Authorization

Authorization is the formal decision by a retailer to carry a specific SKU. It is the prerequisite to everything that follows: distribution into stores, inclusion in a planogram reset, promotional support, in-store execution.

Getting authorization is the multi-month process every emerging CPG brand obsesses over. The path: line review or category review meeting with the retailer's buyer, presentation of velocity and consumer evidence from other retailers, negotiation of slotting and free-fill terms, signing the new-item form, and waiting for the next reset cycle (usually 3-6 months out from sign-off).

Authorization is reversible. Most retailers run a quarterly or semi-annual "cut review" where slow-moving authorized items are pulled. A SKU that fails to hit a velocity threshold (often expressed as units per store per week, sometimes as a percentile against the category) gets cut at the next reset, and the brand has to start the authorization process over.

The dollars at stake make Authorization the moment that defines the career arc of a CPG Sales hire. Winning national authorization at a Tier 1 retailer (Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Target) is the line on the resume that opens every interview that follows.

Roles where this matters: Sales, National Account Manager, Field Sales.