Which relationships deserve investigation?
The most exposed relationship is not always the largest in revenue. The direction of dependency matters: a customer may rely on a product while that product has many customers, or vice versa.
Imagine this business
A large customer buying across many products may be diversified internally. A smaller account may purchase almost exclusively one item. Both require separate interpretation.
Compare share with scale
Both the financial magnitude and the concentration within a relationship matter.
Ask what happens next
Consider whether a relationship is replaceable, contracted, growing or declining before deciding what action is warranted.
Two situations. Different implications.
Illustrative comparison — not actual customer data or a platform-calculated result.
| Measure | Relationship A | Relationship B |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | $900k revenue | $150k revenue |
| What's different? | 30% of its product's revenue | 90% of its product's revenue |
A is larger in absolute revenue; B is more concentrated in its product. Both deserve different prioritisation conversations.
Team discussion: Leadership and Key Account Sales can consider magnitude, substitutability and continuity rather than rank on one percentage.
Compare before you conclude
Compare absolute revenue exposure alongside percentage dependency, and examine the direction customer-to-product and product-to-customer.
Who could act on this?
Teams: Leadership and Key Account Sales.
Leadership prioritises material exposures; Key Account Sales examines relationship durability.
Ideas worth testing
Schedule structured reviews of high-share relationships, cross-sell opportunities and succession of customer contacts.
Watch the trade-offs
The biggest absolute exposure may not have the highest percentage reliance.
Now ask a better question
Where do counterpart shares reveal reliance that headline rankings do not?
What should I consider?
Identify what the numbers establish, what they do not establish, and which additional evidence you need before acting. Make a note of one question to investigate.
Try this with your own data
Where to look in your diagnostic
Dependency and Customer × Product Mix
Data needed: Customer ID + Product ID + Revenue.
What to investigate: Compare absolute relationship revenue and percentage reliance where supported; high dependence is an investigation flag, not a risk score.
Open the sample or run the free diagnostic, then find the named dashboard section. Sections appear only when your data supports them; some deeper investigation and exports require Professional access. Check Evidence & Coverage before drawing conclusions.
Numbers provide evidence. Good decisions require context and judgement. Treat this lesson as a starting point for investigation, not an instruction to change your business.