Industry Debut: Category Management Training Standards & Certification Bob Wong, Del Monte Foods Steering Committee Chair

Our Mission General Guidelines Defined Skill Proficiency Certification Provide the industry with three key deliverables Organizational structure Typical roles General Guidelines Expected skills sets Typical skill progression Defined Skill Proficiency Establish standards Recognition of proficiency Certification Our mission is three-fold: First, to provide the industry with general guidelines on category management organizational structure and typical roles found within category management. Second, to define the unique skill sets required in category management positions and the typical skill progression from beginner to accomplished. And third, to provide the industry with a means to grant certification for skill proficiency and endorse those training programs that deliver against our industry standards.

Purpose and Benefits Standards… Guidelines… Certification… provides common language identifies education content Guidelines… provides framework on structure as well as skill development Certification… ensures proficiency and rigor recognition and retention There are a number of reasons why we embarked on this effort… The first was to establish a common language for the industry. Until now, if you received five resumes and each candidate claimed to be an expert at category management, it was quite possible that there were five different definitions of expertise. Standardization also helps universities identify appropriate classroom curriculum to prepare students for category management careers. When it comes to thinking about category management organization structure, we wanted to be able to provide some flexible guidelines on the different levels and roles typically found. If you look at the third page in the handouts provided, you will see four basic levels defined – from entry level to executive level. What’s great about our framework is the flexibility built into it. For example, if your company is just starting out and you decide it’s more appropriate to start with a smaller organization, you might start with the first two levels – such as an analyst and a manager. On the other hand, if you are a larger organization and need to expand – no problem, simply within levels such as creating category analyst and senior category analyst positions. Finally, we believe that certification will provide better developmental opportunities for category management professionals to not only increase their skill proficiencies, but also be recognized for their expertise. And if you think about it, those organizations who are committed to developing their most important assets will likely have higher retention than those who don’t.

Our Approach Steering committee… Sub-committee… lead with experience ensure diversity, remove bias create role & skills framework establish certification process Sub-committee… leverage cat man and educator expertise define levels of competency create framework to evaluate training The way we approached this effort was to establish a steering committee that clearly leveraged category management expertise within our industry. The members of our steering committee represent over 115 years of category management experience! We were also adamant about ensuring diversity on the committee. Our committee represents various businesses such as food and beverages, health and beauty care, pet products and other manufactured goods. And we also made sure that we have good representation from both large and small companies. One of the most challenging aspects of this effort was to come up with an approach that would work across our industry. You can imagine the potential pushback if we had tried to identify a single structure. Companies would complain that the solution wouldn’t fit their needs. So given this challenge, one of the most rewarding aspects of this work has been the creation of a flexible framework that let’s companies tailor the guidelines to their organization and needs. I just mentioned on the previous slide the flexibility built into our model for organization structure. The other area can be tailored is the skill progression by role. Again, if look at the last page in your handouts, you will notice that the individual skill sets each have a progression path identified from left to right. The beauty of our model is you have the flexibility to slide that skill progression left or right, depending on your company’s expectations for performance within roles. With the framework and process in place, our next step was to assemble a subcommittee that leveraged both category management expertise as well as educational expertise. I’m going to ask Dan Strunk from De Paul University to come up and share some perspective on how the subcommittee is working to define the various skill competencies as well as the framework for evaluating training programs that support the development of these skill proficiencies.

Defined Skill Proficiency Roles & Skills Organizational structure Typical roles General Guidelines Expected skills sets Typical skill progression Defined Skill Proficiency

certification Simplistic approach Adaptable 3 levels required fundamentals plus recommended skills Adaptable flexible for companies, big and small will improve over time

Certification Program Dan Strunk, DePaul University Sub-Committee Chair

Certification Evaluation Board Certification Evaluation Board (CEB) A business unit of the Category Management Association, established to objectively review and evaluate all industry course offerings and people CEB actions include: Grant certifications where standards have been met Deny when standards have not been met, but provide remedial steps Maintain records database

Certification Program Definitions A Course The most discrete element of a curriculum often focused on a single category management skill Learning Programs A single course or a collection of courses that impart proficiency for a specific category management competency Learning Scorecard A matrix that identifies standards for measuring competency performance at specific experience levels for category management professionals

Certification Evaluation Scorecard Category Analyst 11 required learning programs Category Manager 15 required learning programs Strategic Advisor 8 required learning programs

Certification Process for Individuals (Covers a 3 Year Period)

Certifications Levels for individuals Certified Professional Category Analyst (CPCA) Certified Professional Strategic Advisor (CPSA) Certified Professional Category Manager (CPCM)

certification process for individuals Certification submission Individuals can submit their credentials (resume and detailed training history) directly to the CEB Companies may also submit employee’s records for certification Certification process The process includes verifying employment, training completion and validation of the candidates qualifications. The CEB will then compare an individual’s experience and training history to the learning scorecard Manufacturer’s Employees Certification Evaluation Board Individuals

assessment and Record Maintenance Based on its evaluation, the CEB will certify an individual at the appropriate level on the Scorecard and return the certification to the individual Individual certification is a cumulative assessment of their experience meaning they are given credit for previous positions on the scorecard Record maintenance The CEB will also record the individual’s certification in the CMA database The CMA will maintain your records for a 3-year period time Individuals can authorize access to their records as necessary Detailed Training History Certification Evaluation Board Category Management Data Base

costs for individual CERTIFICATION Initial costs An individual’s initial personal evaluation fee is $800 Covers all certifications and data maintenance for a 3-year period Renewal costs Renewal for an individual’s certification is $300 Covers an additional 3 years, including: New training programs completed Maintaining certification records Updating certification level

Certification Process for Learning Programs

certification process for Programs Certification submission Both organizations and 3rd party vendors can submit their learning program(s) for assessment & certification Certification process The CEB will assess training curriculum, course materials and testing rigor Following an on-site visit, the CEB will provide a formal written review either granting certification or providing remedial action 3rd Party Vendors Certification Evaluation Board Organizations Category Management Data Base

learning program certification options By level most individuals will likely seek certification by level (i.e. CPCA, CPCM or CPSA) By competency some will seek across skill sets, especially 3rd party vendors Entire scorecard some organizations may elect to certify all learning programs

costs for Learning PROGRAM CERTIFICATION Initial costs Certification evaluation fee is $8,000 3-year period Learning program certifications Pre-certified ”off-the-shelf” learning program ($200 each) Customized pre-certified ”off-the-shelf” learning program ($2,400 each) Customized, internal proprietary learning program ($4,000 each) Renewal costs The cost for renewing certification are as follows: Recertification for a comprehensive company training program will be $1000. In addition there will be a $ 100.00 charge to review and re-record each previously certified learning program. For all new learning programs certified the cost per learning program will be as above. The cost for recertifying people will be $300.00 each subsequent 3 year period.

Certification Roll-out Phase 1: third party vendor certification remainder of 2009 establish foundation of certified learning programs Phase 2: organizations and individual certification starting 2010 begin certifying both company training programs and individuals Annual symposium stay current with best practices, future trends and technology advancements renew training standards as appropriate For further information contact the Certification Evaluation Board (CEB) certifications@cpgcatnet.org 210.587.7203 extension 33

Thank you’s and certification roundtables

* also serving on sub-committee Thank you! Donna Frazier Hope Mandel CPG CatNet Steering Committee Bob Wong Del Monte Foods Bob Samples Hormel Foods Brad Anderson Nestle Purina Craig Hodnett Dr Pepper Snapple Dan Strunk * De Paul University Eric Hansen * Johnson Controls Jeff Inman * University of Pittsburgh Jon Troy Johnson & Johnson Ken Friedlander Abbott Nutrition Steve Zielonko * Anheuser Busch Tom Bennett Colgate Palmolive Sub-Committee Dan Nosal Colgate Palmolive Frank Gambino Western Michigan Univ. Jeff Stachelek E&J Gallo Winery Jennifer Kraus Dr Pepper Snapple Joe Teller Swedish Match Kaycee Remick Kellogg USA Laura Lee Larson Wrigley Jr Lisa Tibey Hormel Foods Rui Zhou Abbott Nutrition Scott Peterson Del Monte Foods Steve Likes Coca Cola N. America * also serving on sub-committee