Industry Debut: Category Management Training Standards & Certification

Category Management Standards & Certification

Industry Debut:

CATEGORY MANAGEMENT TRAINING STANDARDS & CERTIFICATION

Bob Wong, Del Monte FoodsSteering Committee Chair


OUR MISSIONProvide the industry with three key deliverables

General Guidelines

• Organizational structure• Typical roles

Defined Skill Proficiency

• Expected skills sets• Typical skill progression

Certification • Establish standards• Recognition of proficiency

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PURPOSE AND BENEFITS

• Standards… – provides common language– identifies education content

• Guidelines… – provides framework on structure– as well as skill development

• Certification…– ensures proficiency and rigor– recognition and retention

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OUR APPROACH

• Steering 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

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ROLES & SKILLS

General Guidelines

• Organizational structure• Typical roles

Defined Skill Proficiency

• Expected skills sets• Typical skill progression


CERTIFICATION

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• Simplistic approach– 3 levels– required fundamentals– plus recommended skills

• Adaptable– flexible for companies,

big and small– will improve over time


CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

Dan Strunk, DePaul UniversitySub-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

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• The most discrete element of a curriculum often focused on a single category management skillA Course

• A single course or a collection of courses that impart proficiency for a specific category management competency

Learning Programs

• A matrix that identifies standards for measuring competency performance at specific experience levels for category management professionals

Learning Scorecard


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

Category Manager(CPCM)

Certified Professional Strategic Advisor

(CPSA)


CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR INDIVIDUALS

Manufacturer’sEmployees

Certification Evaluation Board

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


ASSESSMENT AND RECORD MAINTENANCE

• Assessment– 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


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

3rd Party Vendors


Organizations• 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

Category Management

Data Base


LEARNING PROGRAM CERTIFICATION OPTIONS

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1. By level– most individuals will likely seek

certification by level (i.e. CPCA, CPCM or CPSA)

2. By competency– some will seek across skill sets,

especially 3rd party vendors

3. 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)

[email protected] extension 33

mailto:[email protected]


THANK YOU’SAND

CERTIFICATION ROUNDTABLES


THANK YOU!

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Steering CommitteeBob 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-CommitteeDan 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

Donna FrazierHope Mandel

Category Management Association

Documents

Industry Debut: Category Management Training Standards & Certification