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AOP PodcastCategory Management

How to Engage with Skeptical Stakeholders to Build Effective Category Strategies w/ Bill Michels

By August 29, 2016April 30th, 2024No Comments

Arguably the most critical determinant of a successful category strategy is the ability of the Category Manager to influence their stakeholders.

In today’s Art of Procurement podcast, I welcome Bill Michels, the Founder and CEO of Aripart Consulting on to the show.  Prior to Aripart Consulting, Bill enjoyed a 23-year career leading ADR North America and ADR International which was acquired by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

In our conversation, I wanted to understand how procurement professionals can better influence stakeholders as we seek to build more effective category strategies that deliver value over and above cost savings.

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“In Direct procurement you really have a lot of control over stakeholders but if you are working in Indirect procurement and you are trying to drive a category strategy you really have no control and all you can really do is try and influence the spend.”

In this episode, you will learn:

  • What are the differences between a category strategy that seeks to drive cost savings vs. seeking other sources of value?
  • What are the 10 key components of any category strategy (and which is the most important)?
  • How can you sell the concept of participating in a category strategy to a skeptical stakeholder?
  • How do you take a category strategy that has picked away at the low hanging fruit and take it to the next level?

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