Current news
03.03.2011
itelligence, SAP and techconsult present new study on the productive efficiency of the SME sector
itelligence, SAP Deutschland AG & Co. KG and techconsult have created a hitherto never achieved degree of transparency on the process quality of German, Austrian and Swiss SMEs with their joint study, which they released for the first time today, under the title: Business Performance Index (BPI) for Manufacturing Industry SMEs in D/A/CH. The new BPI provides companies in the surveyed sectors with extensive guidance for a validated comparison of their own self-assessment of their company's performance with the sector average. A definite advantage when you are trying to compete in a global market.
The most important business processes were analyzed, and the level of IT support, the balance of activities and the maturity level of innovative IT solutions in the companies were surveyed and compared in this representative study. As documented in the study, the higher the level of IT in the respective companies, the higher the BPI and with it the balance of activities of the companies.
When asked to name the main challenges, which lie ahead for this sector, all participants mentioned finding qualified personnel, followed by the optimization of production sequences and the issues of supply prices and supply security. Production flexibility and stock optimization were regarded as less pressing challenges.
Dr. Andreas Pauls, Sales Manager for Germany, itelligence AG: "This index not only provides an insight into the actual requirements of the companies, but also shows the particularities, which IT solutions must take into account in the subsectors. The aim must be to optimally support the companies using IT so that they can improve their performance. With the BPI, we have a valuable tool, which gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of the sectors. For those companies competing in a very dynamic, global market, the study is an important tool for assessing their current position and identifying as well as developing future growth opportunities."
SMEs from the manufacturing industries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (D/A/CH) formed the basis of this study. This was the first time that these companies were holistically surveyed taking into account demographic characteristics such as the type of manufacturing, subsector, internationality and autonomy.
Depending on the subsector, there are significant differences in the BPI values and thus in how business processes are implemented in reality; the best BPI result was achieved by the metal industry, while the worst was recorded by the wood/furniture industry. Depending on the respective type of manufacturing, all other indicators - in addition to the BPI value - were higher at series-production and mixed-production companies than at variant and project manufacturers/plant manufacturers. Smaller companies with 20 to 99 employees were not able to keep up with the average BPI value.
Compared to the average for the manufacturing sector, the top 10 companies bucked the trend and grew by on average 3% over the last three years. They thus not only have significantly higher BPI values but also scored better in all the other performance indicators.
The complete "BPI for Manufacturing Industry SMEs in D/A/CH" study with detailed analyses, diagrams and additional information can be found online - free of charge - at http://www.business-performance-index.de/.
The business performance index (BPI) project
The business performance index will, from now on, be annually compiled for the manufacturing, trade and service sectors and supplemented by a final, cross-sector report.
"Business Performance Index for Manufacturing Industry SMEs in D/A/CH" study Basic parameters
The 430 participating companies filled out and evaluated 1,336 subareas/processes; 244 companies were taken as the basis for the analysis using the criteria that they completed in more than 4 subareas/processes. The survey was carried out by telephone (CATI) with the support of a parallel online platform. The survey period was from September 16 to December 17, 2010. The surveyed companies had a turnover of between €5 million and €600 million in 2009.
The aim of the BPI is to provide companies with a free tool, which they can use to optimize their processes. The study concept allows for an individual comparison of the business performance on a company, area and process level with the index values for sector, subsector and size class areas.
The companies behind the survey
marcom source gmbh – Concept and project management
techconsult gmbh – Idea, data acquisition, analysis and evaluation
SAP Deutschland AG & Co. KG – Cooperation partner for industry specifics and main sponsor
itelligence AG – Cooperation partner for industry specifics and sponsor
