Research On Category Management In Supermarket And Its Application

Since 90 in the last years of 20 centuries, with the deepen and enlarging of reform and opening, the retail trade develop quickly, become one of most flourishing industry. But because the oversea retail business come to China in succession, robbing the local market, our retail business enterprise face the competition pressure that never had to be, if they wants to exist and develop, they have to promote core competition ability, establish its own position in the market. In the face of the competition situation that is aggravated day by day, Chinese retailing companies have the enormous pressure. The reason is that the scale is generally small, the technological means get behind, and the economic benefits decrease day by day. Alter the situation, we must promote our own core competence; establish our own station in the market. Category management is regarded as one of the technology exchange projects of Sino-U.S. retail trade of Commerce Ministry in 1999, always regarded as "TQM" of the retailing. Its main contents include category management and four efficiency tactics (brand optimization, sales promotion, new product introduction, inventory management) play a direct role to the benefits of enterprises. It is the effective means to promote core competence of retailing enterprises at the same time. This text explains the category management tactics and its application from four parts: Firstly, the competence of our country retail companies is analyzed. The development and current situation of our retail trade is introduced. Thinking how to improve core competence of retailer companies as a starting point, analyze the core competence of the foreign retail companies and that of our retail companies separately. Several kinds of means to improve core competence of our retail companies are proposed. Secondly, category management tactics in the chain supermarket are researched. The theory and basic conception of ECR is proposed. The basic contents of category management are introduced. Category management includes six mutual interaction elements, two (category tactics and business procedure) of them are " basic key elements ", the else four (category index, organize efficiency, information technology and association relationship) are " ensuring key elements ". If category management is to succeed, these key elements must be used comprehensively. Thirdly, the process reengineering theories based on category management is studied. Use process reengineering of category management for reference mainly, the key processes of retailing's purchasing department including item optimization, shelve optimization, pricing and promoting, new product introduction are recreated. The aim is to accord with the practical application of retail companies in our country, and to get the best result with the most high-efficient means. Last, item optimization example of clean articles department is analyzed. Based on the example analysis of nursing product of clothes in clean articles department, the analysis process of items optimization achievement and question that should notice is introduced particularly. The paper is expected to give some advice to enterprises which will implement category management.