Now, more than ever, you need to have your finger on the pulse of your business. You need to know industry trends and not only how you’re doing, but how you compare to those in your industry.

Tribute and  TrulinX software help you determine the state of your business with a wide variety of tools and reports to give you the up-to-date information you need. But how can you rate yourself against the competition?

Our industry is doing better with significant growth in the past couple of years. According to the 2013 FPDA Profit Report, the typical fluid power distributor showed an increase in sales of 8.5% from the previous year.

The Profit Planning Group  prepares the annual FPDA Profit Report for The FPDA Motion & Control Network. Some of the Critical Profit Variables included in the report: Sales per Employee, Gross Margin Percentage, Operating Expense Percentage, Inventory Turnover and Average Collection Period.

Results are categorized by typical distributors, by annual sales, and by high profit distributors. Results are also grouped by lines of business, regions of the country, and a past five year trend analysis is supplied. The appendix details the methodology used and is a great resource for determining vital business statistics.

The hose and accessories market has had an increase in sales of around 12% for most distributors. To see how your business compares, purchase the 2013 NAHAD Industry Performance  Report through NAHAD (the National Association of Hose and Accessories Distributors), prepared by the Profit Planning Group. The report provides comprehensive guidelines for analyzing profitability based on income statements, balance sheets, and operating data from participating firms.

The price is significantly cheaper if you’re a member of NAHAD and the information provided is well worth the price. NAHAD also provides a number of other industry-specific publications, including: The Hose Safety Institute Handbook, Elements of Industrial Distribution, and the 2012 Employee Compensation Reports, with member-wide and cross-industry data.

The Measurement Control and Automation Association (MCAA) provides an updated forecast for the industry, which covers the period from base year 2011 through 2016 for 12 product categories and 12 industry segments. The report also includes a Regional Market Assessment (ReMaP™) for the US and Canada which shows the total market values among selected regions within the countrie.

The Power Transmission Distributor's Association (PTDA) publishes the PT Distributor Performance Report offers insight into key operational, financial and productivity ratios for typical and high-profit distribution firms. They also publishes the PTDA Business Index, which provides top-line PT/MC industry insight into the history and prevailing trends in business activity, sales growth, new orders, employment, supplier deliveries, inventories, prices and backlog as well as 14 end-user markets. 

How are you doing in comparison to your peers? Now is the time to analyze your business and industry trends to determine the steps needed to make it more competitive and profitable. An investment in industry-specific software like that offered by Tribute, Inc. is a step in the right direction.