What is benchmarking?

The main feature of the benchmarking approach is the adaptation of the principles used in more successful companies. If you just learn from other people's approaches, they will not give the desired results, as they will not be not taken into account the specifics of the original structure. Therefore, as a basis for benchmarking suitable for a variety of organizations, not only direct competitors, but companies that focus on different target audience, or even the enterprise, far from the sphere of activities of improve the organization.

The effects of benchmarking be a radical improvement, but only in case if before you start, understand your own processes. If you are trying to compare two models, one of which you are not entirely clear, clear picture you get. So, before you start benchmarking, usually carried out monitoring and analysis of their own production processes.

There are several types of benchmarking. Internal benchmarking is available for each company, as the comparison of processes made within the same organization. To allow comparison to be effective, selected two of a similar process, one of which is successful and the second not. After comparing usually appear insights and ideas for improvement.

Competitive benchmarking involves a comparison with your competitors. The problem is that it is quite difficult to obtain important data about competitors, as they usually keep such things secret. It is best to choose competitors who are more successful on the market. For example, if you are doing regional deliveries, you can try to learn more about the company, which operates worldwide. Sometimes for competitive benchmarking are not the most ethical and legal methods: employ bogus employees, are sending spies or trying to buy information from employees of rival companies.

Functional benchmarking – a process by which compares the approaches to doing business or solving the problems identified, but a sample taken from the competitor, and the firm working in a completely different field. Benchmarking in this case can serve as one aspect of successful mutually beneficial cooperation.

The average benchmarking. For this process, choose several organizations, each successful in their niche, and trying to identify effective approaches to the work of each of them. Many companies you can borrow any correct principles and use them in another field of activity.

Once suitable processes are identified, it is time to implement improvements in their own organizations. Prepared a strategic plan for change, and then consistently implemented. The control stages is the analysis of what is happening, as it happens that some processes "do not survive" or do not give the expected effect. It is important to identify these things as early as possible.