2026-05-14 · Core Vertexpoint
Preparing Category Owners for a Visualization Session
How to brief the people who know the contracts so a spend workshop produces decisions, not just charts.
A visualization session fails when category owners arrive without context. Send the draft charts forty-eight hours ahead with three questions: what looks wrong, what is missing, and which suppliers deserve a closer look.
Ask owners to bring open issues, not polished slides. The goal is to annotate the spend picture with knowledge that never appears in the ERP—quality disputes, delivery delays, or a plant that insists on a preferred brand.
Keep the room small. Two category owners, one finance partner, and the analyst is usually enough. Larger groups drift into general procurement debate and leave the charts untouched.
End with a written action list the same day. Rank three opportunities by estimated impact and name an owner for each. Charts without owners become wallpaper by the following week.