One client's complaint about my reports changed my whole process

I do procurement consulting for mid-size manufacturing firms, mostly around raw material sourcing. About 4 months ago, a client in Toledo told me my monthly reports were too numbers-heavy and they couldn't see the actual story behind price swings. They said, "We know costs went up, but why and what do we do about it?" I was defensive at first, figured they just wanted fluff. But I took a hard look at my last 12 reports and yeah, they were just spreadsheets with a few paragraphs bolted on. So I flipped the format. Now I lead with the single biggest risk or opportunity, explain it in plain language, then add the data tables as backup. The same client actually forwarded my last report to their VP without asking for changes. That never happened before. Has anyone else had to completely rework their deliverable because one customer called out the obvious?

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martin.riley8d ago

Hah! Clients pointing out the obvious is how we all learn.

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