Category management is a technique used to understand markets, analyze spending and make purchasing decisions that save money. It provides a way to move from accepting mediocre goods and services at high cost to managing supply in a way that delivers real value. By altering how goods are categorized and supplied, category management helps shift sourcing from an error-prone transaction to a value-creating endeavor.
Aided by case studies and practical examples, this book provides a clear definition and understanding of category management. Jonathan O'Brien presents a step-by-step process for implementing category management in line with a company’s overall business strategy. Using this process, readers will be able to analyze complex sourcing situations and develop innovative and creative sourcing proposals.
Case studies focus on transnational organizations (GlaxoSmithKline), many of them US-based (Haynes, Sara Lee).
Jonathan O'Brien is a Director and co-owner of the international purchasing consultancy and training provider; Positive Purchasing Ltd (www.positivepurchasing.com). Jonathan has over 20 years experience working in Purchasing. He has worked all over the world to help global organisations increase their purchasing capability through training, education and working directly with practitioners and executive teams to drive in the adoption of Category Management and other strategic purchasing methodologies.
Jonathan is an electronics engineer that ended up in Purchasing. His early engineering career shifted into supplier quality assurance providing experience of how organisations work through the detailed examination of business practices and processes across hundreds of companies. A move to a senior buying role in a large utility company shifted the focus to the commercial aspects of purchasing and this career path culminated in a Global Category Director role for an airline business. Throughout his career in corporate life Jonathan helped lead a series of major organisational change programs. A subsequent move into consultancy, initially with a large global strategic purchasing consultancy and later with his own business provided Jonathan the opportunity to work with some of the biggest and well known companies in the world to help improve purchasing capability and gain a rich experience along the way.
Jonathan holds an MBA from Plymouth University Business School, a Diploma in Marketing and an HNC in electronics and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing (MCIPS) and a former registered Lead Assessor of quality management systems.
Jonathan and the team at Positive Purchasing Ltd have developed and created many of the tools and techniques that have become common place in the purchasing community including the World's first negotiation planning tool developed solely for purchasing teams and incorporating game theory principles.
Jonathan is also an accomplished broadcaster and artist and lives with his family in Plymouth, UK.
