How to Inspect Your Competitors’ Metrics

Is there any data in the world that would be more interesting to you than the data you’d get if you could take a peek at your competitors’ metrics? Wouldn’t you love to know how you compare to them on gross profit? Inventory turnover? Scrap rate due to errors?

These numbers, and dozens of others, are now available. And you can get them for free.

Is there a catch? Of course. You don’t get to look at a particular company’s books. Sorry. But what you do get is probably more valuable: a look at how you compare to other manufacturing companies like yours in respect to over 50 different metrics. There are twelve categories - machine building, metal forming and fabrication, plastics and rubber processing, to cite some examples - so you get an accurate, relevant, apples-to-apples comparison.

What makes this possible is a unique program developed by the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC). Since 1992, this group has been studying manufacturing efficiency, and now has over 10,000 companies in its database. So their experts can tell you exactly where you stand in comparison to other American competitors, as well as competitors in low-wage countries.

They can also tell you what would happen in various what-if scenarios. For example, you can see which improvements in which areas (material costs, labor productivity, fringe benefits, energy costs, etc.) have the greatest impact on your ability to become more price-competitive. It’s objective data that can help you understand how to  prioritize your efforts in order to improve.

This report normally costs $595.00 But if you register before March 31, it’s free. All you have to do is fill out a (strictly confidential) questionnaire on your own metrics. It’s not a five-minute process. It will probably take you a couple of hours to track down all the data. But, I assure you, there’s hardly any better way to spend your time if your goal is to be more competitive.