bita opinion l Debunking the myths
James Clark, BITA’s secretary general, says thank you to Frank Hopper, the retiring Chair of BITA’s Statistics Committee, after 26 years’ service to the committee, and considers why the UK leads the way in industrial truck market intelligence.
M
arket intelligence statistics can provide manufacturers with knowledge of how the market is moving, which
is essential when planning production levels for the year ahead. As the chair of BITA’s Statistics Committee, Frank Hopper, retired on 31 March 2011 after 26 years on the committee, and has been succeeded by David Miller from Toyota Material Handling UK, it seemed a good opportunity to find out why, despite the cliché about statistics, BITA is so successful in providing its members with high-quality, accurate data. When I spoke to Frank Hopper, who has been an outstanding chair of BITA’s Statistics Committee for the past 16 years, for his insights into how BITA maintains its world-leading position when it comes to market intelligence, his response was surprising. Far from focusing on the major technological developments he has seen during his 26 years with the BITA Statistics Committee – back in the mid- 1980s, Frank assures me, BITA members would manually input statistics onto A3 sheets of paper – his view was that BITA’s success in providing meaningful, accurate and timely market intelligence to its members, has been a result of the willingness and ability of our members to provide quality statistics at the front end of the process.
BITA’s statistics cover almost 100% of the UK market and provide an excellent business planning tool for all
contributing BITA
members.As Frank pointed out, it is the integrity of the statistics themselves that result in such a valuable mine of analysis and forecasting each month.
According to Frank,“The UK has the most comprehensive range of statistics available, far greater than other large European countries, and we place a higher importance on
them.In 2010 the market expanded at a rate of approximately 10% after a period of contraction, but over 26 years, in good times and not so good times, BITA members have been scrupulous about the data they supply and their statistics continue to provide essential market intelligence.
In the UK, BITA is the sole provider of industrial truck sales statistics, contributed by, and only made available to, BITA members. BITA’s sales statistics provide an on-going illustration of market conditions. Our objective now is to continue to provide our members with what they want in the most efficient and confidential way possible, and thanks to Frank’s work, we are achieving that. As Frank hands the baton on to David Miller, BITA has a clear lead on other European countries. We are fortunate that David, who is already a long-serving member of the Statistics Committee, brings stability, reliability and foresight, and experience to the role. David’s priorities as chair of the BITA Statistics Committee are to maintain the high quality and timeliness of the statistics whilst
working more closely with Systematics International, which processes the data, and Oxford Economics, which helps us with market forecasting, to ensure BITA members get most value and analysis from our statistics.
BITA’s Statistics Committee plays a vital part in keeping BITA in touch with what our members want; the committee chair and secretary general’s job is to work through how best to deliver the information required. I am pleased to say we almost always succeed in finding a workable solution.
Members now get their statistics on the internet, and the information is made available as quickly as humanly possible.
Butbenefits such as this would amount to nothing if the integrity of
Back in the mid-1980s, BITA members would manually input statistics onto A3 sheets of paper.
the original statistics was ever found lacking. We have our members to thank for the value they place on the output, and for ensuring that the statistics they provide are always of a high quality. BITA will always be enduringly grateful for Frank Hopper’s unstinting service and his positive attitude. We have his insight and foresight to thank for the fact that the UK leads the world in the quality of industrial truck market intelligence. We wish him a long and happy retirement.●
www.bita.org.uk
www.PressOnShD.com May 2011 ShD 35
opinion
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