Development of a nomenclature of indicators of the competitiveness of leather shoes and identification of their significance for various categories of consumers. Thus, the competitiveness of an enterprise is an important indicator on which the efficiency of an enterprise depends.

Enterprise competitiveness is its ability to successfully compete in the market and receive economic benefits relative to competitors.

- a complex characteristic that can be expressed through group, integral, generalized indicators. The purpose of assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise is to determine the position of an enterprise in an industry, regional or international market.

Competitive status of the enterprise

Competitive status of the enterprise(lat. status- state, position) according to the formulation of I. Ansoff is a characteristic of the competitive position of the enterprise in the market. Competitive status answers the question: What is the company's position in the market compared to other competitors? Competitive advantages allow answering the question: What external and internal factors influenced the company's ability to achieve this position? The competitive status of an enterprise is a function of the level of its competitive advantages.

Competitive status (competitive position) of the enterprise- a set of strengths and weaknesses of the organizational and economic position of the enterprise in the industry and regional markets for goods and services relative to its main competitors, achieved by methods and means that do not contradict the provisions of the antimonopoly legislation of the Russian Federation. Competitive status is a position in the competition, a kind of measure of position in the market.

The competitive status of an enterprise directly depends on it, which for the most part depend on the efficiency of using different types of resources in the production process, marketing and subsequent customer service.

Each enterprise has a wide variety of properties (characteristics). To evaluate them, it is necessary to bring them into homogeneous groups, determine quantitative and qualitative indicators and the methodology for their measurement. It is impossible to take into account all the characteristics of the enterprise, so the most important groups and the most important properties in the group should be selected. Therefore, the assessment of the company's competitiveness depends on the goals of the analysis; the practical possibility of obtaining the necessary information; used methodology for measuring indicators.

The principles of assessing competitiveness are similar to the principles: complexity and relativity. The complexity of the assessment means the need to analyze the totality (complex) of criteria. Relativity implies the comparative nature of the assessment, comparison with competitors.

Algorithm for assessing the competitiveness of an enterprise

Algorithm for determining competitiveness provides:

determination of the purpose of the assessment;
definition of areas (types of activity) taken into account in the analysis;
choice of comparison base;
definition of characteristics to be measured;
assessment of selected characteristics;
calculation of a generalized, integral indicator of competitiveness;
conclusions about competitiveness.

As a characteristic of competitiveness, one can consider the degree of compliance of the enterprise with key success factors in the market. In this case, competitors are not just compared - their ability to achieve success is evaluated.

The competitiveness of an organization can also be assessed on the basis of a comparative analysis of the stability of the enterprise and its main competitors to possible risks in the market. If we consider risks only as negative manifestations of the environment, then such an analysis reveals the requirements for the activities of enterprises in the industry, and a higher stability of an enterprise indicates a higher competitiveness.

Marketing approaches to assessing competitiveness, in contrast to financial and economic ones, to a greater extent operate with high-quality (usually expert) information. At the same time, the general approach to assessing competitiveness (of both the enterprise and its products) is to select a list of characteristics, determine their relative importance (weight in the overall assessment,%) and evaluate these characteristics for the enterprise and its main competitors.

E.P. Golubkov proposes to assess the competitiveness of an organization using 16 performance factors (image, product concept, product quality, level of diversification of business types, total market share of the main types of business, the capacity of the research and development base, the capacity of the production base, etc.), which he details and supplements due to the factors of competitiveness of products and the effectiveness of marketing activities.

An indicator of the competitiveness of an organization is the company's market share: the higher the market share of an economic unit, the higher its competitiveness. The market share of the enterprise and the growth rate of the market indicate the effectiveness of the marketing activities of the enterprise, which is manifested in the presence of demand for the company's products. With an increasing or unchanged share of the enterprise, we can say that the enterprise is competitive in the market. If the company's market share is declining, it means that it is not able to compete.

Levels of competitiveness and their characteristics

Typology of competitiveness definitions

Competitiveness is an indicator that is of interest not only to science, but also to all subjects of market relations. Currently, there are a fairly large number of definitions of competitiveness in the economic literature. In the most general sense, competitiveness is understood as the ability to get ahead of others, using one's own advantages in achieving the set goals.

Professor R.A. Fatkhutdinov defines competitiveness as "... a property of objects that characterizes the degree of satisfaction of a specific need in comparison with the best similar objects on the market. Competitiveness can be considered in relation to such objects as regulations, scientific and methodological documents, design documentation, technology , production, manufactured products (performed service), real estate, employee, information, company, region, industry, any macro environment, the country as a whole.

There is a statement by M. Ehrlich and J. Hine that competitiveness is the ability of a country or a company to sell its goods.

Andrianov V. suggests that a synthetic indicator that combines the competitiveness of a product, a commodity producer, industry competitiveness and characterizes a country's position in the world market is an indicator of country competitiveness. In its most general form, it can be defined as the ability of a country in conditions of free competition to produce goods and services that meet the requirements of the world market, the implementation of which increases the welfare of the country and its individual citizens.

Fashiev Kh.A. in the article "Defining the competitiveness of an enterprise" provides a grouping of definitions of competitiveness.

competitiveness is a multifaceted economic category that can be considered at several levels (figure 4.2):

Level I – competitiveness of products;

· II level – competitiveness of the enterprise;

· III level – competitiveness of the region (industry);

· Level IV – country's competitiveness.

T. 3

Enterprise competitiveness

The competitiveness of an enterprise is its advantage in relation to other enterprises in the industry within the country and abroad. Competitiveness is not an immanent quality of a firm, which means that the competitiveness of a firm can only be assessed within a group of firms belonging to the same industry, or firms producing similar goods (services). Competitiveness can only be revealed by comparing these firms with each other, both on a national scale and on a global market scale. Thus, the competitiveness of a firm is a relative concept: the same firm within, for example, a regional industry group can be recognized as competitive, but not within the global market or its segment. Assessment of the degree of competitiveness, i.e. identifying the nature of the competitive advantage of the company in comparison with other companies, is primarily in the choice of basic objects for comparison, in other words, in the choice of a leading company in the country's industry or abroad. Such a leading company should have the following parameters:

The commensurability of the characteristics of the products produced by the identity of the needs satisfied with its help;

The commensurability of the market segments for which the manufactured products are intended;

The commensurability of the phase of the life cycle in which the firm operates.

Thus, the competitive advantage of one firm over another can be assessed when both firms satisfy identical customer needs related to related market segments. At the same time, firms are approximately in the same phases of the life cycle. If these conditions are not met, the comparison will be incorrect. Further, based on the fact that competitiveness reflects the productivity of the use of the company's resources, to assess it, it is necessary to choose criteria for the productivity of the use of resources. In the event that the activity of the company is related to making a profit, and the total resources are estimated in monetary terms, the productivity of the use of resources by the company can be assessed by the indicator of production profitability, i.e. the ratio of profits received in a particular period to the resources spent in the same period, estimated as production costs. In addition, for an objective assessment of the competitiveness of the company, its management needs the ability to track the market, especially outside the country. The complexity, and sometimes complete lack of access to information about the activities of competitors, can create an unreasonable opinion among the company's management about the superiority of the company over competitors, lead to complacency and weakening of efforts related to maintaining the required level of competitive advantage of their company. At present, in order for the firm to be competitive in the struggle with leading firms, completely new approaches to the organization of production and management are required than those that managers were guided by in the past. And, first of all, new approaches are needed in investment policy, when carrying out technical reconstruction at the enterprise, in the process of introducing new equipment and technology. The competitiveness of an enterprise depends on a number of factors that can be considered components (components) of competitiveness. They can be divided into three groups of factors:

Technical and economic;

Commercial;

Legal.

Techno-economic factors include: quality, selling price and costs of operation (use) or consumption of products or services. These components depend on the productivity and intensity of labor, production costs, high technology (tm) products, etc. Commercial factors determine the conditions for the sale of goods in a particular market. These include:

Market conditions (severity of competition, the relationship between supply and demand for a given product, national and regional market features that affect the formation of effective demand for a given product or service);

Provided service (availability of manufacturer's dealerships and service stations in the buyer's region, quality of maintenance, repairs and other services provided);

Image of the company (brand popularity, reputation of the company, company, country).

Regulatory factors reflect the requirements of technical, environmental and other (possibly moral and ethical) safety of using the product in this market, as well as patent and legal requirements (patent cleanliness and patent protection). In case of non-compliance of the goods with the norms and requirements of standards and legislation in force in the period under review on this market, the goods cannot be sold on this market. Therefore, the assessment of this group of factors and components using the coefficient of compliance with the standards is meaningless. The high competitiveness of the company is a guarantee of high profits in market conditions. At the same time, the company aims to achieve a level of competitiveness that would help it survive in a sufficiently long time period. In this regard, any organization faces the problem of strategic and tactical management of the development of the enterprise's ability to survive in changing market conditions. Competitiveness management involves a set of measures for the systematic improvement of the product, the constant search for new channels for its sale, new groups of buyers, improving service, advertising. The basis of the competitiveness of the enterprise is the competitiveness of its products.

Criteria and indicators of enterprise competitiveness

Before proceeding to the consideration of the issue concerning the criteria for the competitiveness of an enterprise, it is necessary to define the concept of "criterion". So, in modern economic dictionaries under criterion understand the sign on the basis of which an assessment, definition or classification of something is made.

An indicator is data by which one can judge the development, course, state of something.

The need to develop and use a system of criteria and indicators of the competitiveness of an enterprise is due to the desire to manage economic processes, purposefully work to improve production efficiency, and concentrate resources on priority areas.

Krotkov A. M., Eleneva Yu. Ya. distinguish three levels of ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise:

– operational level;

- tactical level;

- strategic level.

At each of these levels of ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise, they highlight the relevant criteria:

1) at the operational level, the criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is an indicator of the competitiveness of products;

2) the tactical level is represented by such a criterion of the competitiveness of an enterprise as a complex indicator of the state of the enterprise;

3) the criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise at the strategic level is the growth in the value of the enterprise.

In addition, Krotkov A. M., Eleneva Yu. I highlight the key characteristics of the state of the enterprise that affect its competitiveness:

The first two characteristics refer to the operational level of enterprise competitiveness management. The third, fourth and fifth characteristics of the state of the enterprise determine the tactical level of management. The last two characteristics constitute the strategic level of competitiveness management.

Depending on the specific goals of the analysis, various indicators or their combination are used, which give a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the enterprise's activities in the field of ensuring competitiveness. Assessing the level of competitiveness of an enterprise makes it necessary to use a number of indicators that indicate the degree of stability of the situation, the ability to produce products that are in demand among consumers and provide him with a stable profit. So, according to I. N. Gerchikova, “the assessment of the competitiveness of an enterprise should be based on such indicators as:

- the need for capital investments, actual and for the future, both in general and for individual types of products;

- the range of competitive products, their volume and cost (product differentiation);

- a set of markets or their segments for each product (market differentiation);

- the need for funds to generate demand and stimulate sales;

- a list of measures and techniques by which an enterprise can provide itself with an advantage in the market: creating a favorable image of the company among buyers, producing high-quality and reliable products, constantly updating products based on its own developments, clearly fulfilling obligations under transactions regarding the timing of the supply of goods and services " .

Grebnev E. T. proposes to use the following indicators to assess the competitiveness of an enterprise:

- the ratio of the total cost of sales to the cost of unsold products;

- the ratio of profit to the total cost of sales;

- the ratio of the cost of products sold to its quantity for the current period;

- the ratio of the amount of sales to the amount of receivables;

- the ratio of the value of marketing expenses to the total amount of profit.

A decrease in the value of the first indicator indicates a drop in demand for the company's products and overstocking of finished products, an increase in the second indicator indicates an increase in the competitiveness of the enterprise, the third indicator determines due to which factor sales increased - due to rising prices or due to an increase in sales volumes, the fourth - shows , what share of sold products was purchased by buyers on the basis of a commercial loan, and the fifth allows you to identify unproductive costs along the entire chain of distribution from producer to consumer.

We tried to identify the most important criteria and indicators of the competitiveness of the enterprise.

The first criterion is efficiency of production activity of the enterprise. The assessment of the competitiveness of an enterprise according to this criterion involves the consideration of such groups of indicators as:

– efficiency of production process control;

– profitability of production costs;

– rationality of use of fixed assets;

- the perfection of the technology of manufacturing goods, the organization of labor in production.

The second criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is financial condition of the enterprise. Assessment of the financial condition of an enterprise involves consideration of indicators grouped into the following groups:

1) indicators of property status;

2) indicators of liquidity and solvency of the enterprise;

3) indicators of financial stability;

4) indicators of business activity;

5) indicators of financial performance of the enterprise.

The third criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is effectiveness of marketing and product promotion. This criterion is characterized by the following indicators:

- coefficient of overstocking of finished products;

- profitability of sales;

is the capacity utilization factor;

The fourth criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is the competitiveness of products. When considering this criterion, the following indicators are used:

– product quality;

– product price;

- package;

- market share.

The fifth criterion for the competitiveness of an enterprise is its business activity. This criterion is characterized by the following indicators:

– reliability of suppliers;

– quick response to orders;

- volumes of supply of raw materials;

- investment attractiveness.

Let us consider in more detail the main indicators that characterize the criteria for ensuring competitiveness that we have identified.

The efficiency of the production activity of the enterprise is characterized by the following indicators:

– product profitability- this indicator can be calculated for all products sold and for its individual types. In the first case, it is defined as the ratio of profit from the sale of products to the costs of its production and sale. The profitability of all sold products is also calculated as the ratio of profit from the sale of marketable products to the proceeds from the sale of products. Profitability indicators of all sold products give an idea of the effectiveness of the current costs of the enterprise and the profitability of products sold.

In the second case, the profitability of individual types of products is determined. It depends on the price at which the product is sold to the consumer, and the cost for this type of product;

– capital productivity- this indicator allows you to judge how much production is in monetary terms per 1 ruble. fixed production assets. It is determined by the following formula:

where О Т is the cost of marketable or standard-net products produced during the year, rub.;

Fos - the average annual cost of fixed production assets, rub.;

– capital intensity- is the reciprocal of the return on assets. It is characterized by the cost of fixed assets per unit of production, rub.:

- material efficiency - characterizes the efficiency of the use of material resources of the enterprise. It is determined by the ratio of the volume of production to the cost of raw materials and materials spent on its production. This indicator shows how many units of finished products account for 1 unit of raw materials and materials spent;

- material consumption - the inverse indicator of material efficiency. It is determined by the ratio of the cost of raw materials and materials to the volume of production. Shows how many units of raw materials and materials account for 1 unit of manufactured products. The better raw materials, materials and other material resources are used, the lower the material intensity and the higher the material efficiency;

- labor productivity. Measurement of labor productivity is carried out by comparing the results of labor in the form of the volume of output with labor costs (the average number of industrial and production personnel). Depending on the direct or inverse relationship of these quantities, there are two indicators: production and labor intensity.

The most common and universal indicator is output, which can be hourly, daily, monthly (quarterly, annual). Working out represents the amount of production produced per unit of working time or per one average employee per month, quarter, year. It is determined by the ratio of the quantity of output produced to the expenditure of working time on the production of this output.

Along with the development, the indicator is widely used laboriousness products. The labor intensity of products is understood as the sum of all labor costs for the production of a unit of output at a given enterprise.

Labor productivity largely depends on the level and degree of complexity of automation and mechanization of production, on the use of high-performance equipment, low- or waste-free technological processes, and on the timely performance by employees of the enterprise of their functions. This indicator reflects the efficiency of the organization and use of labor force.

The economic development of an enterprise in today's rapidly changing technological world is no less dependent on the quality of its labor resources and investments in human capital in order to increase the interest of employees in creativity, innovation and adaptation to new technologies. One of the indicators indicating the interest of the enterprise in stimulating employees is the ratio of the average wage to the living wage. The higher this indicator, the greater the interest of employees in their work, the higher their motivation to achieve better results. In addition, the indicator of the ratio of average wages to the subsistence minimum indicates the quality of the process of reproduction of the labor force.

Before proceeding to the consideration of indicators characterizing the second criterion for ensuring the competitiveness of an enterprise, it should be noted that we will dwell in more detail on the most important, in our opinion, groups of financial indicators: indicators of the liquidity and solvency of the enterprise, financial stability and financial performance of the enterprise. The financial condition is the most important characteristic of the business activity and reliability of the enterprise. It determines the competitiveness of the enterprise and its potential in business cooperation, is the guarantor of the effective implementation of the economic interests of all participants in economic activity, both the enterprise itself and its partners.

Under the financial condition of the enterprise refers to the ability of the enterprise to finance its activities. It is characterized by the availability of financial resources necessary for the normal functioning of the enterprise, the feasibility of their placement and efficiency of use, financial relationships with other legal entities and individuals, solvency and financial stability.

In market conditions, when the economic activity of the enterprise and its development is carried out at the expense of self-financing, and in case of insufficiency of own financial resources - at the expense of borrowed funds, an important analytical characteristic is the financial stability of the enterprise, which is largely related to the overall capital structure of the organization, the degree of its dependence on lenders and investors. As a result of the implementation of any business transaction, the financial condition of the enterprise may remain unchanged, either improve or worsen. The flow of daily business transactions is, as it were, a “disturber” of a certain state of financial stability, the reason for the transition from one type of stability to another. Knowing the limits of change in sources of funds to cover capital investment in fixed assets or inventories allows you to generate such flows of business transactions that lead to an improvement in the financial condition of the enterprise, to increase its sustainability. To analyze financial stability, it is necessary to identify indicators that allow quantifying the above category.

Financial stability indicators characterize the condition and structure of assets, the level of borrowed capital and the organization's ability to service this debt. Among the indicators characterizing the financial stability of the organization, the following can be distinguished:

– coefficient of autonomy;

– coefficient of financial stability;

- coefficient of provision with own working capital;

- coefficient of maneuverability;

– the ratio of borrowed funds and equity;

- coefficient of security of material reserves with own working capital.

Autonomy coefficient shows what part of the total capital is own funds, i.e., the independence of the enterprise from borrowed sources of funds. The higher the value of this indicator, the more financially stable, stable and independent of external creditors the organization is. Regarding the degree of borrowing in foreign practice, there are different opinions. The most common opinion is that the share of equity should be large enough, since creditors are more willing to invest in an organization with a high share of equity, since it is more likely to repay debts at its own expense. In contrast to this opinion, many Japanese companies are characterized by a high share of attracted capital (up to 80%), and the value of this indicator is on average 58% higher than, for example, in American corporations. This is explained by the fact that in these two countries, investment flows are of a completely different nature - in the United States, the main flow of investment comes from the population, in Japan - from banks. Therefore, a high value of the concentration ratio of attracted capital indicates the degree of confidence in the corporation on the part of banks, and hence its financial reliability; on the contrary, the low value of this coefficient for a Japanese corporation indicates its inability to obtain bank loans, which is a certain warning to investors and creditors.

Financial stability ratio shows how much of the total capital is borrowed funds. The growth of this indicator in dynamics means an increase in the share of borrowed funds in the financing of the enterprise. If its value drops to one, this means that the owners are fully financing their enterprise.

Working capital ratio shows the extent to which the financing of working capital depends on borrowed sources.

Agility factor shows what part of the company's own funds is in a mobile form (in the form of current assets) and allows them to freely maneuver. The optimal value of this indicator largely depends on the nature of the enterprise's activity: in capital-intensive industries, its normal level should be lower than in material-intensive ones.

Debt to Equity Ratio allows you to see what proportion of borrowed funds covers equity. The growth of the indicator indicates an increase in dependence on external investors. The permissible level of dependence is determined by the operating conditions of each enterprise and, first of all, by the speed of turnover of working capital.

The ratio of the provision of material reserves with own working capital shows the extent to which inventories are covered by their own working capital. The level of the indicator is estimated primarily depending on the state of inventories. If their value is much higher than the reasonable need, then own working capital can cover only a part of inventories, i.e., the indicator will be less than one. On the contrary, if the enterprise does not have enough material reserves for the uninterrupted implementation of production activities, the indicator may be higher than one, but this will not be a sign of a good financial condition of the enterprise.

One of the main indicators characterizing the financial condition of the enterprise are indicators of liquidity and solvency.

Solvency means that the enterprise has cash and cash equivalents sufficient to pay for accounts payable requiring immediate repayment. Thus, the main signs of solvency are:

a) the availability of sufficient funds in the current account;

b) the absence of overdue accounts payable.

Distinguish between current and expected solvency. Current solvency is determined on the balance sheet date. An enterprise is considered solvent if it has no overdue debts to suppliers, bank loans and other settlements. Expected solvency is determined at a certain future date by comparing means of payment and senior obligations at that date.

When talking about liquidity enterprises, then they mean that he has defense funds in an amount theoretically sufficient to repay short-term obligations, even if they violate the terms of repayment provided for by contracts.

When considering the concept of liquidity of an enterprise, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts:

– asset liquidity;

- balance sheet liquidity.

Under asset liquidity understand its ability to be transformed into cash, and the degree of liquidity is determined by the length of the time period during which this transformation can be carried out. The shorter the period, the higher the liquidity of this type of assets.

Balance liquidity is defined as the extent to which an organization's liabilities are covered by its assets, the maturity of which is equal to the maturity of the liabilities. The balance is considered liquid if its condition allows, due to the rapid sale of funds on the asset, to cover urgent liabilities on the liability.

Based on the above definitions, it is obvious that liquidity and solvency are not identical to each other. Thus, liquidity ratios may characterize the financial position as satisfactory, however, in essence, this assessment may be erroneous if a significant proportion of current assets falls on illiquid assets and overdue receivables. In many ways, solvency depends on the degree of liquidity of the balance sheet. At the same time, liquidity characterizes not only the current state of settlements, but also the prospects.

As part of a detailed analysis of liquidity, a set of the following indicators is used:

1) the value of own working capital - characterizes that part of the enterprise's own capital, which is the source of coverage of current assets. Ceteris paribus, the growth of this indicator in dynamics is regarded as a positive trend. The main and constant source of increasing own working capital is profit. However, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of "working capital" and "own working capital". The first indicator characterizes the assets of the enterprise, the second - the sources of funds, namely, the part of the enterprise's own capital, considered as a source of coverage for current assets. The value of own working capital is numerically equal to the excess of current assets over current liabilities;

2) the maneuverability of functioning capital - characterizes the part of own working capital, which is in the form of cash with absolute liquidity. For a normally functioning enterprise, this indicator varies from zero to one. As a rule, the growth of the indicator in dynamics is considered as a positive trend. An acceptable indicative value of the indicator is set by the enterprise independently and depends, for example, on how high the daily need of the enterprise for free cash resources is;

3) coverage ratio (general) - gives an overall assessment of the liquidity of assets, showing how many rubles of the company's current assets account for one ruble of current liabilities. Since the company repays short-term liabilities mainly at the expense of current assets, then, therefore, if current assets exceed current liabilities in value, the company can be considered as successfully functioning. The value of the indicator can vary greatly by industry and type of activity, and its reasonable growth in dynamics is usually regarded as a favorable trend. In Western accounting and analytical practice, the critical lower value of the indicator is given - 2; however, this is only an indicative value, indicating the order of the indicator, but not its exact standard value;

4) quick liquidity ratio. This indicator is similar in meaning to the coverage ratio; however, it is calculated for a narrower range of current assets (the least liquid part of them, industrial stocks, is excluded from the calculation). The logic of such an exception is that the cash that can be obtained in the event of a forced sale of inventories may be significantly lower than the cost of acquiring them. In a market economy, a typical situation is when, during the liquidation of an enterprise, they receive 40% or less of the book value of inventories. According to international standards, the level of the indicator should be higher than 1. In Russia, its optimal value is defined as 0.7–0.8, but this assessment is conditional. In addition, when analyzing the dynamics of this coefficient, it is necessary to pay attention to the factors that caused its change. So, if the growth of the quick liquidity ratio was mainly due to the growth of unjustified receivables, this is unlikely to characterize the activity of the enterprise on the positive side;

5) the ratio of absolute liquidity (solvency) - shows what part of short-term debt obligations can be repaid immediately if necessary. In international practice, it is believed that its value should be greater than or equal to 0.2–0.25;

6) the share of own working capital in the coverage of inventories - an indicator that characterizes that part of the cost of inventories, which is covered by own working capital. The recommended lower limit of the indicator is 50%;

7) inventory coverage ratio - an indicator that is calculated by correlating the value of "normal" sources of inventory coverage (own working capital, short-term loans and borrowings, trade payables) and the amount of inventory. If the value of this indicator is less than one, then the current financial condition of the enterprise is considered as unstable.

Various aspects of the production, marketing, supply and financial activities of the enterprise receive a complete monetary value in the system of indicators of financial results. The most important indicators of the financial performance of the organization include:

- profit (loss) from the sale of products;

– profit (loss) from other sales;

– income and expenses from non-sales operations;

– balance sheet profit;

– taxable income;

- net profit, etc.

These indicators of financial results characterize the absolute efficiency of the management of the enterprise. Relative characteristic of financial results and efficiency of the enterprise is profitability. Profitability indicators characterize the relative profitability of the enterprise, measured as a percentage of the cost of funds or capital from various positions.

Among the main indicators of profitability are the following:

– return on assets;

– profitability of current assets;

– return on equity;

– profitability of fixed production assets;

– profitability of long-term financial investments.

The return on assets is the percentage of the balance sheet profit (or net profit) of the enterprise to the value of its assets (fixed and current assets). Shows how many rubles of profit brings one ruble invested in the assets of the enterprise.

Return on current assets shows the efficiency of the use of current assets. It is calculated as the ratio of the balance sheet profit (or net profit) of the enterprise to the value of its current assets.

The return on equity allows you to determine the effectiveness of the use of equity capital, to compare with the possible income from investing these funds in other securities. In Western countries, it has a significant impact on the level of quotation of the company's shares. The indicator shows how many monetary units of net profit earned each monetary unit invested by the owners of the enterprise. It is defined as the ratio of profit to equity capital.

The competitiveness of the company and the competitiveness of the goods differ.

The competitiveness of the firm this is an opportunity to offer a product that satisfies the competitive requirements of the consumer, in the required quantity, at the right time and on the most favorable terms (price, basic terms of delivery, organization of maintenance, provision of a loan, etc.)

Product competitiveness – it is its usefulness as a use-value under specific conditions. The purpose of an economic analysis of the competitiveness of a product is to identify from a group of similar products such a product that would meet certain characteristics and would be in the greatest demand. The buyer is interested in the ability of the product to satisfy a competitive need. This takes into account the technical characteristics of the product, and the price, and the prestige of the manufacturer, and the ability of the company to organize an effective after-sales service system, etc.

Firm competitiveness and the competitiveness of its product are directly dependent. The higher the competitiveness of the product, the higher the demand for this product, and the greater the economic effect the company receives from its sale. The economic effect is expressed primarily in the profit received. An increase in demand leads to an increase in both the rate and the mass of profit. Conversely, a decrease in demand leads to a decrease in the norm, and then the mass of profit.

Competitiveness indicators are contained in the annual reports of firms and company directories.

In addition to profit, indicators of competitiveness are :

- sales volumes in monetary and quantitative terms. If the value of the product sold grows faster than its physical volume, then the demand for it grows. And vice versa

- the ratio of profit to sales volume. With an increase in this indicator, the competitiveness of products grows;

- the ratio of sales to the cost of inventories.

- share of the cost of unsold products in inventories. With its growth, overstocking of finished products occurs, since demand for it decreases;

- the ratio of sales to the cost of unsold products.

- the ratio of sales to the amount of accounts receivable. P provides the volume of commercial credit that the firm provides to its customers.

The company's management decides to reduce the capacity utilization as soon as there are difficulties with the sale of finished induction;

- portfolio of orders. A high level of demand for the company's products provides a large portfolio of orders;

- research costs. This indicator indicates the potential of the company;

6 Price planning methods and technology

· Cost Based Pricing Method production and sale of products. Its essence lies in the fact that the price of the goods is formed by adding a margin to the cost of the goods.

Pros:- the objective basis of the price is the costs that can be reliably determined in contrast to such factors as demand, the level of competition, etc.

The method reduces price competition, since it allows you to set the optimal, rather than the maximum price level.

By setting prices using this method, enterprises do not revise them as demand fluctuates, which equalizes prices for similar goods.

The method of pricing based on costs in practice can be implemented in the following forms.

· The break-even method is based on inclusion in the price of profit, based on a predetermined rate. The calculation of the price using this method is carried out in the following sequence. First, the total production and sales costs are calculated for the most probable output in the planned period. Then the internal rate of return on production costs is established and the required amount of profit is calculated on its basis. After that, the required amount of proceeds from the sale of the planned volume of products is calculated, which provides compensation for costs and receipt of this amount of profit. The unit price of the product in this case is determined by dividing the proceeds from sales by the planned volume of output in physical terms.

· Average cost plus profit method consists in adding various allowances to the average costs per unit of production, covering the cost of costs not included in the base cost of production, taxes and payments included in the price of the product at rates in accordance with applicable law, as well as the profit of the enterprise. The amount of the allowance can be standard for each type of product, as well as differentiated depending on the type of product, cost, unit, sales volume.

· Competitive-Based Pricing Method lies the fact that the price may not be directly dependent on costs, and the latter may be changed in accordance with the conditions existing in the market. The price calculated by this method may be lower than the market price, at or above it, depending on the position of consumers reactions to the price of competitors, features of the product and the service provided. Companies that adhere to this method change the prices of their products only if competitors change their prices.

A variation of the pricing method with a focus on the level of competition is tender pricing. It is used in cases where several firms compete with each other in the struggle for a contract. The tender is the price set by the selling firm. When determining it, the company proceeds, first of all, from the prices that competitors can offer, and not from the level of its own costs or the magnitude of demand for the product.

· Demand Based Pricing Method. The price level depends on the level of demand for this product. This method is based on the need to take into account the law of demand and price elasticity. This means that freedom in setting the price of a product is limited by the peculiarity of the demand curve, which reflects the relationship between prices and demand for goods that has developed in a particular market.

· The method of setting a price based on the perceived value of the product. It is based on the buyer's subjective assessment of the value of the goods or services offered by the enterprise. It is believed that the consumer establishes a relationship between the usefulness of the goods and the price. This method allows you to determine the upper and lower limits of the price. Its upper limit is the price that the richest buyer agrees to pay for the proposed product, and the lower limit is the cost of production and sales of products.

Planning the production program of the enterprise

Production program (PP)- this is a detailed plan for the production and sale of products, reflecting the volume, nomenclature, range of products and established based on market needs.

The development of the production program is carried out in the following sequence:

1) determination of the need for manufactured products;
2) compilation of the nomenclature and range of products;
3) determination of volumes (in physical terms) and terms of production of certain types of products;
4) correlation of the production program with the available resources and, first of all, with the production capacity. If necessary (for example, in case of a shortage of a resource), it is possible to return to the second step;
5) calculation of the volume of production in value terms.

Goals of the PP:

1) obtaining maximum profit;

2) satisfaction of the product sales market;

3) lower production costs, etc.

PP indicators:

- quantitative, characterizing the volume of products and the dynamics of their changes;

- qualitative, reflecting the production and technical (material consumption, accuracy, power) and operational (reliability, maintainability) advantages of the products.

There are absolute and relative quantitative indicators.

Absolute indicators reflect the volume of manufactured products in natural (conditionally natural); labor (temporary) and cost indicators.

When compiling the production program, natural (conditionally natural) and cost indicators are used.

natural indicators (nomenclature and assortment) reflect the volume of manufactured products and are expressed in pieces, tons, cubic meters and other physical units.

To expand the scope of natural indicators are used conditionally natural indicators They are used in the case of planning the production of homogeneous, the same type or the same name products.

Product range- this is the composition of manufactured products by their types or names.

Range- this is the composition of a given type (name) of products by types, brands, profiles, grades, etc.

The production program is developed by economic services on the basis of information provided by the marketing department and the production and dispatch department.

The objectives of the production program are as follows:

1) determining the price of the product;

2) allocation of production costs;

4) determination of production capacities.

The main sections of the production program are:

1) the plan for the production of the enterprise's products;

2) a plan for the release of products for export (if any);

3) a plan to improve product quality;

4) plan for the sale of products.

Control of the implementation of the production program is the control of the implementation of the entire business plan of the enterprise. In this regard, after the approval of the program, it is necessary not only to bring it to production services, but also operational control of its implementation.

Production capacity planning. Calculations of the main indicators of production capacity.

Productive capacity- the maximum possible annual output, calculated on the basis of the full use of all installed equipment, the full use of its operating time during the year, i.e., with the optimal use of all factors that determine output.

When calculating the power, the following factors are taken into account:

· the structure and size of fixed production assets;

Qualitative composition of the equipment, the level of physical and obsolescence;

· advanced technical standards for equipment productivity, space utilization, labor intensity of products, output of products from raw materials; - degree of specialization;

the mode of operation of the enterprise;

the level of organization of production and labor;

Fund of equipment operation time; the quality of raw materials and the rhythm of deliveries.

Productive capacity- the value is not constant. Power reduction occurs for the following reasons: equipment wear; increase in the complexity of manufacturing products; change in the range and range of products; reduction of the fund of working time; expiration of the equipment lease.

Production capacity planning consists in performing a set of planned calculations that make it possible to determine: design, input capacity; output power; indicators of the degree of power utilization.

The design production capacity is established by the project for the construction, reconstruction and expansion of the enterprise. Input (incoming) production capacity is the capacity at the beginning of the year, showing what production capabilities the enterprise has at the beginning of the planning period. Output (outgoing) production capacity is the capacity at the end of the year. It is defined as the sum of the input and commissioned capacities during the planned period minus the capacity retired during the same period.

Production planning is carried out on the basis of the average annual power (Ms), calculated by the formula:

Ms \u003d Mn + Mu (Ch1 / 12) + Mr (Ch2 / 12) + Moon (Ch3 / 12) - Mv ((12 - Ch4) / 12

where Мн is the production capacity at the beginning of the planned period (year);

Mu - increase in capacity due to organizational and other measures that do not require capital investments;

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 - respectively, the number of months of power operation;

Мр - increase in capacity due to technical re-equipment, expansion and reconstruction of the enterprise;

Mun - increase (+), decrease (-) capacity due to changes in the range and range of products, the receipt of industrial production assets from other enterprises and their transfer to other organizations, including leasing;

Мv is a decrease in power due to its retirement due to dilapidation.

The level of utilization of production capacities is characterized by a number of indicators. The main one is the capacity utilization factor, which is defined as the ratio of annual output to the average annual capacity of a given year. Another indicator - the equipment load factor - is defined as the ratio of the actually used time fund (in machine hours) of all equipment to the available time fund for the same range of equipment for the same period. This metric identifies redundant or missing hardware.

Material Procurement Planning

The purchase of material resources at the enterprise is a commercial activity to provide the material and technical resources of the production process, more often needed at the stage of starting production. The main purpose of the purchase of material resources- transfer of material resources to specific manufacturing enterprises.

The purchase of material resources for the enterprise is aimed at reducing production costs and creating conditions for an uninterrupted process of production activities.

The purchase of material resources consists of the following functions:

preparation and supply of material resources;
warehousing and ensuring the proper quality of resources;
processing and preparation of material resources for the production process;
procurement management of material resources.

Planning the purchase of material resources at the enterprise is the first stage of the purchase. When organizing a purchase, it is necessary to determine the need for material resources according to the specified nomenclature for an agreed planning period.

The planning process includes the following steps:

Market research of raw materials and materials;

Determining the needs of the enterprise for the entire range of consumed materials;

Drawing up a plan for the procurement of materials;

Cost analysis of the procurement enterprise.

Three main procurement methods:

Wholesale purchases . This method involves the supply of goods in a large batch at a time (bulk purchases). Advantages: ease of paperwork, guaranteed delivery of the entire batch, increased trade discounts. Disadvantages: a large need for storage space, a slowdown in capital turnover.

Regular purchases in small batches. In this case, the buyer orders the required quantity of goods, which is delivered to him in batches over a certain period of time. Advantages: faster capital turnover, saving storage space.

Procurement as needed . This method is similar to a regular purchase, but the quantity of goods is determined approximately, the fulfillment of each order is agreed between the supplier and the buyer, and only the delivered quantity of goods is paid. Benefits: accelerated capital turnover, no obligation to purchase a certain amount.

The most common procurement management methods can be grouped as follows:

The method of increasing the volume of purchases is as follows:

1. The demand for specific types of products is taken into account to make a decision on their purchases.

2. Demand is analyzed for at least 12 months. to account for all possible types of seasonal fluctuations.

3. Sufficient volume of demand is determined for 12 months. to create stocks of a particular type of product.

4. Inventory decisions are based on the number of orders for specific products, not on the number of products sold.

The method of reducing the volume of purchases is as follows:

1. Monthly analyzes the statistics of sales of products that are not in demand.

2. Based on sales statistics, those types of products are determined, the volume of stocks of which should be reduced.

3. Criteria are developed on the basis of which the need to reduce or eliminate specific types of product stocks is determined.

4. The share of slow-moving types of products is minimized on the basis of taking into account indicators of the volume of stocks of products.

Method of direct calculation of purchase volumes (calculation of average values without taking into account the dynamics and cyclical nature of demand)

QUESTION

From an economic point of view, strategic planning is a typical long-term development plan, which reflects growth rates, expansion of the range of products, and an increase in revenue. In strategic management, strategy is the definition of the long-term goals of the organization, the program of actions and the allocation of resources needed to achieve these goals in a competitive environment. Moreover, the goals of strategic development must be exhaustively proven based on the analysis and assessment of the potential of the enterprise and the possibilities of the external environment.

Strategic planning is an important component of management. This is a continuous process of analyzing and forecasting the production activities of any, even the smallest, firm. This is a system of five interdependent stages, such as:

1) goal setting;

2) assessment of the current state of the organization;

3) strategy definition;

4) development of a long-term plan;

5) plan correction.

Each stage is carried out with the help of tactical actions. As a result, strategic planning aimed at solving cardinal problems is supported by ongoing planning, which ensures the achievement of strategic goals. Of course, in this case, the continuity of plans, their interconnection, should be ensured, although the structure of planning decisions, planning methods, and implementation periods will be different.

As a rule, for any enterprise, it is enough to analyze the market, the technical level of production, the analysis of labor resources and the social sphere, the analysis of the management system and financial analysis for the previous 3-5 years.

Then it is planned to carry out a set of measures to achieve them, which together determine the strategy of the enterprise in the field of marketing, management, its technical, personnel and financial policy.

The development of an enterprise strategy is possible both by the enterprise's own staff and with the help of hired specialists. In modern conditions, using foreign experience, we can conclude that hired strategic planners are much more profitable for any company. This is due to the fact that the development of this type of plans requires special qualifications, and maintaining a specialist of this level is quite expensive. In addition, very often the management of certain companies, using their own employees, is faced with the problem of the lack of an objective assessment of the activities of their enterprise, which once again proves the advantage of hiring third-party planning specialists.

Goods competitiveness indicators

The competitiveness of goods is more fully revealed through the system of its indicators. They represent a set of criteria for quantifying the level of competitiveness of products.

The basis for building a system of indicators of competitiveness is the analysis of the interaction between the need and the product, during which they are compared and the degree of correspondence to each other is revealed. The total beneficial effect of each product is essentially a derivative of several factors, the most important of which is the quality of the product. It is it that is the main criterion for the success of goods in the competitive struggle in the market and forms a group of qualitative indicators of competitiveness. Indeed, in order for a product to satisfy a specific need, it must have a set of parameters that match the parameters of a particular need.

As already noted, when purchasing a product, the buyer seeks to optimize his costs to meet the needs and spend a minimum of money on the purchase and consumption of the product. Therefore, for him, the level of costs associated with a particular product is of paramount importance. Parameters that affect the level of buyer's expenses can be combined into a group of economic ones. They actually determine the level of the price of consumption.

Quite close to economic is a group of organizational and commercial indicators that characterize the conditions and commercial costs for generating demand and stimulating the sale of goods in a particular market.

Thus, the competitiveness of goods is determined by qualitative, economic, organizational and commercial indicators. Let's move on to their characteristics.

Qualitative indicators of competitiveness

Any need has a hierarchical structure, in which some elements are superior in importance to others from the point of view of the consumer. The hierarchy of requirements elements corresponds to the hierarchy of product indicators. We can talk about this correspondence in the sense that each indicator indicates the presence of a property that ensures the satisfaction of a part of the overall need associated with this product.

The presence of common consumer properties in competing goods is a natural prerequisite for competition within a group of products that have similarities in use value. At the same time, the difference in the competitiveness of certain types of homogeneous products is due (among other reasons) to the differentiation of their qualitative characteristics and, consequently, to the unequal ability to satisfy one or another need.

Let's define the difference between the categories "consumer property of the product" and "consumer indicator of the quality of the product".

Consumer property of a product is a property of a product that manifests itself when it is used by the consumer in the process of satisfying needs.

A consumer indicator of the quality of a product is a quantitative characteristic of one or more consumer properties of a product, considered in relation to the conditions of its consumption.

The main directions for determining the composition and structure of the characterized properties reflect the classification of indicators used in assessing the level of product quality.

According to the way of expression, they can be in physical units (kilograms, meters, points, dimensionless), as well as in cost units.

By assessing the quality level - basic, relative indicators.

By the stage of determination - predicted, design, production, operational indicators.

According to the characterized properties, they can be single and complex (group, generalized, integral).

Single and complex quality indicators can be combined into different groups depending on what relations of the object (system) with the external environment are of interest to us (Table 9).

Table 9 - An example of grouping single and complex indicators

	Groups of quality indicators
subject environment	functional indicators
subject environment in time	reliability indicators
object environment in space	transportability indicators
production and technological environment	indicators of the technological and organizational level of production
Quality Feature Deployment Environments	Groups of quality indicators
environmental relations environment	environmental performance
environment of economic relations	economic indicators
security relations environment	safety performance
environment of ergonomic relations	ergonomic indicators
environment of aesthetic relations	aesthetic indicators
environment of patent and legal relations	patent law indicators
regulatory environment	standardization indicators
market relations environment	competitiveness indicators

Note - Source:

Qualitative indicators of competitiveness characterize the properties of the product, thanks to which it satisfies a specific social need. They are divided into classification and evaluation, which can be seen in Figure 3.

Classification indicators characterize the belonging of the product to a certain classification grouping of the selected classification system and determine the purpose, scope and conditions for the use of this product. They can be presented as quantitative (indicators, parameters) and qualitative (features) characteristics.

Note - Source:

Classification indicators are used at the initial stages of assessing competitiveness to form groups of analogues of the evaluated products.

It must be emphasized that the assessment of competitiveness makes sense only in relation to products of the same type, characterized by close classification indicators. As a rule, they are not used directly for the subsequent assessment of competitiveness.

Classification includes: indicators that serve to establish a parametric or standard-size range of products (for example, the size of the screen diagonally on the TV, the volume of the low-temperature chamber of the refrigerator, etc.); product performance indicators that determine the area and conditions of its application (performance for the conditions of the tropics, the Far North, Central European regions; for use under water, in a gaseous environment, etc.); indicators that determine the group of consumers of products (camera amateur or for astronomical surveys; passenger car of a small or middle class, sports, representative, etc.).

Consumer properties are classified according to different criteria. In the system of competitiveness of goods, it is advisable to classify consumer properties according to the principle of their compliance with human needs.

Appendix B (table B.1) provides a general classification of consumer properties of non-food products.

Estimated indicators quantitatively characterize those properties that form the quality of the goods. They are used to standardize quality requirements and compare different samples of goods assigned to the same class according to classification indicators.

According to the role performed in the assessment of competitiveness, the performance indicators are divided into two groups: used to verify compliance with the mandatory requirements that products must meet; used to compare competing products in the market according to the degree of consumer satisfaction with certain properties. These two groups of indicators do not yet have established names. In the educational literature they are called regulated and comparative.

A special group of evaluation indicators are regulated . They characterize the patent clearance of goods, the requirements for their certification and compliance with certain international, national and regional standards, as well as legislation. The mere fact of non-compliance of the manufactured product with the standards adopted in a particular market removes the question of the possibility of delivery and reduces all the rest of the work to improve the quality level of the product on it. Thus, when planning to enter the market, first of all, it is necessary to obtain information on quality standards approved by law or accepted in commercial practice and take them into account in the work to improve the product. Quality standards that ensure environmental friendliness, a high degree of unification of products, safety measures and the protection of human health are currently subject to particular tightening in most countries.

Environmental indicators characterize the ability of goods not to have a harmful effect on the environment during their operation (consumption) and disposal. As a result of environmental pollution, not only the destruction of wildlife occurs, but also the danger of human disease arises. Goods can adversely affect the atmosphere, hydrosphere, soil. The source of air pollution are internal combustion engines, vehicles, goods in aerosol packaging using freon - an ozone-depleting substance. The main way to reduce the risk of environmental pollution is to solve the problem of recycling. In industrialized countries, there are laws and regulations on the basis of which products that have completed their life cycle are disposed of. All environmental indicators, as well as safety indicators, are mandatory.

Safety performance characterize the degree of protection
a person from exposure to dangerous and harmful factors arising from the use of the product. Compliance with safety standards determines the absence of an unacceptable risk to the life, health and property of the consumer. Annex B (table B.2) presents group and single safety indicators. All of the above indicators are standardized in standards for non-food products. Indicators of chemical and biological safety are used to characterize the safety of food products.

An essential factor determining the competitiveness of a product is patent and legal indicators. Patent purity is ensured if the original technical solutions used in the production of this product are carried out only by the developers of the manufacturer or are based on the corresponding license acquired from other companies and are not subject to patents in specific countries. If there is a license agreement that allows the production of products using this technology, the manufacturer can produce it for sale, as a rule, only in its domestic market, unless the agreement specifically stipulates the right to supply goods for export. If in any country this product is patented by any company, another company cannot sell it there. Otherwise, it will be subject to severe fines. Lack of patent clearance makes products uncompetitive in the relevant market and is a serious obstacle to the development of export activities.

The interchangeability index characterizes the suitability of one product for use in place of another in order to perform the same functions. This indicator is taken into account primarily when assessing the quality of components (for example, the interchangeability of thermostats, units used in refrigerators of different brands, but of the same size).

The compatibility index characterizes the suitability of a product for joint, non-interaction-free use in order to fulfill specified requirements. When evaluating the compatibility of goods, it is necessary to use a systematic approach, which provides for taking into account the relationship of objects with their parts or objects with the surrounding objective environment, such as "product - environment"; "product - product"; "product - container"; “product - component parts”, etc. For example, in the “product-environment” system, the compatibility of a refrigerator with an electrical network, a telephone with a telephone network, a dishwasher with an electrical and water network are checked.

Let's look at benchmarks.

From the standpoint of a particular consumer, comparative indicators are of paramount importance in assessing competitiveness: functional, reliability in consumption, ergonomic and aesthetic.

Functional indicators determine what basic need and in what way the product satisfies as an object of consumption, in contrast to other goods circulating on the market. They characterize the beneficial effect of the operation or consumption of products and the progressiveness of the technical solutions incorporated into it. The higher the values of functional indicators, the more fully the products satisfy human needs. The nomenclature of these indicators for different levels is not the same. It is determined by their purpose. The group of functional indicators includes indicators of perfection in the performance of the main function, universality of application and perfection in the performance of auxiliary functions.

The indicator of perfection of the performance of the main function characterizes the degree of satisfaction of a specific need when using the product by the consumer. The main functional indicator of universal kitchen machines is the quality of the product they produce.

The suitability of the product for its intended purpose is also characterized by the successful performance of a number of additional functions. Therefore, an important functional characteristic of the product is the versatility of its application. It is determined by two indicators: the breadth of the range and the possibilities of using the product for its intended purpose, as well as the presence of additional functions that are useful to the consumer. The first characterizes, for example, the possibility of playing plates of various diameters on an electrophone or the possibility of connecting an electric razor to sources of direct and alternating current and various voltages. The second characterizes, for example, the possibility of connecting a VCR to a TV for recording and playing programs, or the possibility of using an electric coffee grinder to prepare powdered sugar.

In addition to the main and additional functions for each product, the stages accompanying their implementation are determined, i.e., a certain system of auxiliary operations has been identified, the final result of product consumption largely depends on the perfection of their performance. Such auxiliary operations include storage, transportation, preparation for operation, maintenance, disposal. Two points must be taken into account here. On the one hand, the more automated and perfect in terms of technical support these operations, the greater the efficiency of the main function of the product. On the other hand, the more expediently organized the participation of a person in them, the greater the likelihood of obtaining the greatest beneficial effect from the product.

Functional indicators are always at the center of attention when evaluating competitiveness, as they determine the beneficial effect of the operation of the product. A product can either directly satisfy one or another human need, or serve as a means of satisfying a need, acting in combination with other goods. The performance of consumer functions by a product largely depends on its design and technical level, raw materials and workmanship.

Reliability indicators characterize the ability of the product to perform the specified functions for the required period of time or the required operating time.

The problem of increasing the reliability of products is of great economic importance, since the increase in service life is tantamount to additional output. Reliability indicator as a complex indicator includes indicators: reliability; durability; persistence; maintainability.

Reliability indicators characterize the ability of a product to remain operational for a given, limited period of time, without forced interruptions. The most common characteristic is the time between failures, in particular its variety - "mean time between failures". The indicators “probability of failure-free operation” and “failure rate” are used more limitedly.

Durability indicators characterize the ability of a product or material to maintain consumer properties for a long time (with possible breaks for repairs) until physical wear or other limiting state occurs (for example, clothes go out of fashion or no longer fit the size of a person). The most common indicators of durability are "service life" and "resource".

Service life - the calendar duration of operation, measured mainly in years. As a rule, the “average service life” is normalized.

Maintainability indicators characterize the fitness of a product to maintain or restore the state in which it is able to perform the required function through maintenance and repair. Maintainability indicators include, for example, the average operational duration of current repairs; average operational labor intensity of maintenance; average recovery time.

The adaptability of products and materials to the restoration of their properties after storage and transportation is characterized by the index of resilience. An example of a metric is "mean recovery time to a target quality score".

The shelf life indicators characterize the ability of the product to maintain consumer properties during and after the period of storage and (or) transportation. This applicability indicator is the most universal and the only one of the reliability indicators that is used to assess the level of quality of food products.

Shelf life - the period during which the food product, subject to the established storage conditions, retains all its properties specified in the regulatory or technical documentation and (or) the contract of sale.

Shelf life is the period after which a food product is considered unsuitable for its intended use. The expiration date is set by the food manufacturer, indicating the storage conditions.

The implementation period is the date until which the food product can be offered to the consumer for its intended use and until which it does not lose its consumer characteristics. The expiration date is set for food products, taking into account some reasonable period of storage of products at home.

With the persistence of products is closely related to the indicator of its transportability - an important sales factor of competitiveness.

Reliability indicators can be mandatory and recommendatory. Moreover, the indicators of the same type of product may have a different character. Reliability indicators are determined mainly by the calculation method, and with the wide use of mathematical statistics, since many indicators are of a probabilistic nature.

Ergonomic indicators characterize the compliance of the product design with the characteristics of the human body. As far as the design of the product is “tailored” to the person, the product is convenient for him. Ergonomic indicators include: anthropometric; physiological; psychophysiological; psychological; hygienic.

Anthropometric indicators characterize the compliance of the product with the typical dimensions and shape of the human body and its individual parts. This correspondence is especially important for furniture, utensils, tools, clothes and shoes. Ignoring anthropometric features causes increased fatigue and the occurrence of diseases: when using furniture - curvature of the spine; shoes - flat feet; instrument - stretching and immobility of the tendons, deformation of the hand.

Physiological indicators characterize the compliance of the product with the physiological characteristics of a person - his power, speed, energy capabilities. When designing products, the focus is on strength capabilities. When normalizing the indicator, first of all, they limit the mass of products, the calculated efforts when adjusting the controls of machines and devices.

Psychophysiological indicators characterize the compliance of the product with the features of the functioning of the human senses - the threshold of hearing, vision, touch.

Psychological indicators determine the conformity of the product to the psychological characteristics of a person - the features of the formation and consolidation of skills, perception, memory, thinking.

Hygienic indicators characterize the ability of materials and products to maintain the parameters of the human body and the subject environment in which it is located at levels that provide it with a feeling of comfort.

The content of hygienic indicators is different in relation to clothing and footwear and complex technical goods. Considering clothes and shoes, one should take into account their hygienic functions: on the one hand, they perform a protective function, protecting the human body from the harmful effects of the natural and climatic environment: low and high temperatures, external moisture, solar radiation, on the other hand, they ensure the normal functioning of the human body due to evaporation, its air exchange with the environment. In the first case, the hygienic indicator is determined by such technical characteristics as thermal conductivity, water permeability, dust permeability, and ultraviolet rays permeability. In the second case, the hygienic indicator includes such single indicators as the characteristics of air permeability, vapor permeability, etc.

In most state standards, ergonomic indicators are classified as mandatory characteristics. This requirement is based on the fact that: hygienic indicators (in a number of standards) are identified with chemical safety, as they determine the safety of the product; ergonomic indicators, ensuring the comfort of the subject environment, are aimed at maintaining human health; the object of ergonomics is one of the subsystems in the problem of ensuring compatibility "man - technology".

Ergonomic indicators are determined mainly by the measuring method. In some cases, usability is checked by the expert method, experimental method, sociological method.

Of particular importance in assessing the competitiveness of goods are their aesthetic properties. Aesthetic properties are called the properties of products to express their social value in sensually perceived signs of form. Aesthetic properties characterize the compliance of the product with the aesthetic needs of society and man.

Despite the existing variety of approaches to building a list of aesthetic properties, at least four groups of indicators can be distinguished, the consistent consideration of which guarantees the necessary depth and reliability of aesthetic expertise. These include: informational expressiveness of the form, rationality of the form, integrity of the composition, perfection of production performance and stability of the presentation. The structure and weight of aesthetic properties are presented in Appendix B (Table B.3, Table B.4).