Competitive benchmarking is the mother of all benchmarking. It involves comparing an organization's operations with those of other organizations in the same sector or market. Strategic benchmarking is another type of benchmarking, which involves learning from successful organizations and adapting their strategies to your own. The American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) is the world's leading authority on benchmarking, best practices, process improvement, performance and knowledge management (KM).
With more than 1,000 member organizations around the world, APQC provides the information, data and knowledge that organizations need to support decision-making and develop internal skills. External benchmarking is when an organization compares itself with other organizations outside its operations. Internal benchmarking is when an organization compares one area of the organization with another area of the organization. Peer-to-peer evaluation is used to determine prices compared to others in a similarly sized market.
Best practices benchmarking focuses on organizations that have very effective and efficient processes and are often leaders in their respective sectors or markets. The five key steps in benchmarking are considerations, planning, research, collection, analysis and adaptation. For example, a telecommunications company could review the performance of different functional areas such as operations and maintenance and data management to make informed decisions about investments in technology and resources. Financial benchmarking from the investor's perspective provides valuable information that helps investors evaluate the relative performance of their investments, determine investment risk and make informed investment decisions.
Product benchmarking is the process of comparing your products with those of the competition to determine where your product ranks in terms of consumer preferences, usability or features. Databox reference groups allow you to instantly compare the performance of your company with that of groups of similar companies. Additionally, more than 25 types of reference points have been developed to help companies look to the future and create winning strategies, tactics and plans. This includes internal monitoring of metrics and key performance indicators within an organization to identify areas for improvement and drive operational efficiency. Benchmarking is a powerful tool for businesses looking to improve their operations and stay ahead of their competition.
By comparing their performance against other organizations in their sector or market, businesses can identify areas for improvement and develop strategies for success. External benchmarking allows businesses to compare themselves with other organizations outside their operations while internal benchmarking allows them to compare one area of the organization with another area. Peer-to-peer evaluation can be used to determine prices compared to others in a similarly sized market while best practices benchmarking focuses on organizations that have very effective and efficient processes. Additionally, Databox reference groups allow businesses to instantly compare their performance with that of groups of similar companies. The five key steps in benchmarking are considerations, planning, research, collection, analysis and adaptation.
Financial benchmarking from the investor's perspective provides valuable information that helps investors evaluate the relative performance of their investments while product benchmarking is used to compare products with those of competitors. By utilizing these different types of operational benchmarking tools, businesses can gain valuable insights into their operations and develop strategies for success.
