The Problem
When several suppliers quote the same item, the first question is usually simple: who is cheapest? The hard part is answering it quickly without scanning the column over and over or accidentally missing a lower number in the middle of the list.
A useful quote sheet should do more than show a number. Procurement still needs to know which supplier offered it, and the winning row should be easy to spot inside the table. Otherwise, someone has to jump back and forth between the summary and the raw quotes.
The flow below shows the decision path. The quote list produces the lowest price, then that price points back to the supplier and marks the row that deserves attention.
The Problem: The Cheapest Quote Needs Context The lowest value is useful only when it connects back to the supplier row.
In this workbook, every supplier is quoting the same product item. The challenge is to find the cheapest value, return the supplier that offered it, and flag the winning row so the answer is visible both in the summary and inside the table.
- The summary needs the lowest price.
- The summary also needs the supplier tied to that price.
- The table should mark the winning quote where it appears.
That structure helps prevent review mistakes. The decision is not hidden in one cell; it is connected back to the quote row that produced it.
How We Solve It
The price column gives us the numeric answer, so we use MIN there first. Once we have that lowest value, we can use a lookup formula to return the supplier name and a simple comparison formula to mark the winning row.
Method 1: Use MIN for the price
Method 1: Return the smallest value in the quote column.
MIN scans the quote range and returns the smallest number. That gives us the cheapest bid immediately and creates a clean anchor for the rest of the summary.
This solves the first part of the problem because the sheet needs one trusted lowest value before anything else can happen. Once that minimum price is in the summary, the lookup and row flag both have a clear target to work from.
=MIN(C2:C6)
Method 2: Return the supplier with XLOOKUP
Method 2: Return the supplier name that matches the lowest price.
Once the cheapest value is known, XLOOKUP can search for that value in the price column and return the name from column A on the same row. That is what turns the summary from just a number into an actual recommendation.
This solves the second part of the problem because the worksheet should not stop at the number alone. It connects the minimum price back to the supplier row, which tells us who actually offered the best deal.
=XLOOKUP(MIN(C2:C6), C2:C6, A2:A6)
Method 3: Flag the winning row
Method 3: Limit the minimum search to one category when needed.
The row flag is just a comparison. If the quote in column C matches the lowest value in B9, the row gets the label LOWEST. Otherwise it stays blank. In bigger sheets, that flag makes the result easier to see without reading the summary first.
This solves the visibility problem inside the table. Instead of forcing someone to compare every quote to the summary manually, the winning row marks itself so the best offer is obvious right where the data lives.
=IF(C2=$B$9,"LOWEST","")
Function Explanation
1. MIN
MIN returns the smallest number in a range. Here it answers the main pricing question directly.
That value becomes the anchor for the rest of the workbook. Once the minimum is known, the supplier lookup and row flag can both point to the same target.
Learn more this functionMIN
2. XLOOKUP
XLOOKUP searches one range and returns the matching value from another. In this challenge it links the cheapest price back to the supplier name.
That matters because the lowest number alone does not tell the buyer what to do next. Returning the supplier turns the calculation into a usable recommendation.
3. MINIFS
MINIFS is useful when the minimum needs to be found inside one category rather than across the whole sheet. It is not required in the challenge solution, but it is the natural extension of the same idea.
For example, a larger procurement sheet might need the cheapest paper quote, cheapest hardware quote, or cheapest vendor by region instead of one overall minimum.
Learn more this functionMINIFS
If two suppliers share the same lowest price, the summary price will still be correct. The lookup result depends on the first matching row, so tie handling is something to think about in larger procurement sheets.
Find the cheapest quote, return the supplier that offered it, and flag the winning row so the best deal is obvious both in the summary and inside the table.