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What is the IIBT and Why You Should Participate

What is the IIBT (INNERGY Industry Benchmark Tool) and Why You Should Participate

At INNERGY, we believe that numbers tell a story —but only when you know what to compare them to.  In today’s competitive landscape, running a woodworking business without good data is like driving blindfolded.  You might get somewhere-but chances are, you won’t like where you end up.

For years, I've relied on benchmarking data to help guide business decisions—whether it was to measure productivity, evaluate our margins, or understand if we were investing in the right areas. With data, you have a roadmap.

That’s why we created the INNERGY Industry Benchmark Tool (IIBT)—a free, anonymous benchmarking survey built for woodworking businesses in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth your time, let me be clear: this is one of the most valuable tools you’ll use all year.

 

Why Benchmarking Matters

When you look at your backlog, your labor costs, your revenue per employee—what are you comparing them to? Most companies guess. The IIBT removes the guesswork.

The IIBT is INNERGY’s benchmarking tool capturing essential business performance metrics across operations, financials, workforce and sentiment and giving you something every leader needs: perspective. In short: it gives you context. And once you have that, you can start driving meaningful, focused improvement.

We’re offering a snapshot of the industry that breaks down key performance data across geographies, company sizes, and business types—so you can finally answer questions like:

  • Is our profitability above or below average?
  • Are we paying our team competitively?
  • How do our operations stack up against peers in our region?
  • What’s the average backlog or AR across the industry?

What’s In It for You

You won’t get fluff or generic “industry insights.” The IIBT is focused on real, actionable data, including:

  • Wage and compensation benchmarks
  • Bid success rates and backlog analytics
  • Income statement breakdowns (including margin and EBITDA)
  • Turnover trends and staffing ratios
  • Sentiment around cash flow, labor, and sales pipeline
  • Peer comparisons by region, company size, and market (e.g. commercial vs. residential)

I’ve used this kind of data for 20+ years to drive continuous improvement—and we want to make it accessible to every shop in our industry.

 

Fast, Free, and Anonymous

Here’s what you need to know:

  • It’s completely free.
  • It’s 100% anonymous. INNERGY never sees your individual submission.
  • It takes less than 45 minutes. If it takes longer, you’re doing the wrong survey.
  • You do NOT have to be an INNERGY customer to participate!

We partnered with Inverra, the same trusted firm behind the AWI’s benchmarking study, to make this fast and frictionless.

 

How to Participate

  • Submit your completed survey to iibt@inverra.com
  • Deadline: April 30, 2025

Note: You’ll need a Windows machine this year. We kept it simple and spreadsheet-based for speed—but we’ll be going online in the future.

 

Final Thought

If you’re serious about improving your business, you need to know how you stack up. The IIBT is your chance to get honest, regional, and relevant benchmarks—so you can make sharper decisions with confidence.

 

As always, thank you for being part of this community. I hope you’ll join us in shaping the future of this industry—together.

 

Marc Sanderson
CEO, INNERGY