Category Management Course in the UAE

RCMA's Retail Category Management Essentials is a live online category management course for retail and FMCG professionals in the United Arab Emirates. Sessions run on Sunday and Wednesday evenings at 9:00 pm UAE time (8:00 pm Riyadh time), each 90 minutes, on Google Meet. It is taught in Arabic with the English terms used in UAE retail and FMCG companies, in small cohorts, by a category management practitioner who works in Gulf pharmacy retail.

• Buyers and assistant buyers in hypermarkets, supermarkets, pharmacy chains and online grocery who want to move into category management
• New category managers who want a complete, structured method
• Trade marketing, key account and sales professionals at FMCG suppliers and distributors who work with UAE retailers
• Data and commercial analysts who support category teams
• Graduates who want to start a career in retail or FMCG

The method of category management is the same worldwide, but the UAE market has its own features. The course works through them with examples from the region:

• Shoppers from many backgrounds: a single store serves many nationalities and price levels, so the range must balance local, Asian, Western and premium brands.
• Ramadan, Eid and the shopping seasons: demand shifts sharply, so range, stock and promotions must be planned well ahead.
• Online and quick commerce: many categories now sell through apps and delivery, which changes range, pricing and availability decisions.
• Distributors and trading terms: many brands reach retailers through distributors, so rebates, listing fees and promotion funding are a large part of category profit.

The course covers the full category management cycle in 13 live sessions: category definition and roles, master data and the product hierarchy, the Customer Decision Tree, category performance and the scorecard, assortment and delisting, inventory and availability, pricing and promotions with post-evaluation, space planning and planograms, supplier negotiation, procurement and Joint Business Planning (JBP), and AI tools for the category manager's work. Each session works on applied examples and exercises.

• Live online on Google Meet, so you can join from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or anywhere in the Emirates
• Sunday and Wednesday, 9:00 pm UAE time (8:00 pm Riyadh time), 90 minutes per session
• Small cohorts with limited seats, so every participant takes part
• Taught in Arabic with the English retail terms you use at work

The price per seat is shown in UAE dirhams for visitors in the UAE, and you can pay in dirhams. Company invoices are available, so your employer can sponsor your seat.

Participants who complete the course and reach the pass mark receive an RCMA certificate of completion with its own verification number. Any employer can check it on the RCMA website. It is a certificate of completion from RCMA, not a professional accreditation from an external body.

Khalid A. Elmohammadi is the founder and instructor of RCMA. A pharmacist by training (BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Al-Azhar University; MBA in Digital Business Administration), he has more than 12 years of experience in retail and FMCG, five of them in category management, and leads the personal care sector of a pharmacy retail chain in Saudi Arabia. He has managed more than 5,600 SKUs and trained more than 23 category managers. His credentials include CPCA, CIPM, Category Manager (CMKG–SIMA), Certified Professional Strategic Analyst and T.O.T, and he is a certified CIPSCA ambassador.

Is the course in Arabic or English? It is taught in Arabic, with the English terms used in UAE retail and FMCG companies, so you can apply them at work straight away.