The Hackett Group_Strategic Category Management Infographic
Category management, when executed effectively, is a client-focused framework. It begins with a clear understanding of an organization’s primary value objectives for a category, followed by developing actionable strategies to meet these objectives. The Hackett Group's infographic highlights best practices, essential skills, and key benefits of the SAP Ariba Category Management solution. Download the DocumentFrom Planning to Performance
Strategic Category Management in the Age of Intelligent Procurement
PROCUREMENT MARKET INTELLIGENCE
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT | SEPTEMBER 2025
Top improvement initiatives for digital transformation
The procurement skills rated as most important for category management
include industry knowledge, market strategy and market intelligence gathering.
These skills emphasize the importance of spend category expertise.
Data analytics
and reporting
Source: The Hackett Group 2025 Procurement Agenda and Key Issues Study
Source: The Hackett Group 2024 Spend Orchestration Study
Strategic
sourcing
Category
management
Talent
management
Supplier relationship
management
PROCUREMENT SKILLS BUSINESS SKILLS
Top skills needed for category management
77%
71%
66%
51% 58%
Industry knowledge88%
Market strategy85%
Market intelligence gathering76%
Supplier relationship management74%
Supply risk management expertise71%
Strategic mindset88%
Business acumen85%
Cross-functional teamwork79%
Relationship management74%
Problem-solving acumen71%
Strategic Category Management in the Age of Intelligent Procurement
PROCUREMENT MARKET INTELLIGENCE
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT | SEPTEMBER 2025
Top improvement initiatives for digital transformation
The procurement skills rated as most important for category management
include industry knowledge, market strategy and market intelligence gathering.
These skills emphasize the importance of spend category expertise.
Data analytics
and reporting
Source: The Hackett Group 2025 Procurement Agenda and Key Issues Study
Source: The Hackett Group 2024 Spend Orchestration Study
Strategic
sourcing
Category
management
Talent
management
Supplier relationship
management
PROCUREMENT SKILLS BUSINESS SKILLS
Top skills needed for category management
77%
71%
66%
51% 58%
Industry knowledge88%
Market strategy85%
Market intelligence gathering76%
Supplier relationship management74%
Supply risk management expertise71%
Strategic mindset88%
Business acumen85%
Cross-functional teamwork79%
Relationship management74%
Problem-solving acumen71%
Finding value in category management
When implemented properly, category management is a client-friendly framework. It involves building a clear
understanding of the organizationʼs key value objectives for the category, then developing a set of executable
strategies that meet those objectives.
Best practices for effective category management and strategy
Effective category management and strategy involve building a clear understanding of an organization's key value
objectives and developing strategies to meet those objectives.
Category value objectives link to stakeholder objectives
Support other goalsIncrease revenueReduce TCO
Reduce purchased costs Improve cost of quality
Reduce cost of risk Reduce working capital
Reduce internal
process costs
Understand
procurement categories
Data-driven
decision-making
Continuous
improvement
Stakeholder
engagement
Align with
business strategy
Supplier
collaboration
Risk
management
Improve delivery
performance
Reduce fixed costs Reshape consumption
Improve marketing
effectiveness
Improve flexibility/
responsiveness/delivery
Accelerate new
product development
Enter new markets
Enable new business
capabilities
Variabilize asset structure
Support
sustainability goals
Strengthen the brand
Recommended actions to achieve strategic procurement maturity
1
2 4 6
3 5 7
When implemented properly, category management is a client-friendly framework. It involves building a clear
understanding of the organizationʼs key value objectives for the category, then developing a set of executable
strategies that meet those objectives.
Best practices for effective category management and strategy
Effective category management and strategy involve building a clear understanding of an organization's key value
objectives and developing strategies to meet those objectives.
Category value objectives link to stakeholder objectives
Support other goalsIncrease revenueReduce TCO
Reduce purchased costs Improve cost of quality
Reduce cost of risk Reduce working capital
Reduce internal
process costs
Understand
procurement categories
Data-driven
decision-making
Continuous
improvement
Stakeholder
engagement
Align with
business strategy
Supplier
collaboration
Risk
management
Improve delivery
performance
Reduce fixed costs Reshape consumption
Improve marketing
effectiveness
Improve flexibility/
responsiveness/delivery
Accelerate new
product development
Enter new markets
Enable new business
capabilities
Variabilize asset structure
Support
sustainability goals
Strengthen the brand
Recommended actions to achieve strategic procurement maturity
1
2 4 6
3 5 7
EI25009 © 2025 The Hackett Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this document or any portion thereof without prior written consent is prohibited.
U.S. +1 866 844 6514 | London +44 20 7398 9100www.thehackettgroup.com advisor@thehackettgroup.com
What is SAP Ariba Category Management?
Key benefits and features
SAP Ariba Category Management is a cloud-based solution that helps procurement teams develop and execute
strategic, insight-driven category plans across the enterprise. It provides a centralized workspace where stakeholders
can collaborate on spend analysis, supplier segmentation, opportunity identification and strategy execution – all while
remaining aligned to business objectives.
By leveraging artificial intelligence, guided workflows, standardized taxonomies and integrated data, the solution
enables organizations to move from reactive sourcing to proactive, long-term value creation. SAP Aribaʼs Category
Management tool helps break down silos, improve stakeholder engagement and ensure category strategies are
impactful, repeatable, scalable and measurable.
Initiate category strategy-aware
follow-up on Guided Sourcing
events based on identified initiatives
Track spend, savings and
supplier optimization from
the undertaken initiatives
Manage performance
against the plan's investment,
benefit target, schedule
and commitment
Create category-specific
strategies through AI-assisted,
best practice–guided frameworks
– Porterʼs Five Forces, Kraljic Matrix,
cost structure, etc.
Coalesce the three key
intelligence sources –
internal spend intelligence,
external market intelligence
and experiential insights
Create a category profile
with segmentation –
identify spend, suppliers,
benchmarks and cost drivers
Onboard new talent with historical context and
evidence for impactful strategies. Strengthens category managersʼ skills to apply
best practices and build effective strategies.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams for more
aligned and effective category management.
Incorporate AI into procurement quickly to help
category managers drive smarter strategies and
accelerate value.
SAP Ariba
Category
Management
Trigger
Sourcing
Projects
Savings &
Benefits
Tracking
Performance
Management
Category
Definition &
Profiling
Curated &
Accurate
Intelligence
Category
Strategy
Development
E
x
e
c
u
t
e
O
p
p
o
r
t
u
n
i
t
i
e
s
T
r
a
c
k
a
n
d
M
o
n
i
t
o
r
P
e
r
f
o
r
m
a
n
c
e
D
e
f i
n
e
C
a
t
e
g
o
r
y
S t r a t e g y P i p e l i n e
EXPLORE DEEPER INSIGHTS
Download the full spotlight report on
category management for practical
guidance and data-driven insights. https://www.sap.com/
U.S. +1 866 844 6514 | London +44 20 7398 9100www.thehackettgroup.com advisor@thehackettgroup.com
What is SAP Ariba Category Management?
Key benefits and features
SAP Ariba Category Management is a cloud-based solution that helps procurement teams develop and execute
strategic, insight-driven category plans across the enterprise. It provides a centralized workspace where stakeholders
can collaborate on spend analysis, supplier segmentation, opportunity identification and strategy execution – all while
remaining aligned to business objectives.
By leveraging artificial intelligence, guided workflows, standardized taxonomies and integrated data, the solution
enables organizations to move from reactive sourcing to proactive, long-term value creation. SAP Aribaʼs Category
Management tool helps break down silos, improve stakeholder engagement and ensure category strategies are
impactful, repeatable, scalable and measurable.
Initiate category strategy-aware
follow-up on Guided Sourcing
events based on identified initiatives
Track spend, savings and
supplier optimization from
the undertaken initiatives
Manage performance
against the plan's investment,
benefit target, schedule
and commitment
Create category-specific
strategies through AI-assisted,
best practice–guided frameworks
– Porterʼs Five Forces, Kraljic Matrix,
cost structure, etc.
Coalesce the three key
intelligence sources –
internal spend intelligence,
external market intelligence
and experiential insights
Create a category profile
with segmentation –
identify spend, suppliers,
benchmarks and cost drivers
Onboard new talent with historical context and
evidence for impactful strategies. Strengthens category managersʼ skills to apply
best practices and build effective strategies.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams for more
aligned and effective category management.
Incorporate AI into procurement quickly to help
category managers drive smarter strategies and
accelerate value.
SAP Ariba
Category
Management
Trigger
Sourcing
Projects
Savings &
Benefits
Tracking
Performance
Management
Category
Definition &
Profiling
Curated &
Accurate
Intelligence
Category
Strategy
Development
E
x
e
c
u
t
e
O
p
p
o
r
t
u
n
i
t
i
e
s
T
r
a
c
k
a
n
d
M
o
n
i
t
o
r
P
e
r
f
o
r
m
a
n
c
e
D
e
f i
n
e
C
a
t
e
g
o
r
y
S t r a t e g y P i p e l i n e
EXPLORE DEEPER INSIGHTS
Download the full spotlight report on
category management for practical
guidance and data-driven insights. https://www.sap.com/