Category captains evolved as an answer to managing the increasing complexity of product categories. This process was facilitated in large part by retailers providing relevant information, such as sales data, pricing, turnover and shelf placement of the brands with the category captain, so manufacturers could in turn provide recommendations on which brands to stock, shelf allocation and placement and how to price products in each category.
Much like the transformation taking place in retail, driven by online and mobile, and necessitating a more competitive-price driven view of the retail supply chain, CPG category captains are faced with a new competitive environment which requires new tools to deliver sustainable value. Most prevalent in durable product categories such as home appliances, consumer electronics, furniture, sports equipment and automotive, shoppers are comparing prices online and in-store and often making decisions to purchase based on competitive prices. Clear Demand is the first to provide CPG Manufacturers with a Category Captain Pricing solution which provides the level of retail pricing support required for category teams in today’s retail economy.
Clear Demand Category Captain Pricing.
Category Captains, especially in durable good categories, require tools and analytics which can process competitive pricing data quickly in conjunction with sales data, make sense of it and steer price recommendations which drive sales, online and in-store.
Clear Demand Category Captain Pricing consists of Clear Demand’s 1) Competitive Gap Demand Model and its 2) Enterprise Rules Architecture and which in combination permit Category Captains to measure shopper sensitivity to differences in price and automate price recommendations.
- Competitive Gap Demand Model. Clear Demand is the first to advance a demand model that measures shoppers’ sensitivity to the gap between a retailer’s prices and competitors’ prices using competitive price data (online, store or both) supplied by the retailer.
- Single Enterprise Rules Architecture. Clear Demand was the first to pioneer a single OmniChannel (mobile, online, in-store) rules architecture, which has applicability for retail and packaged goods manufacturers, in automating the application of rules and price recommendation.
Category captains must be prepared to continue delivering value. Clear Demand Category Captain Pricing helps CPG manufacturers assess where they need to be competitive and where they don’t, respond accordingly and forecast the result.