When Ezra Thompson started working at Survival Stop, the store's organization made absolutely no sense to him. Gum sat next to motor oil, energy bars were scattered across three different sections, and customers constantly asked where to find items.

Honestly, I used to think category management was just a fancy phrase corporate types threw around to sound important. Boy, was I wrong! It's actually the secret sauce that separates the thriving C-stores from the ones barely hanging on.