A year-end market folder can become a collection of reports that nobody uses. The missing link is often the decision made from each source.
If a quotation changed because a supplier had limited capacity, retain the revised offer and the explanation. If a benchmark was adjusted for a different delivery period, record the period and calculation. A headline about the wider market may provide context, but it rarely supplies the complete basis for a package rate.
The record should distinguish observation from judgement. “Three suppliers declined to quote for this programme” is an observation. “Competition may be weaker on the next enquiry” is a judgement. Both can be useful when they are labelled clearly.
- Source and release date
- Relevant package
- Observed effect
- Estimate adjustment
- Next review date
An original market-review workflow. An observed effect should be supported by project or supplier evidence.
Keep the original date
Do not update a source date merely because an old price has been copied into a new workbook. Keep the original date and add a separate review date if the entry has been checked.
The same care applies to official statistics. A number describing December may not be published until the following year, and it may later be revised. Retain the release used by the team so that a future review can reconstruct what was known at the time.
A good market review leaves the next estimator with a few specific records: the source, the affected scope, the adjustment and the reason for it. That is a better inheritance than a large archive with no explanation of how it influenced the price.