Okay, it did say Excel skills were desirable but really...
Technology has revolutionised the way we communicate, both at work and at home. As we have adjusted to working and living with quantum computers we have not yet worked any less intensively. In this series we take a look at some jobs that have really evolved with advances in technology.
Will 'Excel skills are desirable' even feature on job adverts with the emergence of ChatGPT and other AIs
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category manager
[product expert and relationship builder]
person tasked with long-term strategic support to manage a group of products profitably
Picture the scene
Needs great supply planners
Exciting new product launches threaten to cannibalise long-term solid performers
Market forces and fashions impact category overnight
Direct to customer sellers challenge profit margins
Resilience is needed to
Keep up with dynamic market forces
Keep up with automation speeding up logistics
Find time to know the customer
Data skills are crucial to
Create real-time information for all audiences
Understand emerging patterns
Manage exceptions
Influence the design of great systems
head of sales
[growth and profitability tightrope walker]
people person who knows sales delivery requires much great activity and that after sales service is better than marketing
Picture the scene
Direct links to all business functions
Responsibility for what makes the business a business – a desirable and profitable product
customers will talk about positively
Resilience is needed to
Head up a team that is rejected more often than accepted
Feel the weight of business performance
Be responsible for best business practice and great culture
Balance the current business needs with future-proofing the business
Data skills are crucial to
Communicate with remote teams and talk business metrics
Evolve the system to support business performance and reduce workload for teams
Ensure relevant information is accessible
e-commerce merchandiser
[internet shopping expert]
person who lists products in an online shop and finds endless ways to describe their benefits and features
Picture the scene
24-7 shopping arena on the World Wide Web
Even with the best planning, competitors can see your activity and might undercut your price
Customer journeys are increasingly complex
Loyalty is experience focused so you must offer great products and a great experience
Resilience is needed to
Bring a profitable range that sells to a competitive market
Have confidence in the range longevity
Create a special brand that sets you apart from the competition
Data skills are crucial to
Understand what’s selling, where and for how much
Know which lines are driving profitability and which are diluting it
Forecast supply
Monitor costs
Know your customer and create customer loyalty
Attribute the customer journey so you can make sense of it
office administrator
[sink or swimmer]
person with wide and varied role far exceeding the job description or person spec
Picture the scene
Day one – in at the deep end
Logs in to many systems and shown that process doc do exist
Given autonomy to sink or swim
Googles a lot for guidance
Resilience is needed to
Shape their day to manage a multitude of scenarios
Be self-sufficient and prioritise tasks
Deal with pressure without assistance
Data skills are crucial to
Prevent drowning in emails
Be methodical and prioritise tasks
Use available systems to streamline business processes
supply planner
[psychic]
person tasked with predicting demand and planning optimum levels of stock
Picture the scene
Increasing range of products being added to fluctuating categories to drive growth
Customers browsing on more channels than ever
Costs rising
Dynamic pricing
Resilience is needed to
Predict demand with confidence
Manage expectations
Work with many lead times
Work with many business stakeholders who’ll never appreciate the complexity
Data skills are crucial to
Attribute customer and stock journeys to understand past and present performance
Apply different sales profiles to different items and optimise buying
Manage a stock file and keep stock turning
Connect with and understand your customers
The data points that exist in the digital economy are vast and continuing to grow. There are a increasing number of people not realising their potential because of weak data skills. Don't let your team drown in data, or sink in systems. ivity provides access to affordable relevant training - check out how we make data training relevant and powerful here.
