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1. Who will see my data?
Only members of our 3-person benchmarking team will see
your data without your written permission. Your data are
stored by ID number, not name. We do not make or keep a copy
of your report. We do document any revisions to your data and
how we select your comparison group.
Click to view our
confidentiality policy.
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2. Who
will I be compared to?
This depends whether you are getting a customized report or
an industry report (see next question).
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3. What is the difference
between a customized and an industry report?
"Customized" reports compare your performance to a
subset of 20 or more other manufacturers with a similar
business profile, which subject to database coverage
limitations -- takes into account: sector, size, unit price,
volume, design role, mix of processing and assembly, and order
mix. "Industry" reports compare your performance
against every manufacturer completing the same industry
questionnaire.
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4. I saw
a retail price; I thought it was free for Michigan companies.
Is this true?
Yes. Michigan companies are eligible to receive one free
report, per year, per plant, thanks to funding from the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Once a year,
between February 1st and March 15th, MMTC replenishes its
Performance Benchmarking database with the latest years data.
During this brief window, free "industry" reports
are offered to manufacturers through national industry
associations. The company or trade association must sign up
before February 15th and return its completed questionnaire by
March 25th.
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5. How long are the questionnaires?
Depending on your industry, the questionnaires are between 4
and 6 pages in length.
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6. What if
I dont currently track that information? Can I guess?
We understand that you may not get regular reports that supply
all of the data we ask for. We need you to make a distinction.
If you have no idea about an answer, do not guess - just leave
it blank. If you have a pretty good idea and can make an
educated estimate -- e.g., you dont track total setup time
across all machines for the year, but you know that you do
about 10 setups per month per machine and that those setups
average about 40 minutes -- then we want you to calculate 10
machines x 10 setups x 12 months x 0.667 hours and enter 800
hours.
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7. What do I receive in exchange
for my companys data?
Everyone that completes a questionnaire receives a confidential
Performance Benchmarking report. Every report begins with an
executive summary, followed by: a listing and discussion of
strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis the comparison group, a
detailed graphical display of your facilitys performance compared
to the rest of the group, a profile of the comparison group, and
appendices that summarize all measures data and show you which
questions go into calculating each measure. Click to view a sample report.
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8. My
company is unique. Can you really benchmark my company?
Yes. Our benchmarking analysis is better the more companies
like yours we have in the database. We also have a method that
makes it possible to do a good job for every plant. First, all
of our questionnaires have a core of common questions,
permitting benchmarking across industries. Second, we have
done extensive research which proves that, for most metrics,
industry explains less of the variance in performance than does
a combination of unit price, volume, design role, mix of
processing and assembly, and order mix.
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9. What is the process? How
long will it take to get my report?
If you are submitting data in the February - March time
window to get a free industry report, then you will receive
your report in late May, when we have digested all of the
new data. If you are submitting data to get a paid (except
in Michigan) customized report, then:
- You complete the appropriate questionnaire
and mail or fax it to MMTC - Performance Benchmarking.
- Data are entered and checked to make sure
that they are clean and consistent. If there is a problem
with the data, the company and/or its agent
(if completed through an assistance center or
consultant) receives a call or e-mail to clarify the
problem.
- MMTC's Performance Benchmarking staff
searches its dataset to look for a group of companies that
are similar to the respondent. This group usually consists
of companies with similar product line, customer base, piece
price, order volume, design role, and mix of processing and
assembly.
- The company or its agent is contacted to
make sure the comparison group is acceptable.
- The report is mailed, or if you prefer,
emailed as a .pdf file.
It usually takes no more than two weeks from the time we
receive the questionnaire until we mail out the report.
Turnaround is much faster (often 2-3 days) if the data are clean
and we can promptly contact the appropriate person to get
clarification of any data inconsistencies. We accept rush orders
for a $50 fee. Re-runs of reports initially based on inaccurate
data are available for a $100 fee.
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10. What
if we do more than one process? Are in more than one
industry?
In the first few questions, we seek a lot of detail about
what you make and how you make it. This is especially
important if you have a complex, multi-operation business.
If, for example, you make small stampings, but also make and
sell (i) some larger stampings that are welded into assemblies
and (ii) some large stamping dies, you would fill out our
Metalforming questionnaire. We would compare you not only to
makers of small stampings but also to stampers handling a mix
of small and larger parts (distinguished by price), companies
doing some assembly (distinguished by labor time spent on
that), and stampers that also build dies.
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11. Why do you ask for detailed
financial data?
We need just enough financial data to calculate your Cost
of Goods Sold (COGS). We need this for two metrics that
companies have told us they must have: gross margin (sales
less COGS as a percent of sales) and inventory turns (COGS
divided by average inventory stocks). We dont ask you for COGS,
though. We build it up from nine questions that also support
more than a dozen other metrics.
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12. Will my trade association or
competitors know that Im benchmarked/see my data?
Your trade association will be given, if they ask, a list of
participants. (They usually want to know so that they can call
non-participants to urge them to participate next time.)
Neither your association nor any other company - competitor
or otherwise - will ever know how you answered any question
or how you are rated on any measure, nor will companies
participating know which other companies took part.
Click to view our
confidentiality policy.
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13. What do you do with the data?
How is my company data used?
We have two purposes for the data:
(1) to generate a useful report for you, and (2) to do
research that answers many versions of the same question:
Whats different about companies that grow and make a lot
of money? We encourage any and all manufacturers and
organizations assisting manufacturers to make use of our
Performance Benchmarking data. Click for more information on use
of data.
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14. Do
I have to submit data to get a report?
There is no way to get a free benchmarking report from us
without submitting data. For $100 over the retail price of
a report (i.e., $695), a company may purchase a
one-year-out-of-date industry report.
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15. Can I get more information /
Contact someone about benchmarking my company?
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