Category Support Specialist

Category Support Specialist

7-Eleven is an iconic family of brands with over 86,000 locations, surpassing every retailer in the world. We revolutionize convenience, restaurants and fuel through cutting edge innovation working hard to be the customer's first choice. 7-Eleven empowers our employees to "activate awesome" and make a meaningful impact in their stores and communities every day. If you're ready to grow, lead and make a difference, come join our team and help shape the future of convenience.

The Category Support Specialist is a tactical merchandising partner responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle management of product data and item readiness across all retail delivery channels. This role ensures 100% accuracy and system readiness for all new items and item changes by conducting rigorous upstream and downstream verification throughout the lifecycle.

Serving as both a supplier-facing liaison and a strategic execution partner for Category Managers (CMs) and Associate Category Managers (ACMs), the Specialist ensures that all item attributes, supplier distributions, and pricing structures are accurate, fit for operational deployment, and aligned with category strategy. This position plays a critical role in safeguarding merchandising integrity, optimizing supply chain execution, and preventing downstream issues that impact stores, customers, and suppliers.

Key duties and responsibilities include:

• Conduct comprehensive upstream and downstream reviews of supplier and system-created item data to ensure accuracy of product attributes supporting ordering, selling, distribution, and warehouse storage, preventing delays in product onboarding.
• Own verification and maintenance of Category Supportmanaged item attributes, including descriptions, item type, product classification, ordering configuration (LDU, IPQ, MIP UoM, UPCs), compliance flags, and wholesale enablement fields.
• Apply merchandising and execution expertise to identify anomalies inconsistent with category intent or compatible execution across store and supply-chain workflows.
• Ensure ordering and pack hierarchy accuracy by validating UPC structures, orderable pack sizes, and minimum/maximum parameters required for procurement and replenishment.
• Ensure item setup costs are complete and compliant by validating inclusion of base cost (as negotiated by CM/ACM), applicable state and local taxes (e.g., sugar/sin taxes), handling or distribution fees, and container deposits (CRVs), recognizing that costs may vary by geography based on distribution footprint and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain awareness of item distribution locations to ensure cost components and compliance attributes align with local and state regulations prior to activation.
• Understand functional requirements of DSD, warehouse, and third-party delivery models to ensure accurate setup of logistics attributes, pack configurations, and wholesaler-required fields.
• Validate that manufacturer-provided specificationsweights, dimensions, temperature control, and case configurationmeet wholesaler and distribution requirements.
• Partner with CMs and ACMs to translate category strategy into accurate system configuration, ensuring item setup supports intended customer experience and financial objectives; participate in line reviews and strategy discussions as needed to understand category intent.
• Own completion and submission of new item forms (NIFs), item maintenance requests, replacement items, and attribute updates with a high degree of accuracy across merchandising, pricing, inventory, and national sales planning systems.
• Support route-to-market changes resulting from manufacturer acquisitions or distribution realignments by analyzing new vendor mappings, validating accurate store and wholesaler alignment, and coordinating required attribute maintenance.
• Utilize advanced Excel capabilities (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, PivotTables, data-cleansing functions) to analyze data, identify discrepancies, validate integrity, and support root-cause analysis.
• Resolve attribute discrepancies by coordinating corrective actions with suppliers, wholesalers, and internal partners, ensuring timely resolution and adherence to onboarding timelines.
• Manage ServiceNow tickets related to store-reported item issues by researching root cause, executing corrections for Category Support-owned attributes, coordinating with appropriate owners, and closing cases within established SLAs.
• Follow established processes and SOPs while proactively identifying opportunities to improve data quality, reduce rework, and streamline item setup and maintenance workflows.

Education and experience:

Education: Bachelors/4 Yr Degree

Years of relevant work experience: 2+

Years of management experience: NA

Specific knowledge and skills:

• High attention to detail with the ability to work accurately in a high-volume environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel; Utilize advanced Excel capabilities (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, data cleaning functions). Experience with SQL is preferred.
• Strong communication skills for collaboration with vendors and internal teams.
• Strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and make informed decisions when clear guidance is not available.
• Familiarity with retail/inventory systems, cost structures, and promotional funding is a plus.
• Ability to follow established processes, meet deadlines, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.