Benchmarking

Benchmarking is comparing identified parameters to a reference (External or Internal).
Benchmarking principles make it easier to find, recognize and adopt best practices from other companies or internal deemed to be best in class.
While competitors will serve as a standard, benchmarking is done in unrelated business segments as well.
Benchmarking can be broadly classified into two categories
- Based on the parameter being benchmarked.
- Ways in which the benchmarking is done

Strategic Benchmarking
- It investigates how companies compete in the marketplace with respect to their strategies.
Product Benchmarking
- It's the simplest because it benchmarks the product in terms of new product launches, design, and new services in most organizations.
Performance Benchmarking
- Benchmarking one product performance with respect to others regarding either Performance or Price or Quality or Delivery.
Process Benchmarking
- Benchmarking the actual process in terms of best practices, customer service, or manufacturing

Competitive Benchmarking is an ongoing procedure for comparing & benchmarking your own business and performance with the most successful organization or competitor in the same field/domain on certain parameters.
Collaborative benchmarking is two or more than two organizations come together to benchmark processes/products and their service offerings.
Best practice benchmarking is the most powerful type of benchmarking.It is used for “learning from the experience of others” and achieving break through improvements in performance.

Benchmarking is very powerful. How I drove ~20%+ improvement through Best practice benchmarking easily
Benchmarking is one aspect of business though extremely easy but not explored. One can drive both Quality & Productivity improvements
Quality
- 9/10 times, the Quality issues or quantum of the issues of similar processes are not the same.
- Brainstorming sessions with team leads (say teams A, B, C) of a similar process will help us understand how team A could eliminate/reduce certain Quality issues, which could be a great concern for Team B & C vice versa.
- If not done before, you can reduce ~20-40%Q issues with this simple exercise.
Productivity
- Though the inputs & outputs are pretty similar (if not the same), 8/10 times, we see a significant difference between the way the processes are performed. This difference is an opportunity for improvement.
- A brainstorming session with process leads coupled with effective use of SCAMPER technique help us to eliminate a few of the activities across processes and reduce the quantum /effort of work in many.
- If the activity was not done before we can see a ~20% increase in productivity.