Issues
Issues
New Zealand Sawmilling Industry
Benchmarking Survey
WPA is in the process of creating an annual benchmarking survey which would allow mills to see how they stack up compared to the average on key indicators like costs, stock turns, prices and return on assets. For the industry, this annual “health check” will provide the hard data we need to help the Government better understand the sector and the issues we face. WPA has engaged Deloitte www.deloitte.co.nz to conduct the survey.
The following measures will be put in place to ensure that company names and information cannot be identified and confidentiality is protected:
- Surveys will be labeled with a security ID code created by the participant. They will also be password-protected.
- The link between ID codes, passwords & company names will only be known to 4 Deloitte staff.
- The data will be averaged in the database and will be reported as averages, so actual numbers cannot be retrieved or analysed.
- Deloitte will not disclose the names of the participants.
- At least 3 mills will be included in each category and there will be no disclosure of the number of mills in each category.
Information to be collected
The survey includes information in the following categories:
- Income, costs & profitability
- Balance sheet, including inventor levels, fixed assets, debt & equity
- Distribution channels
- Prices & production
- Workforce profile
Click here to see the survey.
Reporting
Information will be reported in a format similar to that used by Deloitte for the Wine Industry (click here to see the Wine Industry report). Mills will receive an individual mill benchmark report showing their actual numbers benchmarked against the industry average. The whole-industry report will contain industry average results. Individual mills will be grouped into one of three size categories (small, medium, large), based on turnover and volume. These categories have been set to allow comparison of mills of similar size and minimize the risk of results being skewed by particular participants. Structural and appearance mill results will be reported separately.
Participation & Costs
WPA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade will heavily subsidise the inaugural survey, so there will only be a minimal cost to you of $100 to cover the cost of printing the report in 2010.
We would like all mills to participate so we can really see the benefits. Ongoing, the cost will depend on the number of participants.
Click here to see the survey flyer.
