Use a Dashboard to Drive Your Business

Feb 24, 2007 12:00 PM

Every business operator has a collection of indicators that tell the operator approximately how well the business is running. The collection might include seat-of-the-pants indicators such as how full or empty the inventory shelves are, or indicators as formal, and formidable, as a Balance Sheet or Profit and Loss Statement. The best indicators are the ones that make meaningful information readily available. Like the dashboard of an automobile, that type of indicator can be used in a business ‘dashboard' to provide the business operator with immediate feedback on how well, or poorly, the business is doing.

The Gases & Welding Distributor Survey provides a number of these indicators, and also provides data on just how well other companies are running. The following indicators, and their values, are basic guides to show how a business is performing. Mean values are the average of all responses. Median values are the specific values of the one response in the middle of all responses sorted from low to high. Minimum and Maximum values give the full range of responses by indicator.

Overall profit margin
Mean: ....................................25.9%
Median:..................................22.5%
Minimum:....................................1%
Maximum: ................................61%
Number of Respondents: ..........189

Labor turnover rate
Mean: ....................................6.08%
Median:....................................5.0%
Minimum:....................................1%
Maximum: ................................22%
Number of Respondents: - 50

Average order lead time
Mean:..................................3.2 days
Median: ..............................1.0 days
Minimum:............................0.5 days
Maximum:............................30 days
Number of Respondents: ............38

Percentage first pass order fulfillment
Mean: ....................................88.5%
Median: ....................................90%
Minimum:..................................50%
Maximum: ..............................100%
Number of Respondents: ............35

Job related injuries and illnesses in 2005
Mean: ........................................2.45
Median: ......................................1.0
Minimum: ......................................0
Maximum: ....................................45
Number of Respondents: ............52

Annual training budget
Mean: ..................................$11,722
Median: ................................$5,000
Minimum: ....................................$0
Maximum: ..........................$80,000
Number of Respondents: ............36

Average time on back order
Mean: ....................................5 days
Median:..................................4 days
Minimum: ..............................0 days
Maximum:............................30 days
Number of Respondents: ............37

Percent of change in what you pay for gases
Increase 1% to 5% ................21.8%
Increase 6% to 10% ..............49.2%
Increase more than 10% ......29.1%
Number of Respondents: ..........179

Percent of change in what you charge for gases
Decrease 1% to 5% ................5.1%
Increase 1% to 5% ................27.8%
Increase 6% to 10% ..............41.6%
Increase more than 10% ......25.8%
Number of Respondents: ..........179

Percent of change in what you pay for hard goods
Increase 1% to 5% ................16.3%
Increase 6% to 10% ..............46.6%
Increase more than 10% ......37.1%
Number of Respondents: ..........178

Price change you pay for card coods
1-5%: ..................................16.3%,
6-10%: ..................................46.6%
>10%: ....................................37.1%
178 respondents

Percent of change in what you charge for hard goods
Increase 6% to 10% ..............30.5%
Increase 1% to 5% ................24.3%
Increase 1% to 5% ................24.3%
Increase more than 10% ......45.2%
Number of Respondents: ..........178