Category charts that hold up in a supplier meeting
Which visuals help a category lead stay grounded when a vendor presents their own numbers across the table.
Supplier meetings reward preparation that is visual and specific. A dense spreadsheet rarely survives the first ten minutes; a short set of charts with annotated sources tends to keep both sides on the same facts.
Volume over time remains the most durable opening view. It shows whether the relationship grew because of genuine demand or because other vendors were quietly dropped.
Unit-price movement comes next, but only when quantity fields are trustworthy. Without quantities, average invoice values can mislead—especially when order sizes changed mid-year.
A supplier-share pie or stacked bar belongs later in the pack, after volume and price. Leading with share can feel confrontational; leading with movement invites a practical conversation about causes.
Keep a one-page source note with the extract date, ledger system, and category definition. When a vendor challenges a figure, you point to the note rather than reconstructing the story from memory.