When to Use a Bar Mekko Chart
When to Use a Bar Mekko Chart
Use a Bar Mekko chart when you want to display profit or contribution
margin by industry. The wider the bar, the bigger the industry and the taller
the bar the greater the margin.
Some examples of when you would use a Marimekko Chart are:
• Profit by Business Unit
• Supply Chain Profitability
• Industry Profit Pool
• Channel Profitability
• Plant Cost Review
• Future Growth By Region
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Profit by Business Unit
80%
Contribution Margin (%)
70
Total Company
Profitability: 65%
60
50
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Use a Bar Mekko chart to analyze profitability for different business units. The
height of the bar represents profit margin and the width business unit revenue.
You might want to focus on growing the medical unit and not automotive.
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Supply Chain Profitability
Contribution Margin (%)
13%
12%
12%
10
8%
8
6%
5
4%
3
0
Total
Revenue
2%
Raw Material Tier 3/4/5
Manufacturer Supplier
$3B
$2B
Tier 1 Supplier
Manufacturer
$5B
$10B
National Distributor Dealer
$2B
$2B
You can also illustrate the contribution and revenue from different segments of
the supply chain. Distributors and Tier 3/4/5 suppliers have the highest
contribution, while manufacturers have the highest revenue. Add a data row
to highlight revenue.
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Industry Profit Pool
Profit Margin
30%
25%
20%
20
12%
10
9%
6%
4%
0
Microprocessors
Servers
Storage
Peripherals
Software Services
Industry profit pools help you identify the most profitable industry segments,
which are often not the largest segments. In this example, software and
services are the segments with the highest profit margins.
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Channel Profitability
20%
20%
16%
15
14%
10%
10
5
0
Revenue
Direct
Value-added
Resellers
$450M
$1,050M
Global Systems Regional Systems
Integrators
Integrators
$900M
$600M
If you sell through several channels, you can use a Bar Mekko to look at the
profit made through each channel compared to the amount of sales through
the channel.
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Plant Cost Review
Cost per Unit
$3.00
$2.40
$2.10
2.00
$1.90
$1.60
Average $1.41
$1.30
1.00
$0.90
$0.70
$0.40
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Use a Bar Mekko to present cost and production for your plants. The Y axis
represents cost per unit for each plant and the X axis represents number of
units produced by the plant. You can identify your low cost plants.
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Future Growth by Region
Estimated Increase in Defense
Spending by Region 2010-2020
175%
165%
150
100
94%
49%
50
30%
28%
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You can also use a Bar Mekko to compare growth in a key variable, in this case
defense spending, to the current spending level. You can see that the growth
in defense spending will come from the Asia-Pacific region over the next 10
years. Source: THE GREAT EIGHT Trillion-Dollar Growth Trends to 2020
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choosing the Right Chart for the Job
A successful business chart should help you as well as your audience make
sense of what would otherwise be complex numbers and ideas. When
designed poorly, charts just confuse. But choosing the right chart and utilizing
good chart design will convey your message clearly and effectively.
For more information on other charts available in Mekko Graphics and the
right way to use them please explore the following resources:
Mekko Graphics charts not available in PowerPoint:
Marimekko Chart
Cascade (Waterfall) Chart
Our Chart Finder and Sample Presentations can help you learn about other
charts enhanced by Mekko Graphics
Copyright 2012 © Knowledge Management Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.