Business information needs survey

Printing Industries has launched a gap analysis survey seeking industry help identifying information not currently available but needed for business planning.

According to Hagop Tchamkertenian, Printing Industries national manager for policy and government affairs, having relevant and timely industry data was critical for both business decision-making and strategic planning.

“This survey seeks to confirm the specific data needs of industry members and identify any gaps in industry data availability by comparing what is being sought to what is currently available,” he says. Adding that present industry data was provided by both official and non-official sources.

“At the official level data is provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and covers sales and profit data; gross value added; capital expenditure; employment; industry related expenses; trade data; and the number of establishments. Some of this information is also available on a geographical basis. Non-official data is produced by a number of sources including Printing Industries.

“Our economic surveys cover industry indicators such as production and sales; employment and overtime; capital expenditure; production costs; debtors; capacity utilisation; and production barriers,” he says.

Tchamkertenian (pictured) notes that unlike official data, Printing Industries data could be segmented on the basis of industry process and product.

“There are also some shortcomings with the official data, for example the aggregation of industry conditions. While some official data is released on a regular basis, other official data is released less frequently which compromises its usefulness."

Non-official data also has its shortcomings, according to Tchamkertenian, such as the inability to provide market size estimates of industry sectors. “While this can often be addressed by special industry commissioned studies, these tend to be irregular because of the associated high costs of research,” he adds.

The short survey will close on 28 October 2011. It can be accessed via the Printing Industry Data Needs survey link.