Automated Category Prioritisation

The situation

The category managers were drowning in spreadsheets. Every quarter, they had to review hundreds of product categories by hand, compare performance data across sources, and make investment recommendations. The process took weeks, involved a lot of gut feel, and the rationale was different every time depending on who was doing it.

What we did

We built a scoring framework that pulls performance signals from the data they already had and ranks every category by strategic value. No black box — the criteria are transparent, the weights are adjustable, and the output is a prioritised list with a clear reason next to every recommendation.

What changed

A process that used to consume weeks now takes hours. The recommendations are consistent regardless of who runs it. The team still applies their judgment on top — but they start from a ranked list instead of a blank spreadsheet. They own the framework and run it themselves now.