Consumer products
The Challenge
After winning a Walmart Category Advisorship, a global consumer products company needed an experienced Category Advisor to support Walmart and establish the processes and capabilities required for the new function.
The company needed to move quickly. Walmart’s expectations were already established, and the client could not afford an extended learning curve while assuming this new and strategically important responsibility.
What Made This Search Different
This was not an established position with existing systems, processes, and routines. The successful candidate would be responsible for creating the category-advisory function—not simply stepping into one that was already operating.
The individual needed direct Walmart Category Advisor experience, advanced analytical and Scintilla expertise, and a clear understanding of Walmart’s expectations for an advisor.
The person also needed the organizational leadership required to establish new analytics, reporting routines, internal partnerships, and ways of working. This required someone who could manage both the technical demands of the role and the cross-functional work involved in building a new capability from the ground up.
The Results
The client hired an experienced Category Advisor capable of immediately establishing the analytics, processes, routines, and cross-functional partnerships required to support the newly awarded Walmart advisorship.
The hire reduced the risk associated with assuming a new and strategically important responsibility and gave the company an experienced leader who could build the function without an extended learning curve.
The company successfully retained its leadership position within the category and continues to benefit from the capabilities established by the new hire.