By Peter Miller
Executive Vice President of Business Development & Sales
Pro-Tech Industries (La Vergne, Tennessee)
This article was published in the August 2020 edition of NTEA News.
This may (or may not) come as a surprise, but some companies don’t take the time to analyze and evaluate their financial situation compared to others in the industry. It’s kind of like competing in a race and not noticing or comparing your achievements to competitors.
A little competition or comparison can be healthy, especially in business. Financial benchmarking, when done correctly, can lead to major improvements in organizational processes and procedures.
If you’ve received Payment Protection Program money from the government, this is an excellent time to evaluate and analyze your finances.
What is financial benchmarking?
Financial benchmarking collects and analyzes information to help improve business processes, including cost efficiency and increased productivity. It defines, analyzes and uses internal and external financial data to help companies become more efficient and enhance productivity.
Why is it important?
Benchmarking allows an organization to identify their position in the market, define strengths and weaknesses, and set realistic financial and procedural goals. It serves as a performance metric, but can also shine light on discrepancies needing attention.
With the pandemic and financial crisis of 2020, it’s more important than ever to analyze how business has been impacted and identify available areas of growth.
NTEA survey/what’s different this year
Financial benchmarking can be daunting, and mistakes can easily be made. To help companies navigate this process, NTEA partnered with Benchmarking Analytics to provide a Financial Benchmarking Survey available to manufacturer and distributor members.
Survey participants will receive
- NTEA Financial Benchmarking Report — This report profiles the financial and operating performance of participants. Insights and analysis are included to explain various statistics and ratios, and why they’re important.
- Individual company financial performance dashboard — Each participant returning a completed survey will receive a private, individual financial benchmarking dashboard delivered in an Excel spreadsheet. This unique company analysis offers an interactive,
dynamic look at key data that can be used for benchmarking. Benchmarking Analytics sends this report directly to you.
If you’re like me, finding time to complete surveys can be a challenge. If you don’t have time to fill in your financial data, Benchmarking Analytics accepts responses in multiple ways. You can complete only the first few survey operating questions and submit a copy of your balance sheet and income statement along with the survey.
It’s important to note that all information shared with Benchmarking Analytics is completely confidential. No one from NTEA or its staff, officers, directors or committees will have access to individual company financial data.
I highly encourage your team to complete the survey, available until Sept. 15.
Learn more at ntea.com/benchmarksurvey.