Procurement Career Paths

Job Title: Category Consultant

Location: [Insert location]

Reports to: [Insert name and title of supervisor]

Category consultants work with sales and marketing teams to implement programs and initiatives. They also manage supplier relationships, analyze market trends, and develop strategies to increase sales and profitability.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Aligns procurement activities with business priorities and gains support from stakeholders.
• Improves quality, service levels, availability, and value for money.
• Enhances the potential for achieving procurement savings.
• Provides insights into and helps reduce supply chain risks.
• Facilitates effective supplier management and continuous company improvement.
• Optimizes the utilization of procurement resources.
• Provides advice, guidance, and support to the client’s procurement leadership team.
• Develops and implements Category Management processes, procedures, tools, and templates.
• Mentors client resources and transfers knowledge.
• Assesses team skills and behaviors, and provides necessary training and coaching.
• Supports the recruitment of permanent client resources.

KPIs for this role

• Client Satisfaction Score (CSS): Quantifies the degree of satisfaction clients experience with the consultant’s services.
• Project Success Rate (PSR): Indicates the proportion of projects completed successfully by the consultant.
• Revenue Growth from Consulting Projects: Tracks the increase in revenue derived from consulting projects over a defined timeframe.
• Utilization Rate: Measures the percentage of billable hours consultants work compared to their total available hours.
• Average Project Margin: Calculates the typical profit margin achieved on consulting projects.
• Client Retention Rate: Reflects the percentage of clients retained by the consultant over a specified period.
• Return on Investment (ROI) for Clients: Gauges the financial benefits or returns clients gain from utilizing the consultant’s services.

Key Skills and Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent, preferably in supply chain operations or similar.
• 5 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, operations, or management consulting.
• Have a deep understanding of procurement and its processes.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Proficient in procurement data analysis and deriving insights from data.
• Quick learner, able to understand current supplier base, supplier economics, and market trends.
• Effective written communication, oral communication, and presentation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.

• Aligns procurement activities with business priorities and gains support from stakeholders.
• Improves quality, service levels, availability, and value for money.
• Enhances the potential for achieving procurement savings.
• Provides insights into and helps reduce supply chain risks.
• Facilitates effective supplier management and continuous company improvement.
• Optimizes the utilization of procurement resources.
• Provides advice, guidance, and support to the client’s procurement leadership team.
• Develops and implements Category Management processes, procedures, tools, and templates.
• Mentors client resources and transfers knowledge.
• Assesses team skills and behaviors, and provides necessary training and coaching.
• Supports the recruitment of permanent client resources.

• Leadership and Teamwork: In your role as a category consultant, you lead discussions to guide clients toward their objectives and aid them in making well-informed choices.
• Creative Thinking: This skill involves generating novel ideas and solutions.
• Problem-Solving: It’s about identifying, analyzing, and resolving business issues systematically.
• Analytical Thinking: Strong analytical skills allow you to process complex information efficiently, aiding in the creation of effective solutions.
• Strategy Development: Category consultants create product strategies and sales targets, evaluate new product potential, expand categories, and eliminate unsuccessful products.

• Client Satisfaction Score (CSS): Quantifies the degree of satisfaction clients experience with the consultant’s services.
• Project Success Rate (PSR): Indicates the proportion of projects completed successfully by the consultant.
• Revenue Growth from Consulting Projects: Tracks the increase in revenue derived from consulting projects over a defined timeframe.
• Utilization Rate: Measures the percentage of billable hours consultants work compared to their total available hours.
• Average Project Margin: Calculates the typical profit margin achieved on consulting projects.
• Client Retention Rate: Reflects the percentage of clients retained by the consultant over a specified period.
• Return on Investment (ROI) for Clients: Gauges the financial benefits or returns clients gain from utilizing the consultant’s services.