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Examining the Forces Shaping Next Generation Category Management

Join Dr. Brian Harris, widely regarded as the father of Category Management, and Ty Kasperbauer, CEO of Storesight, for a conversation about why the traditional model no longer meets the demands of today’s retail environment—and what comes next.

In this episode, we explore the evolving discipline of Category Management and the need for a more strategic, data-integrated, and AI-enabled approach to planning, collaboration, and execution. You’ll learn why current models are too slow, too tactical, and too backward-looking—and how leading brands are starting to rethink the fundamentals.

Dr. Harris and Ty discuss the role of real-time retail intelligence in closing execution gaps, enabling truly joint business planning, and powering faster, smarter decisions across teams. They also share how the next generation of Category Managers will be defined not just by better data, but by clearer strategy, deeper segmentation, and differentiated execution.

Topics Covered in This Conversation

  • Why traditional Category Management is no longer keeping pace with retail complexity
  • How consumer behavior, competitive pressure, and data availability are driving change
  • The limitations of legacy tools, long planning cycles, and backward-looking analysis
  • The role of AI, automation, and integrated insights in powering the next generation
  • How Storesight supports a faster, more collaborative approach to Category Management
  • The importance of identifying and acting on your most valuable segments
  • Dr. Harris’s three-phase model: Strategy, Planning, and Execution—reinvented
  • What skills and tools the next generation of Category Managers will need to succeed

About Storesight
Formed by the merger of Field Agent and Shelfgram, Storesight sets the standard for always-on retail intelligence.

With a combination of advanced AI, an intuitive platform, and a massive field network, Storesight empowers CPG brands to enhance OSA, drive flawless execution, manage price, and launch new products at scale—faster than ever.

Storesight captures shelf conditions across 480 categories, 5,000 brands, and 50,000 locations, and is trusted by 95% of the top 50 CPG firms in North America.

Learn more: https://storesight.com/

Conversations On Retail

Conversations On Retail is a gathering place and resource center for retail and CPG executives, built to make it easier to stay current, discover the technologies and solutions shaping the industry, and connect with the people driving it forward.

We publish news, views, and reviews from staff editors, contributing experts, and trusted partners. Some articles are developed internally, while others are submitted by industry contributors or adapted from interviews and recorded conversations with industry leaders.

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