Case Studies in Performance Management

Praise for Case Studies in Performance Management

"With this book, Tony Adkins has made an important contribution to the body of knowledge of managerial accounting."
--From the Foreword by Gary Cokins, lead strategist, Business Performance Management Solutions group with SAS Institute and internationally recognized expert in advanced cost management and performance improvement systems

"If you want to achieve direction, traction, and speed in business, Case Studies in Performance Management: A Guide from the Experts is a must-read . . . jam-packed with golden nuggets you can put to work immediately."
--Jason Jennings, bestselling author of Think Big, Act Small, Less Is More and It's Not the Big That Eat the Small . . . It's the Fast That Eat the Slow

"Tony has the insight found only from actual implementations of ABC/PM.Using this as lens, he has brought the collective experience of experts into focus."
--Mohan Nair, author of Essentials of Balanced Scorecard and Activity-Based Information Systems

"Tony Adkins has lived the life of a true ABC/PM road warrior. His collection of case studies reaches beyond the theory to capture the harsh reality of what it takes to successfully implement performance management. A must-read for anyone wise enough to learn from those who have gone before."
--Chris M. Pieper, CEO, FormRouter, Inc. (former founder and CEO of ABC Technologies)

"Everyone who reads this book will gain a solid appreciation of the substance and value of performance management in varied industry settings and applications."
--Dr. Peter B. B. Turney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cost Technology, Inc. and author of Common Cents

If you're looking for a way to dramatically improve your company's performance and get back its competitive edge, Case Studies in Performance Management: A Guide from the Experts will show you how other businesses, driven to remain competitive by changes in their industries, learned to work smarter using ABC/PM in today's tough business environment.

Noteworthy commentary from experts in the field including Ashok Vadgama and Alan Stratton helps you understand ABC/PM and how to execute its sound strategies in your own business. Preface.

Acknowledgements.

About the Contributors.

Foreword.

1. Performance Management.

2. LubeOil: Shaping Business Today and in the Future.

3. HomeHealth: Delivering Activity-Based Costing.

4. SuperDraft: Activity-Based Costing/Management and Customer Profitability.

5. Canaraus: Performance Management—The New Ammunition for Armed Forces.

6. Standard Loan: Interest in Activity-Based Costing Rates High.

7. Sierra Trucks: Trucking along with Activity-Based Cost/Management.

8. Sierra Trucks: Implementing Real Activity-Based Budgeting.

9. Wendals Foods: Managing Customer Profitability with Activity-Based Costing Information.

10. Veri Glass: See Clearly with Activity-Based Costing?

11. ABC Airways: Implementation Lands Millions in Process Improvement Savings.

12. Power & Light: Gets A Charge Out of Activity-Based Costing/Management.

13. OBOK Food Company: Right Ingredients Cook Up Savings.

14. Veterans Benefits: Discovering the cost of Doing Business Using Activity-Based Costing.

Appendix.

Final Thoughts.

Resources.

Glossary.

Index.

TONY C. ADKINS is a Product Manager in the Business Performance Management Solutions group at SAS Inc. Prior to joining SAS/ABC Technologies, Adkins worked for the Westinghouse Hanford Company at its Plutonium Finishing Plant in Richland, Washington. Adkins is recognized globally as an expert in activity-based costing and management projects. He has participated in expert panels and spoken at events with the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing International (CAM-I), The Institute for Industrial Engineers (IIE), ABC Technologies, BetterManagement LIVE, and SAS executive seminars in North America, Europe, and Asia. He received his MBA from City University in Seattle, Washington. There is a growing acceptance that traditional performance management and financial accounting methods are imperfect and inadequate for keeping competitive in today's technology-driven information age. More than ever, today's companies are acknowledging a need to improve performance in critical areas. With that goal in mind, newer methods such as activity-based costing, scorecarding, and integrated planning and budgeting are being used by many businesses to improve value to their customers while boosting profit. Case Studies in Performance Management is required reading for anyone who wants to gain a better grasp of activity-based costing/performance management (ABC/PM) and learn—from industry experts—how it can be the basis for understanding and maximizing an organization's cost structure.

This important new book looks at fifteen companies across diverse industries including manufacturing, service, public sector, consumer packaged goods, airline, and energy/utility fields, which have all successfully applied ABC/PM. Changing the companies' names to respect client confidentiality, the book's frontline perspective offers a before-and-after look at the challenges overcome by each organization throughout its adoption of ABC/PM. Each study is preceded and concluded with insightful commentary from an industry and consulting expert, including Gary Cokins, Ashok Vadgama, Alan Stratton, and John Miller.

Case studies include:

• LubeOil: Shaping Business Today and in the Future
• Veri Glass: See Clearly with Activity-Based Costing?
• HomeHealth: Delivering Activity-Based Costing
• Sierra Trucks: Trucking Along with Activity-Based Cost/Management
• Power & Light: Gets a Charge Out of Activity-Based Costing/Management

As author Tony C. Adkins advises, no one methodology or modeling approach within ABC/PM fits all, and as seen in these studies, companies should ideally evaluate their own unique needs with a pilot project and then design a model to fit those needs. Case Studies in Performance Management shows you how to decrease and eliminate misallocation and misinformation toward an effective implementation of ABC/PM and a more profitable bottom line.

Praise for Case Studies in Performance Management

"With this book, Tony Adkins has made an important contribution to the body of knowledge of managerial accounting."
—From the Foreword by Gary Cokins, lead strategist, Business Performance Management Solutions group with SAS Institute and internationally recognized expert in advanced cost management and performance improvement systems

"If you want to achieve direction, traction, and speed in business, Case Studies in Performance Management: A Guide from the Experts is a must-read . . . jam-packed with golden nuggets you can put to work immediately."
—Jason Jennings, bestselling author of Think Big, Act Small, Less Is More and It's Not the Big That Eat the Small . . . It's the Fast That Eat the Slow

"Tony has the insight found only from actual implementations of ABC/PM.Using this as lens, he has brought the collective experience of experts into focus."
—Mohan Nair, author of Essentials of Balanced Scorecard and Activity-Based Information Systems

"Tony Adkins has lived the life of a true ABC/PM road warrior. His collection of case studies reaches beyond the theory to capture the harsh reality of what it takes to successfully implement performance management. A must-read for anyone wise enough to learn from those who have gone before."
—Chris M. Pieper, CEO, FormRouter, Inc. (former founder and CEO of ABC Technologies)

"Everyone who reads this book will gain a solid appreciation of the substance and value of performance management in varied industry settings and applications."
—Dr. Peter B. B. Turney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cost Technology, Inc. and author of Common Cents

If you're looking for a way to dramatically improve your company's performance and get back its competitive edge, Case Studies in Performance Management: A Guide from the Experts will show you how other businesses, driven to remain competitive by changes in their industries, learned to work smarter using ABC/PM in today's tough business environment.

Noteworthy commentary from experts in the field including Ashok Vadgama and Alan Stratton helps you understand ABC/PM and how to execute its sound strategies in your own business.