How Anheuser-Busch InBev is tackling the top challenges of Category Management for modern offline retail channel

Abstract

In this paper we present a practical approach that AB InBev’s Global Capabilities Centre (“GCC or ABI or Ab InBev”) has developed to solve the challenges of Category Management for Retailers. The approach brings technical rigor from the areas of data science, econometrics, and measurement methodologies very close to business context. This has allowed us to create a solution which is highly contextual and relatable to our business stakeholders. The strength of the presented solution lies in it being a semi-automated framework that allows a wide array of disparate data to be modelled and captures the nuances of different markets - such as socio-demographic profiles, consumption behaviours, local preferences towards beer styles. We also present the ABI created 4C framework to arrive at the optimal assortment recommendation for a Retailer.