Brian F. Harris is a former university professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and the originator of the study of category management.
Brian F. Harris is a former university professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and the originator of the study of category management.
Originally from Australia, Brian Harris earned a BA in Economics from the University of Queensland and an MBA from Lehigh University. Afterwards he received a PhD in Marketing from Michigan State University. Harris eventually became the Director of the Food Industry Management Program and a marketing professor in the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Southern California, where he co-founded the Quaker Oats Buying Skills Seminar. [1] While Harris was a professor he developed a software program called Apollo Space Management System that could calculate the optimal level of space for products on a store shelf per category of product. The first in store testing and use of the program resulted in that store becoming the dominant shop in the region. [2] The product was developed in conjunction with an organization called ABA Groups, which Harris founded. [1]
In the late 1980s, Harris originated the concept of category management. The concept has evolved over time; however, the most commonly used category management model today was developed into an eight step procedure by Harris in 1997 and is called the Brian Harris Model. The basis of category management, according to Harris models, is to: force consumer focus during retail decisions; create strategy for differentiation and competition; provide a model for collaboration; promote information sharing for the sake of better decision-making; provide strategic logic when developing tactical decisions; clarify decisions when it comes to asset allocation; and clarify employee responsibilities. [3]
In 1990, Harris founded a category management consultation services firm in Cincinnati called the Partnering Group. Over time, category management began to be delegated to specific suppliers instead of being used in-house, which was outside the spirit of Harris's original idea and a practice that Harris criticized. [2] The Partnering Group became known for establishing best practice policies for collaborations between retailers and suppliers. [4] These best practice guides have been adopted by the ECR Consortia in the US, Europe, and Brazil. [5] Harris still serves as founder and chairman of the Partnering Group. [6] Since its founding the Partnering Group has worked with retail clients in over 25 countries. [1] Harris serves as an advisory board member [7] for Local Express.[ citation needed ]
Marketing is the process of identifying customers and "creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging" goods and services for the satisfaction and retention of those customers. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce.
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers.
A supply chain, sometimes expressed as a "supply-chain", is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers. Meanwhile, supply chain management deals with the flow of goods within the supply chain in the most efficient manner.
Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it, and a distributor is a business involved in the distribution stage of the value chain. Distribution can be done directly by the producer or service provider or by using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries. Distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix: the other three elements being product, pricing, and promotion.
Pricing is the process whereby a business sets the price at which it will sell its products and services, and may be part of the business's marketing plan. In setting prices, the business will take into account the price at which it could acquire the goods, the manufacturing cost, the marketplace, competition, market condition, brand, and quality of product.
Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is an inventory management practice in which a supplier of goods, usually the manufacturer, is responsible for optimizing the inventory held by a distributor.
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2020, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.
Scan-based trading (SBT) is the process where suppliers maintain ownership of inventory within retailers' warehouses or stores until items are scanned at the point of sale. Suppliers, such as manufacturers or farmers, own the product until it is purchased by the customer, with the store or venue then buying the product from the supplier and reselling it to the customer. Analysts in the grocery sector estimate scan-based trading accounted for $21 billion dollars in consumer goods purchased in the grocery industry alone in 2020, or nearly 3% of overall sales.
Retail media is marketing to consumers at or near their point of purchase, or point of choice between competing brands or products. Common techniques include in-store advertising, online advertising, sampling, loyalty cards and coupons or vouchers.
Category management is a retailing and purchasing concept in which the range of products purchased by a business organization or sold by a retailer is broken down into discrete groups of similar or related products; these groups are known as product categories. It is a systematic, disciplined approach to managing a product category as a strategic business unit. The phrase "category management" was coined by Brian F. Harris.
Once the strategic plan is in place, retail managers turn to the more managerial aspects of planning. A retail mix is devised for the purpose of coordinating day-to-day tactical decisions. The retail marketing mix typically consists of six broad decision layers including product decisions, place decisions, promotion, price, personnel and presentation. The retail mix is loosely based on the marketing mix, but has been expanded and modified in line with the unique needs of the retail context. A number of scholars have argued for an expanded marketing, mix with the inclusion of two new Ps, namely, Personnel and Presentation since these contribute to the customer's unique retail experience and are the principal basis for retail differentiation. Yet other scholars argue that the Retail Format should be included. The modified retail marketing mix that is most commonly cited in textbooks is often called the 6 Ps of retailing.
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is an approach which aims to enhance supply chain integration by supporting and assisting joint practices. CPFR seeks cooperative management of inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply chain. Information shared between suppliers and retailers aids in planning and satisfying customer demands through a supportive system of shared information. This allows for continuous updating of inventory and upcoming requirements, making the end-to-end supply chain process more efficient. Efficiency is created through the decrease expenditures for merchandising, inventory, logistics, and transportation across all trading partners.
A stockout, or out-of-stock (OOS) event is an event that causes inventory to be exhausted. While out-of-stocks can occur along the entire supply chain, the most visible kind are retail out-of-stocks in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. Stockouts are the opposite of overstocks, where too much inventory is retained.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
Customer analytics is a process by which data from customer behavior is used to help make key business decisions via market segmentation and predictive analytics. This information is used by businesses for direct marketing, site selection, and customer relationship management. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle at the consumer. Customer analytics plays an important role in the prediction of customer behavior.
'Shopper marketing' is "a discipline that focuses on the customer experience and the customer journey."It focuses on the consumer's path to purchasing a product, from first being aware of the product, to consideration and through to the purchase of it. It separates itself from retail marketing which focuses on engaging the customer in-store only.
Fashion merchandising can be defined as the planning and promotion of sales by presenting a product to the right market at the proper time, by carrying out organized, skillful advertising, using attractive displays, etc. Merchandising, within fashion retail, refers specifically to the stock planning, management, and control process. Fashion Merchandising is a job that is done world- wide. This position requires well-developed quantitative skills, and natural ability to discover trends, meaning relationships and interrelationships among standard sales and stock figures. In the fashion industry, there are two different merchandising teams: the visual merchandising team, and the fashion merchandising team.
In business and marketing, “trade” refers to the relationship between manufacturers and retailers. Trade Promotion refers to marketing activities that are executed in retail between these two partners. Trade Promotion is a marketing technique aimed at increasing demand for products in retail stores based on special pricing, display fixtures, demonstrations, value-added bonuses, no-obligation gifts, and more.
Virtual store research is an extension of the traditional methods of marketing research. While marketing research employs techniques like focus groups, surveys and observation to better understand consumer decision-making, virtual store research uses these standard research techniques within a simulated store setting, delivered via computer. Virtual store research uses 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional computer simulation technology to create retail contexts that are as close to the real shopping experience as possible. This allows test consumers within the virtual environment to interact with store merchandise and make purchase decisions in a way that closely resembles real in-store behavior.
The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.