ColumnistsASA President’s LetterASA News

ASA’s Operating Performance Report is a must have

Participation is key.

Dear Industry Colleagues,

We’ve all heard the famous quote “You get out what you put in.”

We also know this quote holds true for many things in both our businesses and personal lives. It most certainly applies to a membership within ASA. If you are an active member of ASA, you already know what I am talking about. If you currently are utilizing all the benefits an ASA membership has to offer, then you receive its full value. As an ASA member, one of the key membership benefits you should regularly be participating in is ASA’s Operating Performance Report.

Do you know your company’s strengths and weaknesses? How do you identify opportunities for operational improvement?ASA’s OPR is the perfect tool to help you answer these questions. The report represents the most complete, accurate and up-to-date comparative financial performance information published anywhere about the PHCP and PVF industry. For more than 30 years, the annual study has served as an easy-to-understand, actionable tool for industry firms to evaluate their company’s operating results in order to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and identify improvement opportunities. However, you cannot take advantage of this valuable information if you do not participate.

Understanding financial ratios and the impact of this type of analysis could mean the difference between simply operating your business or excelling in the PHCP and PVF industries. The OPR will help you monitor key performance areas such as:

Return on equity
Gross margin on net sales
Payroll expense to gross margin
Gross margin
Cost of goods sold to average
Gross margin per employee

Details of survey results in this report are broken down into a variety of business segments and demographics for the PHCP and PVF industry. Within each segment, data is shown for all participating firms, as well as by sales volume size. A special analysis that focuses on high profit firms is included. The report also includes 20-year trend data for each business segment. There simply is no better study of its kind available. It is a must for wholesalers committed to improving their operations and for suppliers looking to refine their marketing to the industry.

On Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 1:30 p.m. (EST), Tom Noon of Industry Insights, the management consulting firm that manages ASA’s OPR, will be providing a FREE webinar entitled Don’t Leave Profit on the Table – Using the ASA Operating Performance Report. During the webinar, Mr. Noon will review highlights, answer questions and offer suggestions on how to get the most from this year’s study results.

To participate in the webinar, visit www.asa.net and follow the links on the homepage. Feel free to contact ASA Executive Director Chris Murin at cmurin@asa.net or 630/467-0000, ext. 204 for further details on the webinar as well as ASA’s additional business intelligence offerings such as the Industry Intelligence Report, the Monthly Pulse Report and the monthly ASA Advisor forecasting report, put together specifically for ASA members by Alan Beaulieu.

Thanks for your participation.