Manager, Category

Job Description

Ingram Content Group (ICG) is seeking a Manager, Category to join our team in Arkansas! This individual develops and executes category plans and strategies for key retail customers.  Manages all aspects of category assortment planning, from product selection, assortment creation, allocation strategies and supportive product marketing.  Manages lifecycle planning for products, including new releases, reorders, markdowns, and phase out. Participate in customer meetings, line reviews and presentations as expert of category and product. Monitors category performance against forecasts and analyzes space productivity, providing recommendations to improve results.  Develops presentations/reporting, featuring category performance, trends and opportunities.

Ingram Content Group (“Ingram”) connects people with content in all forms. Providing comprehensive services for publishers, retailers, libraries, and educators, Ingram makes these services seamless and accessible through technology, innovation, and creativity. With an expansive global network of offices and facilities, Ingram’s services include digital and physical book distribution, print-on-demand, and digital learning.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent directly related year for year experience
• 4 years progressive experience in Purchasing, Sales, Inventory Management, Project Management preferably in a sales or distribution environment and maintaining significant supplier relationships
• 1-year previous intermediate to advanced experience in Excel in creating spreadsheets to include formulas, data manipulation, charts/graphs and V look-ups.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Analytical skills
• Knowledge of buying, planning and merchandising
• Evidence of high levels of personal initiative
• Ability to develop product inventory based on customer needs
• Negotiation skills
• Problem solving skills
• Customer service skills
• Oral and written communication skills
• Ability to develop and maintain sales analysis, trending and reporting from sales figures
• Knowledge of principles and methods for showing and promoting products or services
• Knowledge of purchasing/inventory systems

Key Responsibilities:

• Leads category execution through direct oversight of team member while maintaining individual ownership of strategic initiatives
• Key relationship manager with publishers, customers and internal Ingram departments for this segment of business. 
• Analyze customer sales and book industry trends by category to understand the product needs of the customer.  Identify product opportunities that drive profitable business for the customer and Ingram.  Work with suppliers to develop or improve product offerings for customers. 
• Work with suppliers to create prepacks, promotions, and marketing opportunities using customer marketing vehicles. 
• Formulate sales forecasts, determine initial buy quantities and appropriate sales timing and seasonality.
• Determine allocations for customer, including initial orders, replenishment, and new store openings with the focus to maximize sales and sell through.
• Develop and deliver key business insights, in-depth analyses, and category reviews to customer stakeholders identifying current state of the business, opportunities, and proposing recommended actions to grow the category
• Communicate with customers consistently about any inventory issues that will impact them and provide solutions as needed.
• Assist in the development of yearly sales and category plans based on historical performance, forecasts, planned changes in strategy and overall corporate direction for category groups.
• Support retail segment sales through merchandising and promotional activity. 
• Partners with teams to develop and plan seasonally appropriate merchandise promotions and identify key item drivers.
• Collaborate on the development of plan-o-grams (POG) to ensure impactful shelf presentation.
• Provide strategic and actionable recommendations to merchants leveraging meaningful insights to drive shopper conversion, category growth, and market share gains
• Optimize category assortment, deciding on new product introductions, item discontinuations, and markdown strategies.
• Analyze market, customer, and data insights to elevate performance and refine strategies
• Establish and nurture broader key stakeholder relationships to ensure we are connected at all levels within the customer organizations to influence execution and decision-making.
• Deliver execution across vendor operations, including but not limited to item and content setup, ordering/forecasting, promotional planning, etc
• Deliver execution across vendor operations, including but not limited to item and content setup, ordering/forecasting, promotional planning, etc
• Build, coach and develop supporting staff by providing direction to enable creation and delivery of dynamic category strategies

Hiring Salary Range: $74,353K - $94,011K. This range represents the anticipated low and high end of the salary for this position. It will be determined by factors including but not limited to:  the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, geographic location, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Additional Information

Perks/Benefits:

• A highly competitive compensation package with generous benefits beginning first day of employment for Medical/Prescription Drug plans, HSA, Vision, Dental and Health Care FSA.
  • 15 vacation days & 12 sick days accrued annually and 3 personal days
  • 401K match, Life and AD&D, Employee Assistant programs, Group Legal, & more
• Encouraged continued education with our tuition reimbursement program
• Financial and in-kind opportunities to engage with non-profits in your community
  • Company match program for United Way donations
  • Volunteer opportunities and in-kind drives for non-profits throughout the year
• Casual Dress Code

Ingram Content Group is a part of Ingram Industries Inc. and includes Ingram Book Group LLC, Ingram Publisher Services LLC, Lightning Source LLC, Ingram Library Services LLC, Tennessee Book Company LLC, Ingram Content Group UK Ltd. and Ingram Content Group Australia Pty Ltd.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, work related mental or physical disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information.

• EOE-Race/Gender/Veterans/Disabled
• We participate in EVerify.
• EEO Poster in English 
• EEO Poster in Spanish