I often hear from manufacturing leaders: “I track top line and EBITDA, but I still feel something is slipping. Mai kya karu?”
Welcome to my talk series Kya Karu, for business owners like you. I’m Nalin Mehta and today we’ll talk about three key numbers every manufacturing MD should check weekly beyond just top line and EBITDA.
Many leaders focus only on revenue and profit, but those numbers tell you what happened last month or last quarter. To run a healthy and profitable business, you need to track what drives those numbers every week.
The first number is cash flow from operations. Even if EBITDA looks good, cash can be trapped in inventory or receivables. Watching this number weekly shows whether your business actually has money to pay salaries, suppliers, and invest in growth.
The second number is order-to-delivery cycle time. Delays here affect customer satisfaction, repeat orders, and working capital. Checking it weekly helps you spot bottlenecks before they become bigger problems.
The third number is rework or rejection percentage. Waste reduces profit silently. By tracking how much product is being reworked or rejected, you can act quickly to improve quality, reduce costs, and protect margins.
Focusing on these three numbers every week gives you a clear picture of cash health, operational efficiency, and cost control. Small weekly adjustments can prevent surprises and keep your profits growing steadily.
So if you feel something is slipping even when top line and EBITDA look fine, start by checking cash flow, cycle time, and rework weekly. These numbers tell you the real story.
I hope this helps. Stay connected on LinkedIn for more such insights.
