Category Strategy

Gain visibility into primary cost drivers. Inform executive decisions around next-level supply chain strategy, functional budgets, and spend management. Segment and actively manage risks and opportunities presented by supplier relationships.

Overview

Category strategy starts with a baseline spend and opportunity analysis and develops into a platform to prioritize resources in alignment with your business’s overall objectives. By first visualizing spend data, your team can uncover insights that guide valuable discussions around challenges and opportunities. Whether your business works with 10 vendors or 500, Nagel Strategies will assist your team in categorizing spend commodities, breaking down areas of opportunity, and developing a road map based on your unique needs.

What We Do

Data Diagnostic

We begin with a kickoff consultation that includes a review of historic, raw transaction data pulled from existing accounting software. This is a key diagnostic exercise to level-set expectations and to scope an appropriate engagement with Nagel Strategies. At this point we will also discuss hypotheses, internal audiences and goals, as well as current team dynamic.

Insight Generation

Nagel Strategies then develops a series of data visualizations and prompting questions and actionable ideas to aggressively target and achieve goals. We work directly with finance and operations team members, as well as functional leaders as needed, to dive deeper into the nuances of supplier relationships and contracts when warranted to develop a holistic analysis.

Roadmap Development

Decision makers are convened to review findings and suggested roadmap. The pipeline is formalized in a workshop-style event. The desired outcome is to align on quick-wins and longer-term projects, taking into consideration unique aspects such as regulatory risks, team readiness, and executive support. A roadmap might include a combination of: supplier relationship management activities to optimize relationships with a key supplier; develop a preferred supplier list; consolidate suppliers; implement minor or major adjustments to streamline procurement operations; or prioritize spend categories to target savings, develop benchmarking insights, negotiate contracts, or conduct a competitive RFP.