the marketing team to determine competitive pricing and promotional activities of a product category.
•Make forecasts for product demand to ensure the sustainability of inventory.
•Develop annual category plans which include current situation analysis, vision, strategy, and specific category plans.
•Identify leverage opportunities, work with procurement, negotiate contracts supply management and programs.
•Responsible for the day to day running of the store, maximizing profit and minimizing Cost.
•Managing and motivating the team to increase sales, and ensure efficiency.
•Managing stock levels and making key decisions about stock control.
•Analyzing sales figures, and forecasting future sales.
•Analyzing and interpreting sales trends to facilitate planning.
•Responding to customers’ complaints, and comments.
•Maintain store staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, and training employees.
•Achieves financial objectives by preparing an annual budget.
•Ensure high level of customers’ satisfaction through excellent service.
•Develop, lead and execute category plans and sourcing strategies based on research and analysis to optimize the value for money outcomes and meet stakeholder need and expectations.
•Identify and manage commercial, contractual, operational, financial, reputational, ethical and supply chain risks to minimize negative impacts on category objectives while encouraging opportunity and innovation.
•Lead negotiations on high impact, complex supply arrangements and contract issues to deliver better category outcomes.
•Collaborate with Buyers and Merchandisers to expand product categories.
•Make forecast for product demand to ensure the sustainability of inventory.
•Assume responsibility of budget development and revenue for category.
•Search for insights into consumer needs and wants.
•Analyze data concerning the particular products in a bid to understand trends and consumer needs.
•Make sure that product category is positioned at an easily visible place for customers to see.
•Attend to customers’ needs effectively.
• Develop the company’s supply management strategy within standards of procedures,
covering gaps, rationalizing stock cover.
• Manage and maintain the company’s material and stocked product inventory.
• Manage and control perpetual replenishing orders / ordering accuracy checks. (Daily,
Weekly, Monthly, Periodical, Annual…).
• Prepare purchase requisition as per the company policy negotiation conditions.
• Consult with buying personnel about the potential products in demand.
• Negotiate Minimum order quantity (MOQ) & claims/credit-notes with vendors or
distributors to manage ordering / receiving- establishing distribution networks or
developing distribution strategies.
• Liaise with Accounts payable department regarding collection terms with suppliers.
• Provide the management with weekly stock reports.
• Use sales forecasting or strategic planning to ensure the availability and disposability of
products, lines, or services, analysing sales developments and monitoring trends.
• Implement improvement processes and systems to reduce inventory, minimize costs and
maximize working capital.
•Govern and manage inventory at store level.
Ensure of reaching optimal stock covers by reducing out of stock and over stock.
•Managing suppliers in terms of ordering schedule, deliveries and service level.
•Reporting directly to the Supply Division Manager.
•Responsible for verification of orders to the suppliers and depot local lines.
•Monitor store inventory for exceptions.
•Evaluate stock position in the store.
•Coordinate with commercial on non performing lines, over stocked items and supplier issues to resolve.
•Managing Stock and ensure that there is adequate stock at all times.
•Making orders directly from the suppliers or in directly from the warehouse.
•Ensure that the correct quantity is received at the expected time.
•Being aware of visibility and availability of the store.
•Reporting on daily basis the service level by suppliers to the Admin Assistant Operations.
•Reviewing on daily basis the items available in the warehouse but OOS in the store.
•Promoting company's new products.
•Follow up on orders, Bills, and contracts with clients.
•Follow up credits and payment terms for each client.
•Reporting weekly turn over.
•In charge of a team of 5 sales representatives.
•Inspecting the quality of products before sending them to clients.
•Ensure client satisfaction in terms of products sold.
•Assisting in making the monthly offers and the discount rates.
•Study the market and keeping abreast of what competitors are doing.
•Allocating areas for sales executive.
•Reporting back to the sales manager.
•Monitoring customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
•Strong understanding of customer and market dynamics and requirements.
•Making Deals and meeting with clients.
•Ensuring that there is an adequate stock at all times.
•Overlooking the marketing plan and its implementation.
•Meeting the sales representatives.
•Planning, coordinating, and organizing the show room activities to attain the required goals.
•Inspecting actual show room to see the on goings, what goes wrong and noting faults
that needed to be corrected.
•Controlling the sales representative's budget and ensuring it is congruent with the budget allocations and estimates set up by the head office.
•Motivating Staff.
GPA