Buying & Merchandising Overview

Description

Buying & Merchandising Overview

This course is a module of the Fundamentals of Retail Suite and focuses on the differences between merchandise and category management retailers and the key retail buying, merchandising and category management processes and key performance indicators.

Who Is It Suitable For?

This program is designed for:

• New hires to buying and merchandising/category management teams.
• People who sell or market to retailers, especially IT suppliers.
• It will also benefit consumer goods manufacturers who sell directly to retailers and those who are involved in manufacturer Direct to Consumer (DTC) operations.
• Those who market to retailers to get their content specified in retail products.
• And is also valuable as part of induction training for retail management trainees and for retail IT teams and others who need to understand the retail business more fully.

Class Objectives

Upon completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Distinguish the differences between merchandise and category management retailers
• Explain the key retail buying, merchandising and category management processes
• Discuss how retailers' buying, merchandising and category management teams are organized
• Identify the KPIs used to measure the performance of buying, merchandising and category management teams
• Summarize how retailers categorize different types of merchandise
• Describe how merchandise and assortment planning is carried out
• Summarize the OTB process
• Describe how retailers forecast sales and replenish products
• Discuss the weekly / monthly sales and stock review process.

Detailed Content

The detailed content includes:

• Merchandise and category management:
  • Merchandise and category management differences
  • Retail merchandising
  • Category definition
  • Category management
• Merchandise and category management organization structures:
  • Buying and merchandise management organization structure
  • Category management organization structure
  • Key performance indicators
• Key buying, merchandise and category management processes part 1:
  • Merchandise types
  • Merchandise hierarchy
  • Retail seasons
  • Season timelines
  • Planning flow
  • Merchandise planning
  • Assortment / range planning
  • Private label
  • Linear supply chain
  • The wedge – store size vs assortment composition
• Key buying, merchandise and category management processes part 2:
  • Merchandise arrangement
  • Open to Buy
  • How much stock is needed?
  • Replenishment basic model
  • Demand forecasting
  • Forecasting methods
  • Sales and stock management
  • Omni-channel buying, merchandising and category management
• Summary

Mastery Test

Each module has its own mastery test and learners that achieve a 70% pass mark and complete the end of class survey will receive a certificate on completion.  They will also be awarded a Martec digital badge showcasing their achievement.  See this page for more details.

Benefits of Studying This Program

Learners studying this program will gain familiarity with the buying and merchandising processes faster, shortening their path to full productivity.

Customer Feedback

Based on over 190 surveys, our learners rated this class in response to 4 key questions as follows:  

1. Has this course helped you achieve your personal goals?

2. Has this course helped you do your job better?

3. How likely would you be to recommend the course to a friend or colleague?

4. How would you rate the course overall?

Hours of Study

The average time is 1.5 hours.

Resources Included

The class includes the following downloadable resources for printing and review:

• Historic performance review checklist
• Merchandise vs Category Management
• Summary of merchandising processes
• Summary of category management processes

Pre-Requisites Necessary

Learners without previous retail experience will benefit from studying the Overview of the Retail Industry module first.

After This Program

Depending on your learning objectives, if you want to gain a wider understanding of retailing, you will find Introduction to Store Operations and E-commerce and Omni-Channel Retailing beneficial. 

If you wish to develop your knowledge of Buying and Merchandising, you may find the following programs very helpful.

Video

Please allow Cookies to view video content

Customer Reviews

Write a review

By Don P. on 22nd October 2020

"It was all good information. "

By Earl F. on 22nd October 2020

"Good overview of the topic "