Behind the Rankings
The management of working capital combines two measures, weighted equally:
1. Days of Working Capital (DWC) = (Receivables + Inventory Payables) ÷ (Sales ÷ 365 Days). If payables exceed the sum of receivables and inventory, DWC is negative.
2. Cash Conversion Efficiency (CCE) = Cash Flow from Operations ÷ Sales.
The overall ranking: (Highest Overall CCE Company CCE) ÷ (Highest Overall CCE Lowest Overall CCE) + (Lowest Overall DWC Company DWC) ÷ (Lowest Overall DWC Highest Overall DWC). Days of Sales Outstanding (DSO), Inventory Turns, and Days of Payables Outstanding (DPO) are not part of the overall ranking criteria. Industry averages consider all companies in an industry, not just the top five.
Sources: REL Consultancy Group, Piranha Web
Back to “Forget the Float? — The 2001 Working Capital Survey”
MEDICAL PRODUCTS | ||||||||||||
Over- all Rank | Company Name | Prev. Year Sales | Cash Conver. Effic. | Days Working Capital | Days Sales Outst. | Inven. Turns | Days Payable Outst. | |||||
CCE | Rk. | DWC | Rk. | DSO | Rk. | Ts. | Rk. | DPO | Rank | |||
134 | ABBOTT LABORA- TORIES | $13,746 | 23% | 64 | 67 | 606 | 57 | 633 | 4 | 782 | 34 | 362 |
143 | EDWARDS LIFE- SCIENCES CORP | $804 | 19% | 119 | 47 | 425 | 58 | 641 | 4 | 779 | 67 | 57 |
151 | BAXTER INTER- NATIONAL INC | $6,896 | 17% | 154 | 38 | 321 | 84 | 894 | 3 | 858 | 113 | 7 |
306 | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORP | $2,664 | 22% | 69 | 109 | 882 | 65 | 740 | 2 | 955 | 13 | 933 |
403 | WATERS CORP NEW | $704 | 20% | 100 | 112 | 889 | 82 | 883 | 3 | 888 | 22 | 710 |
408 | GUIDANT CORP | $2,549 | 19% | 122 | 106 | 867 | 81 | 878 | 2 | 931 | 11 | 960 |
439 | ALLERGAN INC | $1,452 | 13% | 249 | 79 | 703 | 62 | 708 | 3 | 862 | 22 | 708 |
442 | FISHER SCIENTIFIC INTER- NATIONAL INC | $2,622 | 5% | 708 | 29 | 250 | 39 | 361 | 8 | 373 | 42 | 211 |
479 | SMITH & NEPHEW PLC | $1,805 | 12% | 289 | 77 | 692 | 95 | 941 | 2 | 968 | 98 | 10 |
520 | HILLEN- BRAND INDUSTRIES INC | $2,096 | 11% | 313 | 79 | 704 | 72 | 821 | 11 | 275 | 13 | 934 |
536 | DENTSPLY INTER- NATIONAL INC DE | $890 | 14% | 218 | 98 | 835 | 58 | 636 | 3 | 875 | 19 | 820 |
575 | MEDTRONIC INC | $5,015 | 17% | 145 | 121 | 914 | 87 | 910 | 2 | 966 | 14 | 922 |
585 | OWENS & MINOR INC NEW | $3,504 | 2% | 862 | 31 | 263 | 26 | 213 | 9 | 327 | 30 | 444 |
590 | PATTERSON DENTAL CO | $1,040 | 6% | 658 | 56 | 502 | 48 | 491 | 6 | 497 | 28 | 505 |
649 | C R BARD INC | $1,099 | 15% | 200 | 119 | 906 | 69 | 792 | 3 | 904 | 19 | 815 |
654 | POLYMER GROUP INC | $890 | 8% | 488 | 79 | 709 | 58 | 653 | 5 | 584 | 31 | 411 |
682 | APOGENT TECH- NOLOGIES INC | $1,103 | 15% | 192 | 125 | 926 | 77 | 854 | 3 | 913 | 20 | 782 |
704 | BECTON DICKINSON & CO | $3,618 | 15% | 199 | 127 | 931 | 83 | 887 | 3 | 900 | 22 | 712 |
743 | ST JUDE MEDICAL INC | $1,179 | 17% | 156 | 146 | 955 | 97 | 944 | 2 | 983 | 30 | 450 |
744 | INVACARE CORP | $1,013 | 7% | 553 | 90 | 795 | 75 | 838 | 6 | 496 | 25 | 596 |
792 | OMNICARE INC | $1,971 | 6% | 643 | 88 | 783 | 84 | 897 | 10 | 294 | 21 | 746 |
814 | HENRY SCHEIN INC | $2,382 | 3% | 801 | 75 | 676 | 61 | 689 | 6 | 544 | 32 | 384 |
839 | PSS WORLD MEDICAL INC | $1,794 | 1% | 924 | 68 | 611 | 59 | 666 | 8 | 416 | 27 | 550 |
857 | BAUSCH & LOMB INC | $1,772 | 14% | 239 | 147 | 957 | 99 | 948 | 3 | 923 | 18 | 829 |
911 | STRYKER CORP | $2,289 | 14% | 227 | 166 | 979 | 87 | 912 | 2 | 978 | 29 | 466 |
913 | BIOMET INC | $921 | 17% | 157 | 184 | 986 | 98 | 947 | 1 | 993 | 11 | 955 |
919 | STERIS CORP | $761 | 6% | 620 | 127 | 930 | 103 | 956 | 4 | 705 | 22 | 713 |
950 | BECKMAN COULTER INC | $1,887 | 8% | 541 | 154 | 966 | 111 | 971 | 3 | 864 | 21 | 747 |
603 | Industry Average | $2,445 | 12% | 98 | 74 | 4 | 30 |