Category Process Manager

Wells Vehicle Electronics; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Wells Vehicle Electronics seeks a seasoned Category Management and Retail Analytics leader to drive profitable category growth for a major North American automotive retailer. You will analyze POS, loyalty, and market data to uncover pockets of opportunity and coordinate with suppliers on assortment and promotional strategies.

You will build data-rich business cases, design effective planograms, monitor DC/store fill rates, and ensure clean data across catalogs using ACES/PIES.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business/related analytical field; 5+ years in Category Management, Retail Analytics, or National Account Management for mass retail automotive hardlines.
• Experience with retail vendor portals and syndicated data platforms such as Circana/NPD and AutoZone SMS.

Responsibilities

• Gather and analyze data to grow category profitably for the customer.
• Analyze retailer POS data, loyalty metrics, and market share to identify growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with suppliers to support category reviews and executive-level pitches.
• Design and optimize planograms to maximize sales per foot and inventory turns.
• Ensure data health across e-commerce/catalog using ACES/PIES protocols.
• Evaluate ROIs of promotions and drive optimized promo structures.

Skills

Category Management

Retail Analytics

National Account Management

Excel

Power BI

SQL

ACES/PIES knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Marketing/Economics

CMA Certification

Tools

AutoZone SMS

Advance Retail Link

Circana/NPD

JDA/Blue Yonder Space Planning

Job description

This position is responsible for serving as the dedicated strategic advisor to a major North American automotive retail provider while representing the company’s manufacturing portfolio, embedding deeply with the retailer’s merchant teams to drive category-wide growth, optimize product placement, and deliver actionable customer insights.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Gather data from the customer and from the industry related to the customer’s business and utilize the insights from the data to work with the customer to create a strategy to grow the category profitably for the customer.
• Analyze the retailer's proprietary POS data, loyalty metrics, and market share tracking (e.g., Circana/NPD) to identify category growth pockets, regional performance gaps, and margin opportunities.
• Leverage registration and repair data to make recommendations designed to optimize vehicle park coverage in local markets.
• Work with all category suppliers to Drive the category line review process for the merchant. Build the comprehensive analytical data packs and pitch presentations used by the retailer’s Category Managers to justify assortment changes to their executive leadership.
• Partner with the retailer’s space planning teams to design, test, and optimize high-efficiency planograms that maximize sales-per-foot and improve inventory turns and maximize customer-facing inventory placement.
• Build compelling, data-backed business cases for our latest parts, part numbers, and configurations to ensure high-velocity retail placement.
• Monitor distribution center (DC) and store-level fill rates. Collaborate with the retailer's replenishment team and our internal supply chain to anticipate spikes and avoid stockouts.
• Coordinate with catalog, product, and data teams to ensure flawless data health across the retailer’s e-commerce and commercial catalog engines, leveraging ACES and PIES protocols.
• Tailor shelf-availability and online catalog positioning to target both the commercial shop technician (speed, exact fitment) and the DIY retail customer (clarity, ease of installation).
• Working with the Sales Organization; Evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of past promotional calendars (circulars, digital coupons, bundled DIY kit offers) and recommend optimized promo structures.
• Maintain a continuous pulse on competitor retail environments (e.g., O'Reilly, Advance, AutoZone, NAPA) regarding pricing, merchandising tactics, and private label shifts.
• Other job activities as assigned.

Essential Education, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Experience:

• Bachelor degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Finance, or related analytical field desired; 5+ years’ experience in Category Management, Retail Analytics, or National Account Management, specifically serving a supplier selling into mass retail automotive hardlines. An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Deep, hands-on experience using retail vendor portals and syndicated data platforms (e.g., AutoZone SMS, Advance Retail Link, Circana/NPD, JDA/Blue Yonder Space Planning).
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Excel and familiarity with reporting and database tools, including Power B.I, Database management tools (SQL, OLTP, etc.). Familiarity with A.I. tools to assist in presenting large amounts of data in a digestible format.
• Strong familiarity with the North American automotive aftermarket landscape, its distribution channels, and application-driven part logic.
• Direct experience serving as a Category Captain or Co-Captain directly with An Automotive Retailer.
• Professional certification from the Category Management Association (CMA).
• Understanding of automotive electronic cataloging standards, specifically ACES and PIES.
• Ability to travel as required.

Equipment Used:

• Personal Computers, general office equipment.

Personal Protective Equipment/Clothing Required (PPE):

• Safety glasses and hearing protection as required.
• ESD smock and grounding equipment as required.

Physical Demands:

(Not Applicable, Occasionally [1-33%; 0-2.5 hrs./day], Frequently [33-66%; 2.5-5.5 hrs./day], Constantly [>66%; 5.5+ hrs./day])

Physical Abilities

• Stand – Occasionally
• Walk – Occasionally
• Sit – Constantly
• Climb – Not Applicable
• Squat – Not Applicable
• Twist – Not Applicable
• Use of Hands/Fingers – Constantly
• Reach Above Shoulder – Not Applicable

Lift/Carry

• 10 lbs. or less - Occasionally
• 11-20 lbs. - Occasionally
• 21-50 lbs. - Not Applicable
• 51-100 lbs. - Not Applicable

Push/Pull

• 10 lbs. or less - Not Applicable
• 11-20 lbs. - Not Applicable
• 21-50 lbs. - Not Applicable
• 51-100 lbs. - Not Applicable

Sensory Requirements

• Vision - Yes
• Touch - Yes
• Hearing - Yes
• Smell - No

Preferred

Bachelors or better in Business Administration.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.