Future Purchasing

OCTOBER 30, 2024

It was great to see category management being consistently raised as a key topic by the keynote speakers. A clear takeaway for me was the potential for AI to help category managers accelerate the development of actionable insights and value opportunities.

Category management 52

Category management Management Strategy Change management 52

Spend Matters

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Ongoing training is important for procurement teams to keep up with the constantly evolving and advancing procurement tech and services landscape, specifically in niche areas such as category management, supplier management, negotiation and strategic sourcing and in the broader areas of change management and leadership.

Procurement 113

Procurement Competitive analysis Category management Strategic sourcing 113

Skill Dynamics

JANUARY 14, 2025

Category Management Category management refers to the focused management of individual aspects of your procurement process. This systematic segmentation of your key areas allows you to identify areas for consolidation and ultimately drive bottom-line efficiency.

Procurement 59

Procurement supply chain budgeting Procurement team Supply Chain Efficiency 59

Procurement Templates

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Implement category management to gain deeper market expertise and create tailored sourcing strategies. Heres how to push beyond traditional goals: Redefine Strategic Objectives Go Beyond Cost Savings: Focus on value creation instead of just cost reduction.

Procurement 130

Procurement Supply Chain Efficiency Cost of ownership supply chain budgeting 130

Spend Matters

OCTOBER 31, 2024

To potential buyers — True ValueHub can save category managers and buyers significant time and money by identifying new opportunities based on a deep analysis of costs and drivers. We asked True ValueHub’s CFO and COO Sophia Banar: How did True ValueHub come into being?

Real-time Visibility 123

Real-time Visibility Supply Chain Efficiency Buyers Category management 123

Future Purchasing

NOVEMBER 28, 2024

The key focus of our webinar, ‘From Benchmarks To Traction: How to Turn Category Management into a Value Driver,’ was Embedding Category Management across the Procurement Operating Model and sharing practical tips for building and continuously developing effective category teams using insights from the 2024 Category Management Report.

Category management 52

Category management Procurement Management Sourcing 52

ivalua

JULY 1, 2025

Intake management software that supports these controls can help standardize how requests are handled and who gets involved. Prioritize High-Impact Categories for Strategic Sourcing Category management involves applying strategic sourcing resources where they will deliver the most business value.

Procurement strategies 130

Procurement strategies Strategy Real-time Visibility Procurement 130

Spend Matters

APRIL 15, 2025

Digital transformation efforts are solidified when supported by talent capable of analyzing data and using it to enhance category value contributions. This role often overlaps with category managers or strategic buyers but initially requires an expert to develop models and competencies across the team. The category manager.

Procurement 102

Procurement Chief Procurement Officer Category management Project management 102

SCMDOJO

DECEMBER 29, 2024

Introduction to Category Management Maryna Trepova ‘s Introduction to Category Management introduces category management principles and explains a strategic approach to managing key product categories within the supply chain. GET ENROLLED NOW! Explore SCMDOJO Academy and other offerings!

Supply Chain Optimization 98

Supply Chain Optimization Supply Chain KPIs Category management Supply Chain Efficiency 98

ivalua

JULY 1, 2025

Intake management software that supports these controls can help standardize how requests are handled and who gets involved. Prioritize High-Impact Categories for Strategic Sourcing Category management involves applying strategic sourcing resources where they will deliver the most business value.

Procurement strategies 130

Procurement strategies Strategy Real-time Visibility Procurement 130

Procurement Software

MARCH 16, 2025

You know that you shouldnt be paying Category Managers and Strategic Sourcing Managers their salaries to spend a third of their day on non-value-added tasks , but we all know it happens!

Procurement 52

Procurement Real-time Visibility Supply Chain Efficiency Purchase orders 52

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Category management: Whereas spend management aims to depict the entire landscape, category management fills in the detail for each major spend category. Category management segments your expenditure into areas which contain similar or related products.

Sourcing 52

Sourcing e2e Supply Chain Efficiency Strategic sourcing 52

Procurement Software

JUNE 1, 2025

Category Managers memorised ERP commands as if they were sacred. Category management Modern category managers orchestrate ecosystems of suppliers, technologies, and internal stakeholders. They design category strategies that integrate seamlessly with business innovation cycles.

Procurement 52

Procurement Agile and Lean Supply Chain Category management Procurement team 52

Jaggaer

APRIL 24, 2025

For example, category management in procurement means something completely different to category management in the channel. These levers could be alternate sourcing, alternate routing, changes of push-pull decoupling points, or even changes to the product portfolio. Our thinking is still siloed.

Demand 52

Demand Logistics Real-time Visibility Procurement 52

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

The process creates efficiencies across all spend categories, minimizes supply chain risks through improved supplier selection and awards, while giving visibility into pricing and forecasting. It is called strategic because it replaces traditional ad hoc approaches to sourcing, which were almost entirely focused on cost savings, item by item.

Strategic sourcing 52

Strategic sourcing Strategic sourcing Supply Chain Efficiency Sourcing 52

Future Purchasing

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

This means that other crucial aspects of procurement, like category management, stakeholder engagement, and innovative problem-solving, are often neglected. By moving towards category management, as opposed to strongly focusing on sourcing and compliance, Commercial can become more resilient in the face of market challenges.

Innovation 52

Innovation Supply Chain Efficiency Procurement Category management 52

Procurement Software

JUNE 15, 2025

Most experienced Procurement Managers don’t enjoy performing administrative tasks and firefighting operational issues. And yet, poor operational efficiency in Procurement means that the typical Category Manager often spends at least a third of their time performing busywork. Adults should be treated as adults.

Supply Chain Efficiency 52

Supply Chain Efficiency Procurement Category management supply chain software solutions 52

Procurement Software

JULY 6, 2025

Yet the valuable contributions from Category Managers handling indirect spend often come through cost avoidance or successfully deferring contractual price increases or inflationary pressures. If it can’t be tracked in the P&L, it doesn’t register on their radar.

Procurement 52

Procurement supply chain budgeting Supply Chain Efficiency Budget 52

Spend Matters

JANUARY 6, 2025

Successful supplier negotiations begin long before a category manager sits down at the negotiating table. This Spend Matters Vendor Analysis gives an overview of Whats The Price (WTP), a solution built to quickly provide procurement professionals with insights into the costs and prices of any product or commodity.

Price 123

Price Raw materials Management Supplier negotiation 123

Procurement Software

JANUARY 26, 2025

Automation and Efficiency Automation liberates procurement professionals from mundane transactional tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives like category management, sustainability, and fostering innovation with key suppliers. Category Managers will be freed up to spend more time on execution rather than data gathering.

Supply Chain Efficiency 52

Supply Chain Efficiency Procurement Category management Procurement team 52

Future Purchasing

JANUARY 23, 2025

Analysing transactional data, contract pricing, and external developments to notify category managers of potential opportunities is close. AI has shown great potential to support procurement in identifying patterns and suggesting opportunities. After all, insights are universally indispensable.

Data 52

Data Procurement Procurement team Negotiation 52

Spend Matters

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Having learned how to use each of these tools individually, Rons team turned to integrating them into a unified strategic sourcing category management process. If you have cross-functional impetus to change a system and process, people will embrace the change and learn how to navigate the change.

Influencing 106

Influencing Procurement supply chain budgeting e2e 106

Spend Matters

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Spend Matters is delighted to announce the 2024 roster for our ‘Future 5’ list. For the sixth year in a row, our analysts have highlighted five start-ups that excited them the most. This year, the five companies that have proven themselves as potential future trend setters are BlueBean , ivoflow, Covalyze, Halo Ai and True Value Hub.

Buyers 117

Buyers Raw materials Networking Suppliers 117

Procurement Software

MAY 25, 2025

If you pay your Category Managers six-figure salaries, but they spend one-third of their time on paperwork and routine tasks, this is like hiring a surgeon to fill out forms. A top Category Manager on a $150,000 salary will likely outperform three average ones at $100,000 each. This makes no business sense.

Procurement 52

Procurement Procurement team Category management Leadership 52

Spend Matters

JULY 1, 2025

Acquisitions Coupa buys Cirtuo, adds category management to its spend management suite Coupa announced during its Inspire 2025 event that it has acquired Cirtuo, a provider of category management software. And they are testing the limits of procurement’s preparedness.

Procurement 90

Procurement Real-time Visibility Supply Chain Efficiency Contract 90

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

It is a process that creates efficiencies across all spend categories, minimizes supply chain risks through improved supplier selection and awards, while giving visibility into pricing and forecasting. How Has Strategic Sourcing Evolved? However, whats really missing hereneeds analysis.

Strategic sourcing 52

Strategic sourcing Strategic sourcing Sourcing supply chain software solutions 52

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Category managers can then play a key role here, for example by exploring market opportunities for low-carbon alternatives. If your ambition is to compete on sustainability, at least in some areas, you will need to go further by engaging actively with suppliers. Not everywhere at once, but in the hotspots you identify.

Leadership 52

Leadership Procurement Supply Chain Efficiency Sustainability 52

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Key elements include total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis, supplier relationship management, and category management. Mastering Strategic Sourcing: Efficiency and Cost Savings in Procurement Strategic sourcing is a data-driven approach that focuses on long-term supplier partnerships rather than one-time cost reductions.

Strategic sourcing 52

Strategic sourcing Strategic sourcing Sourcing Real-time Visibility 52

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

JAGGAER characterizes the steps in this process as Spend Management, Category Management, Sourcing , and Contracts. These four steps constitute the upstream source-to-contract part of the process. Secondly come eProcurement, Supply Chain Collaboration, Invoicing, and Payments.

Supply Chain Efficiency 52

Supply Chain Efficiency Sourcing e2e Real-time Visibility 52

Procurement Insights

MAY 1, 2025

Supplier Relationship Management: Archives provide a full view of supplier performance over time, supporting better selection, development, and negotiation. Category and Strategic Sourcing: Category managers and sourcing teams can leverage analytics from the archives to identify savings opportunities, manage risk, and drive innovation.

Procurement 40

Procurement Supplier relationship management Supply Chain Optimization Negotiation 40

Spend Matters

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

BUT they are training the wrong things, again the research shows that the training is in negotiation or category management skills and not in TPRM, risk or softer behavioral skills.” How do you see the future of TPRM tech and what should be the response of providers like yourself? “We

Risk management 117

Risk management Risk Supplier relationship management Management 117

Jaggaer

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Integration with sourcing, eProcurement, payments, contracts, category management, and other S2P functions—as well as ERP accounting systems—is essential. For this reason, a modern, holistic supplier collaboration solution should not be a standalone system, and the data should not be siloed.

Collaboration 52

Collaboration Suppliers Supply Chain Efficiency Agile and Lean Supply Chain 52

ivalua

JULY 3, 2025

There are different phases of procurement value creation that tie into the Source-to-Pay process: Identifying Value: Procurement teams leverage spend data and spend analysis to understand trends in spend management, identify opportunities and develop category management strategies.

supply chain budgeting 130

supply chain budgeting Procurement e2e Agile and Lean Supply Chain 130

Procurement Insights

JULY 4, 2025

Outcome: Rich modeling of why resistance is triggered across the ecosystem. from partial adoption to full buy-in) Others trigger cascading behaviors in downstream agents (supply-side, legal, finance) → Outcome: System-wide simulation of how resistance spreads, adapts, or collapses.

Supply chain 52

Supply chain Procurement Buyers Supply 52

Procurement Insights

JUNE 13, 2025

demand spikes) Inter-agent negotiation, cross-enterprise collaboration Control systems that learn and adapt instead of being manually recalibrated Macro-simulation (e.g., commodity pricing, inflation) Micro-actor modeling (e.g.,

Agile and Lean Supply Chain 52

Agile and Lean Supply Chain Supply Chain Optimization Buyers Price 52

Spend Matters

DECEMBER 18, 2024

While these problems cost companies millions of dollars, on the positive side, they represent an opportunity for organizations to ramp up their capabilities to identify, monitor and mitigate third-party supplier risk to enhance category management based on outside-in insights (market and commodities) to ensure business continuity and meet compliance (..)

Risk 109

Risk Real-time Visibility Category management Procurement 109