My Final MBA Thesis presentation to understand 2010 vs

1. Current & Future Skills Requirement of
the Category Manager
By: Kay Bayen, June 2010 EIPM MBA Project
Confidential Bayen K – MBA Research 2010 1

2. Objective
Research Questions
1. “What would be the updated pool of skills for category managers
across industry sectors?”
2. “Will there be a difference in the core skills of category managers
in Europe from today’s (2010) requirements vs the future
requirements in 2015?”
3. “What will be the most appropriate and up to date definition of
the role of the Category Manager according to the perspective of
leading academics and senior purchasing executives?”
4. “Is there a gap between the “average” vs “best in class” category
managers?”
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

3. “Good talentat the heart ofgood
“People are outperforms change.
“Attracting & Retaining supply
management talentkeyof 1.5x. the
processes by a factoramongst
Skills & talent is a is issue.
top 7 key people produce economies
Talented strategies that should be
pursuedFlexible &do operational
Many people can
of skill. inonlynext decade.” …they
sourcing, the a few can manage
adaptable
SRM & strategic sourcing.”
can apply themselves broadly
throughout the organisation”
Carter & Monczka
CAPS Research Philips,Senior VP
Rob Savelkoul, 2007
Dr Nicolas Reinecke, McKinsey
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

4. Literature Review
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

5. Lit Review
Year Lit Research Authors Topic
1983 Kraljic Purchasing must become Supply Management
1993 Kolchin and Giunipero Purchasing Education & Training 1 (Senior executives)
1996 Carter and Naraimhan Future Purchasing Knowledge
1999 Giunipero Skills based Analysis of the World Class Purchaser
2000 Durand Competency Model
Relationship between Purchasing Skills & Strategic
2000 Carr and Smeltzer
Purchasing
2000 Giunipero and Pearcy World Class Purchasing Skills
2002 Bouwmans Purchasing Knowledge & Purchasing Performance
2004 Giunipero Future Purchasing Manager Skills Set
2004 Giunipero Purchasing Education & Training 2 (Senior executives)
Axelsson, Bouwmans, Rozemeijer
2005 Developing Sourcing Capabilities
& Wynstra
2005 van Weele Purchasing & Supply Chain Management
2007 Carter & Monzcka Succeeding in a Dynamic World
2007 Bassi and Mc Murrer Maximising Return on People
2008 Bironneau & Le Roy Quelles Competences pour le Responsable Logistics?
A Contingency Approach of Procurement Competencies
2009 Bichon, Kamann & Merminod
& Attitudes
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

6. Lit Review
Gaps identified in Lit Review
1. Few studies on Purchasing skills have been extensively
researched in Europe.
2. Skills are paramount in accelerating the successful change to
adapt to external challenges. Top executives are turning to the
purchasing function in tough economic times. But what skills are
important for the future?
3. No studies have focused on the category manager profile. This
profile lacks a definition in literature.
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

7. Methodology
Methodology of Research
I have adopted the approach of
(Giunipero (2004), Kolchin &
Giunipero (1993).
My contribution :
• Applied above framework
to EU context
• New scope: Utilised data
of (EIPM) skills assessment
to analyse the gap between
av vs best in class.
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

8. Profile
Participants of my research
Job Profile of Focus Qualitative Quantitative
Interview
respondents Group Survey Survey
CPO Level
Vice President
Director 20 19 23 28
Manager
Buyers
HR, Academics, Consultants
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

9. Interviews
19 interviews with Academics & Senior
practitioners
• Dr Arjan Van Weele
Chair of Purchasing & Supply Management Eindhoven University of
Technology
• Dr Michael Henke
Chair of Financial Supply Management, European Business
School, Munich.
• Dr Michael Dickmann
Head of Human resources, Cranfield University
• 15 In-depth Interviews with senior purchasing
executives
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

10. Focus Group
Part One: Focus Group discussion
20 participants
Published: CPO Agenda Jan 2010
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

11. Focus Group
Objectives of focus group
1. Validating the qualitative and quantitative research
questionnaires
2. Updating the list of skills for the research purpose
3. Developing a definition of the category manager
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

12. Focus Group
Contribution:
Definition of Category Manager
defining a
The category manager is someone who is in charge of
strategy for the category, a market intelligence expert in
this category and is capable of communicating this strategy for implementation
in a regional or global level. In the course of his role, he or she should work
upstream in a cross functional/cross organisational manner to
influence important decisions while being updated on important input
from internal and external sources for strategy definition.
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

13. Focus Group
Contribution: Updated Skills Pool for
Quantitative Research
Focus Grp participants
- Removed certain skills Final
Original List which are obsolete Skills List
77 Skills
69 Skills
+ Added new skills which are
growing in importance
Kolchin & Bayen K, 2010
Giunipero, 1993
+ Multiple skills combined
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

14. Focus Group
Findings: Core Skills & Existing Gaps
MANAGEMENT SKILLS DECISION MAKING SKILLS
• Change Management • Risk Management
• Entrepreneurial skills • Working Capital Management
• Strategic Thinking • Financial Acumen
• Make or Buy
• Outsourcing
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Teamworking skills BUYING TECHNIQUE SKILLS
• Empathy • Functional Specifications
• Creativity • Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
• Stakeholder engagement • Purchasing strategy
• Supplier Market Intelligence &
• Category expertise
• Supplier relationship management (SRM)
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• Cross cultural skills
• High level communication skill PERIPHERAL TECHNICAL
• Selling & influencing skills • Project Management
• Corporate Social Responsibility &
environmental regulations
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

15. Qualitative Survey
Part Three : Qualitative Survey results
23 participants
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

16. Qualitative Survey
Qualitative Survey Structure
Part 1) Present Context
Challenges & main purchasing objectives
KPIs
Purchasing organization & structure
Qualitative
Survey
Part 2) Future Outlook
Role/mission & objectives of Purchasing in 13 questions
5 yrs time
Key activities for purchasing in the next 5
yrs
Part 3) Talent Management
Successful Talent Development programs
Evolution of the Purchasing Job profile
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

17. Qualitative Survey
Findings: Company Challenges
External
• Changing market players: mergers & acquisitions on both customer
and supplier side
• Growing competition brought about by globalisation and emerging
markets
• Shorter product lifecycles
• Supply market fluctuations and supply risk.
Internal
• Changes in top management
• Managing the cultural differences in a large global organisation
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

18. Qualitative Survey
Findings: Main Purchasing Objectives
• 8 Purchasing objectives identified
 Value Generation
 Cross Functional Collaboration
 Alignment of corporate purchasing initiatives with internal users
 Risk Management
 Getting Indirect spend under control
 Optimising & developing supplier base
 Sustainability & responsible sourcing
 Develop Talent Organisation & process
KPIs identified
Purchasing Objective Key Activities
Qualitative &
N = 1 …. 8 Quantitative
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

19. Qualitative Survey
Findings: Purchasing’s Future?
• Shift from price negotiation to Total Cost Solution
approach facilitating the involvement of key suppliers in
innovation and along the entire value chain.
• Move away from the traditional role of the “policeman”
or “controller” to ….a „value-creating‟ role.
• Be perceived as an expert advisor to internal
stakeholders, be more influential to become more
strategically involved with the rest of the organisation.
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

20. Quantitative Survey
Part Four: Quantitative Survey
28 respondents, rated 69 skills
Scale of 1 (not important) to 5: very important
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

21. Quantitative Survey
Key findings Skills are changing …
Ranking in 2015 Ranking in 2010
Strategic Thinking 1 24
Teamworking 2 11
Supplier market analysis 3 19
Influencing & persuasion 4 12
Total cost of ownership 5 23
Integrity,Professionalism 6 1
Listening 7 5
Purchasing category strategy 8 6
Market Knowledge 9 8
Change Management 10 50
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

22. Quantitative Survey
Top 10 Rank: 2015 vs 2010
Skills future Mean 2015 Skills current Mean 2010
1. Strategic Thinking 4.69± 0.47 1. Integrity, Professionalism 4.27±0.67
2. Team working 4.69± 0.47 2. Negotiation 4.19±0.75
3. Supplier market analysis 4.69±0.55 3. Cost Management 3.96±0.77
4. Influencing &persuasion 4.50± 0.76 4. Category Expertise 3.92±0.93
5. TCO 4.62± 0.57 5. Listening 3.85±0.92
6. Purchasing Category
6.Integrity,Professionalism 4.58± 0.50 3.85±0.73
Strategy
7. Listening 4.58± 0.58 7. Conceptual thinking 3.84±0.80
8. Purchasing Category
4.58±0.58 8. Market Knowledge 3.81±0.80
Strategy
9. Market Knowledge 4.58±0.58 9. Problem Solving 3.80±0.85
10. Change Management 4.42±0.64 10. Analytical thinking 3.81±0.71
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

23. Quantitative Survey
Skills that increased the most in rank
Skill
In descending order
Rank 2010 to 2015 Rank +
1. Change Management 50th to 10th rank 40 pts +
2. Networking 41st – 12th rank 29
3. Risk Management 42nd – 14th rank 28
4. Strategic Thinking 24th to 1st rank 23
5. Environmental Reg & CSR 61st – 38th rank 23
6. Cross Cultural 44th – 22nd rank 22
7. TCO 23rd – 5th rank 18
8. Supplier market analysis 19th – 3rd rank 16
9. Customer Focus 32nd – 17th rank 15
10. Financial Analysis of Supplier 48th – 35th rank 13
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

24. Quantitative Survey
Evolution of the Top 10 Skills
Top 10: Yr 2010 Top 10: Yr 2015
Negotiation Common Strategic thinking
Cost management Listening Team working
Category expertise Cat strategy Supply Market Analysis
Conceptual thinking Mkt Knowledge Total cost of ownership
Problem solving Integrity Influencing, persuasion
Analytical thinking Change Management
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

25. Av vs Best in class
Part Five: Average vs Best in class
Data analysis of 1040 category managers
from period of 2007 – 2010
Measurement 0-3 3-5 5 - 6,5 6,5 - 8 8 - 10
Scale
Skill
Area to Reinforce Strengths
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

26. Av vs Best in class
Average Best in class
(Mean population scores) (Top 25% pop’s av score)
TOP 10 (2015) PR KN ATT TOP 10 (2015) PR KN ATT
1. Strategic thinking
1. Strategic thinking
2 Ability to work in teams
2 Ability to work in teams
3 Supply Market
3 Supply Market Analysis Analysis
4 Influencing, persuasion
4 Influencing, persuasion
5 TCO
5 TCO
6 Integrity 6 Integrity
7 Listening 7 Listening
8 Purchasing category 8 Purchasing category
strategy strategy
9 Market knowledge
9 Market knowledge
10 Change Management 10 Change Management
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

27. Human Capital Management
(Original HBR Bassi & McMurrer Model applied to purchasing)
Examples : Sited from the Qualitative Survey
HCM Leadership Employee Knowledge Workforce Learning
Drivers Practices Engagement Accessibility Optimization Capacity
Knowledge
Involvement Well defined Open
Employee Availability:
& Processes, reporting Communication
engagement Required job
Transparency structure Support high Channel &
evaluation information &
& Respect performance Learning Culture
resources.
Efficiency of
Regular Teamwork training
Salary: Individual,
Feedback & Work Clarity encouraged & programs : Non
Team, Group
Supervisory enabled Budget holders,
X-Functional
HCM
Knowledge
Indicators Job Design Formal career
Top Mgt Management Skills based
(Profiles & Roles) development
Commitment facilitate Recruitment
taps skills plans
collaboration
Individual sense
Leadership Mentor &
of Achievement,
Transition Job Orientation Coaching
Recognition &
System Opportunities
Appreciation
Aligned & effective Competency
Job Security &
KPIs : Quantitative & development
Work Life Balance
Qualitative plans
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

28. Conclusion
Conclusion & Discussion
1. “What would be the updated pool of skills for category managers across
industry sectors?” …. 69 skills Focus Group findings
2. “Will there be a difference in the core skills of category managers in
Europe from today’s (2010) requirements vs the future requirements in
2015?” ….Yes, Quantitative Survey findings
3. “What will be the most appropriate and up to date definition of the role of
the Category Manager according to the perspective of leading academics
and senior purchasing executives?” …Focus Group findings
4. “Is there a gap between the “average” vs “best in class” category
managers?” Yes ….
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

29. Highlight: Interview
JF Baril,Senior VP Purchasing, Nokia
HEART BRAIN
Individual
HANDS GUTS
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

30. Limitations
Limitations & ideas for further research
• Long-term impact (€€) ROI of company’s Human Capital
development with revenue, brand, innovation …not studied.
• Skills of category manager with relation to 1) direct vs indirect
segments, 2) specific purchasing maturity or 3) Kraljic category
segment not studied.
FUNCTIONAL FOCUS CROSS FUNCTIONAL FOCUS
High
Leverage Strategic FUTURE
Value TODA
Creation Y
Non Bottlenec
Low
critical k
Transactional Commercial Purchasing Internal External Value chain
Focus
orientation orientation coordination integration integration integration
Low High
Direct Indirect
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management

31. Thank You 
Special thanks to all the participants of my
research.
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Bayen K – Current & future skills requirement category management