is usually analyzed by observing customers directly in the store and by direct surveying. The result is recorded in the Customer Decision Tree (CDT) The category management 8-step process (retail) The industry standard model for category management in retail is the 8-step process, or 8-step cycle developed by the Partnering Group. The eight steps are shown in the adjacent diagram; they are : Define the category (i.e. what products are included/excluded). Define the role of the category within the retailer. Assess the current performance. Set objectives and targets for the category. Devise an overall Strategy. Devise specific tactics. Implementation. The eighth step is one of review which takes us back to step 1. The 8-step process, whilst being very comprehensive and thorough has been criticized for being rather too unwieldy and time-consuming in today's fast-moving sales environment; in one survey only 9% of supplier companies stated they used the full 8-step process. The current industry trend is for supplier companies to use the standard process as a basis to develop their own more streamlined processes, tailored to their own particular products Market research company Nielsen has a similar process based on only 5 steps : reviewing the category, targeting consumers, planning merchandising, implementing strategy, evaluating results. Category captains It is commonplace for a particular supplier in a category to be nominated by the retailer as a category captain. The category captain will be expected to have the closest and most regular contact with the retailer and will also be expected to invest time, effort, and often financial assets into the strategic development of the category within the retailer. In return, the supplier will gain a more influential voice with the retailer. The category captain is often the supplier with the largest turnover in the category. Traditionally the job of category captain is given to a brand supplier, but in recent times the role has also gone to particularly switched-on private label suppliers. In order to do the job effectively, the supplier may be granted access to a greater wealth of data-sharing, e.g. more access to an internal sales database such as Walmart's Retail Link. In the UK, the Groceries Code Adjudicator found in her 2015-16 investigation into Tesco plc that some suppliers paid "large sums of money in exchange for category captaincy or participation in a price review". She found some evidence of benefits which suppliers derive from these arrangements