Field Notes

Notes from category rooms and spend reviews

Practical writing for enterprise purchasing teams — how to read ledgers, brief finance, and prepare for supplier conversations.

Printed purchase orders sorted into piles on a walnut conference table

2025-11-12 · Guide

How purchasing teams spot maverick spend without a full systems rewrite

Practical signals in invoice descriptions and cost centers that often hide off-contract buying in enterprise ledgers.

Warehouse aisle with stacked pallets viewed from a raised walkway

2025-09-03 · Field note

When one supplier holds too much of a category

A working method for measuring concentration and briefing risk committees in plain language.

Conference room prepared for a category review with printed packs at each seat

2025-06-18 · Guide

Preparing a category review that finance will sit through

How to structure a purchasing category review so finance partners stay engaged past the first slide.

Printed purchase orders sorted into piles on a walnut conference table

2025-03-21 · Field note

Why a data inventory beats jumping straight to charts

What to catalogue before drawing the first spend map for an enterprise purchasing team.