Analytics Exercise : Comparing Companies Using Wall Street Efficiency Measures

The idea behind this exercise is for the class to generate data comparing companies in many different industries. These data will be used to compare these industries from an operations and supply chain view to better understand differences. Be prepared for a lively class discussion for this section.

Step 1: Pick an industry that you find interesting. This may be driven by a company by which you would like to be employed or by some other factor. Within the industry, identify three companies that compete with one another. To ensure comparability, go to www.dailyfinance.com, and then find and enter the company stock symbol. Find three companies that are in the same industry.

Step 2: Collect data related to each company. At a minimum, find the income per employee, revenue per employee, receivable turnover, inventory turnover, and asset turnover for each company. These data are available under Rates and Ratios. Then, select Financial Ratios on the Web site.

Step 3: Compare the companies based on what you have found. Which company appears to have the most productive employees? Which company has the best operations and supply chain processes? Which company is most efficient in its use of credit? Which company makes the best use of its facility and equipment assets?

Step 4: What insights can you draw from your analysis? What could your companies learn from benchmarking each other?