Category Manager

K-Dental has been a trusted partner to Canadian dental professionals for over 45 years, offering a comprehensive range of innovative products, equipment, and solutions to help practices thrive. With a strong commitment to service excellence, industry expertise, and long-standing relationships, K-Dental is proud to support the evolving needs of dental offices across the country. We are passionate about driving growth and delivering value, both to our clients and within our team.

About the Role
The Category Manager is responsible for the strategy, performance and profitability of assigned product categories within our dental dealer portfolio (K-Dental, TSR and OSC). This role manages vendor relationships, negotiates exclusive and preferred programs, oversees product assortment and leads vendor business reviews to ensure accountability against defined performance KPIs. Working closely with the Business Analyst on pricing and financial analysis and collaborating with Marketing on promotional initiatives, the Category Manager drives category performance, competitiveness and profitable growth.

Key Responsibilities

Vendor Relationship Management
Serve as the lead point of contact for assigned vendors, building trusted, long-term strategic partnerships.
Lead and organize all vendor business reviews (quarterly and annual), including agenda, data preparation, facilitation and follow-up on action items.
Define and track vendor performance KPIs, such as sales growth, margin, program compliance, promotional performance. marketing investment and new product introductions.
In collaboration with Supply Chain and Operations, effectively communicates with vendors as to their respective operational performance including; on-time deliveries, back orders, product performance and fill rates.
Develop vendor scorecards and share results transparently with vendors and internal stakeholders.
Resolve vendor performance issues and escalate when needed, with clear improvement plans

Negotiation and Exclusive Programs
Negotiate pricing, rebates, incentives, terms, banner advertising and marketing funding to improve margin and competitiveness.
Negotiate annual sponsorships that can be used to enhance rep education, customer adoption and CE events.
Identify, structure and secure exclusive, private-label and preferred-vendor programs that differentiate us in the market.
Evaluate the financial impact of proposed programs and agreements before commitment.
Manage contract renewals, program compliance and the ongoing value delivered under existing agreements.

Category Strategy and Analytics
Develop and execute category plans covering assortment, pricing, promotion, positioning and growth opportunities.
Analyze sales, margin, market share, customer purchasing and inventory data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
Build dashboards and reporting that give leadership clear visibility into category and vendor performance.
Monitor competitive activity, industry trends and emerging technologies and products in dental.
Conduct SKU rationalization and product lifecycle management to keep the portfolio profitable and relevant.

Cross-Functional Leadership
Sales leadership: Partner closely with sales leaders to align category priorities, equip the field with vendor program knowledge, product positioning and incentives, and gather market feedback.
Supply chain: Collaborate on demand planning, inventory levels, fill rate, lead times, backorders and supplier service performance.
Operations: Coordinate on product setup, pricing execution, order processing, and the logistics needed to deliver programs successfully.
Marketing: Collaborate with the Director of Marketing and team on promotional planning and campaign strategy. Marketing retains ownership of campaign development, execution and communications, supported by vendor programs and funding secured by the Category Manager.
Lead and influence colleagues across functions without direct authority, driving alignment and accountability on shared goals.
Pricing & Business Analysis: Partner with the Pricing/Business Analyst to leverage competitive pricing analysis, sales performance, gross margin and profitability reporting to support category decisions.

Qualifications

Required
Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance or a related field (or equivalent experience).
5+ years of experience in category management, merchandising, purchasing, vendor management or product management, ideally in dental, medical or healthcare distribution.
Dental market experience. Working knowledge of dental products, equipment and consumables, and of dental practice purchasing behavior.
Proven ability to negotiate vendor agreements and structure exclusive or preferred programs.
Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel proficiency and experience with BI tools (e.g., Power BI) and ERP/reporting systems.
Experience leading structured vendor reviews using performance metrics and scorecards.
Excellent communication, presentation and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage executives and vendor leadership.
Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple vendors and priorities.

Core Competencies
Commercial and strategic thinking
Negotiation and influence
Data-driven decision making
Accountability and follow-through
Collaboration and cross-functional leadership
Attention to detail

Success Measures
Category sales growth and gross margin performance against plan
Number and value of exclusive and preferred vendor programs secured
Vendor scorecard results and KPI improvement over time
Vendor business review completion and action item closure rates
Vendor fill rate and service levels
Stakeholder satisfaction across sales, supply chain and operations