Products Finishing Announces Top Shops Benchmarking Program Updates

Each year, Products Finishing conducts its Top Shops Benchmarking Survey, a program designed to aid finishing shops in measuring their key operating metrics against others in the industry. The program was launched in 2015 and has been a great success in helping finishers identify optimal shop floor practices and improve operations and business management. Hundreds of shops participate annually, resulting in a wealth of data that proves invaluable for assessing areas for improvements such as finishing technology and human resources. 

Gardner Intelligence, the research arm of Gardner Business Media, is continually working to improve the Top Shops program. Beginning in 2021, the program will include a new sourcing platform that expands the benefits of participation. 

“Our objective is not only to continually make Products Finishing’s core Top Shops program more robust, but to always ensure relevance and make results actionable for participants,” says Jan Schafer, director of market research at Gardner Intelligence.

The changes in the Top Shops program will allow survey values to be compared to a larger, cumulative database of results. The larger database also supports analyses that will help finishers identify strengths to maintain and opportunity areas to prioritize. Surveys will open in early January and may be completed throughout the year, allowing shops to benefit from faster turnaround of benchmarking results. 

To learn more about the Top Shops Benchmarking program visit gardnerintelligence.com/report/top-shops.