The Retail Innovation Toolkit - 42 category management tools for growth

Reinventing the retail game
Retail is going through tremendous change as a result of new types of competitors and ever higher consumer expectations. An abundance of products, media and data has become available. Digitisation and the demand for an inclusive and a sustainable society call for new ways of defining the future together.

Everyone needs to be mobilised, and the category level holds the right meeting point for suppliers and retailers. The Retail Innovation Toolkit offers practical tools and case studies on the way forward, so that professionals on both retail and supplier sides can start addressing category challenges immediately.

The 42 tools help professionals to analyse, grow, innovate and even reinvent categories in a fun and a quick manner. The Category Management concept is refreshed by integrating tools from Experience Design and Product Innovation to create a new set of innovation skills and mobilise collaboration within, and among retailer and supplier organisations. This is an excellent toolkit with practical approaches to growing the category and reinventing the retail game.

Who could benefit from the book?
The toolkit is developed for professionals working in shopper and trade marketing on the supplier side, and for category managers, format managers and concept developers in (non)food retail. The tools also enable other functions within the team to learn about category management in a fun and pragmatic manner without the need to attend intensive category management trainings. You can apply some of the tools individually, but most are useful when confronted with a growth challenge as a team. More and more shopping journeys integrate physical and online touchpoints. The tools can be applied holistically across online and brick-and-mortar stores and they have been tried and tested in different situations and environments.

The benefits of this book are that it:
- Contains the main ingredients of the category management concept and practice without the need to attend courses or read more data-intensive books.
- Offers practical suggestions for 1) Analytical review 2) Creative solutions building 3) Energisers for improved collaboration between retailer and suppliers.
- Transfers knowledge in a highly graphical manner and through appealing and original design.
- Puts the shopper interest first so that retailers and suppliers can work together on category level.
- Represents the latest way of doing things in the field of category management.
- Offers simple frameworks and makes pragmatic suggestions on how to make things work based on my hands-on experience.

This is what others said about the book:
‘A great read for both retail and A brand players that are serious about a consistent approach in shopper-centric category thinking.’ - Wim Destoop, VP General Manager North West Europe @ PepsiCo

‘The approach of an holistic toolkit is brilliant: the 42 tools are practical, actionable, well explained and run through collaborative exercises, inspiring stories and useful suggestions.’ - Iris Cremers, Global Shopping Insight Manager @ Unilever

‘A great reference book for everyone involved in the category management process.’ - Wouter Lefevere, Managing Director Category Management Nederland @ ALDI

‘This toolkit has everything you will need to form a holistic approach towards category management – both for now and the foreseeable future.’ - Pearlraj Cannivady, Vice President Marketing & Omnichannel @ SPAR India

‘This toolkit – which is spiced up with a range of illustrations- can be read from beginning to end in one go, though it can also be picked up regularly when faced with a specific challenge.’ - Jeroen Van de Broek, Managing Director Belgium @ FrieslandCampina

‘This is an engaging and outstanding book for anyone who wants to apply innovative category management methods to win the heart of the shopper.’ - Jacques Hayaux du Tilly, Group Assortment & Supply Chain Director @ Maxeda DIY Group

‘Berkhout’s Toolkit is the perfect companion, packed with very practical and hands-on exercises, not from an ivory tower but straight from the field.’ - Jorg Snoeck, founder of RetailDetail and author of The Future of Shopping

‘A must for anyone who wants to achieve more in the dynamic world of FMCG, either as a retailer or on the manufacturers' side.’ - Rob Mienis, Trade Marketing Manager Retail @ Van Geloven

‘An accessible, practical book full of ideas, helpful guidelines, and exercises to work through together for category growth.’ - Linda van Rijn, Product Director UI/Client Platforms & Core Analytics Tools, Global Product Management @ GfK