Benchmarking is the process of measuring an organization's internal processes against industry best practices to identify areas for improvement. It involves understanding current performance levels, planning benchmarking studies, collecting data on best-in-class competitors, analyzing performance gaps, and implementing findings to close those gaps. There are three main types of benchmarking: internal, competitive against close rivals, and generic/functional benchmarking across different industries. Benchmarking helps organizations set targets, prioritize resources, and continuously improve processes to reach world-class performance levels.

2. BAKHTAWAR SULTAN
167127
BI 6TH
DERAPTMENT OF BIOINFORMATICS
GOVERNMENT POSTGRATUATE
COLLEGE MANDIAN ABBOTTABAD

3. TOPIC
BENCHMARKING

4. What is
Benchmarking?
Benchmarking is the process of
measuring an organization’s internal processes
then identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding
practices from other organizations considered to be best-in-
class.

5. What is Benchmarking?
Learning from others what they do right and then imitating it
to avoid “reinventing the wheel”
Measuring yourself against the “best in class”
A method for identifying and importing best practices in order
to improve performance

6. Diagram of
Benchmarking Concept
What is our performance
level? How do we do it?
What are others’
performance levels? How
did they get there?
Creative
Adaptation
Breakthrough Performance

7. Key Elements
Measuring using metrics
Expressed numerically, with target in mind The goal is to
reach the same number as the best in class. A company
plots its own performance against this target.

8. Key Elements
Recognizing differences in processes
Need to thoroughly understand their own processes as well
as those of the best in class’s company

9. Key Elements
Comparing self to external competition
- Encourages competition
- Personnel more motivated to attain goals

10. Key Elements
Imitation/Adaptation vs. Invention
Provides a working model
on an improved process

11. Key Elements
Continuous Improvement
Technologies and ideas become obsolete;
businesses need to keep abreast
of what is current
Some benchmarking may need to be done
continually

12. Why Benchmark
Identify opportunities to improve performance
Learn from others’ experiences
Set realistic but ambitious targets
Uncover strengths in one’s own organization
Better prioritize and allocate resources

13. Benchmarking Process

14. 6 Steps of the Benchmarking
Process
Decide what to benchmark
Understand current performance
Plan
Study others
Learn from the data
Use the findings

15. Decide What to Benchmark
Benchmarking can be applied to just about any process
within an organization or process. Matching the best-in-
class competition in some of these areas will help bring
about market and financial success. Vision and mission
statements are helpful.

16. Understand Current
Performance
Thoroughly understand the document and the current
process In understanding the current processes, be sure to
notice exceptions to how things are normally done; they
often take up a lot of the resources. Those who know they
process best will know how to identify and fix problems.
Some of these members should be on the benchmarking
team.
Flow charts and cause-and-effect diagrams are helpful
Pay attention to inputs and outputs

17. Plan
The decision of how to perform the benchmarking happens
once the internal processes are understood and documented.
The benchmarking team decides:
• what type of benchmarking to perform
• what type of data to collect
• the method of collection
Learn from the data
Use the findings

18. Types of Benchmarking
Internal
Competitive
Generic/Process/Functional

19. Internal Benchmarking
Evaluates progressions or procedures inside the business or
company over time with recognized objectives in mind
Benefits - the simplicity of data gathering and the
designation of parts for upcoming outside inspections
Disadvantage - a decreased likelihood that it will
generate important process advancement innovations

20. Competitive Benchmarking
Evaluates the organization's procedures to those of close
rivals.
An expert or another outside party, rather than the
company itself, gathers and evaluates the data because of
its proprietary quality.
Advantages
Helps to measure one’s own performance
Helps to search for best practices
Disadvantages
Takes time
Requires support and Industrial espionage

21. Generic/Process/Functional
Benchmarking
Comparative research to seek world-class excellence by
comparing business performance not only against
competitors but also against the best businesses operating
in different industry.

22. Continued…
Examines comparable practices and procedures in
businesses or companies in additional industries
Presents a chance for innovative advances by investigating
high-performance methods across an array of trades and
businesses
Advantages:
o Discovering innovative practices
Disadvantage:
o Not suitable for every organisation

23. A gap between the organization’s performance and the
performance of the best-in-class organizations
Three Types of Gaps
Negative
External processes may be much better than internal
processes, calls for major improvement.
Parity
Process performance may be about equal, needs further
investigation to see if improvements can be made.
Positive
The internal process may be better than outside organizations
the internal process deserves recognition.

24. Additional Gap Analysis
Necessary to determine root causes
Gaps come from process practices, general business
practices, and the organizational and operational structure.

25. Goals and Objectives
After acceptance, the new goals and objectives set are
based on benchmark findings
Depends on the organization’s planning process

26. Disadvantages
Best in class is a moving target
Not the only answer
Not helpful for processes that do not offer much
opportunity to improve
Not helpful if process owners and managers feel threatened
by findings or do not act upon them

27. Potential Problems with
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is restricted to your individual trade
It may confine the focal point to what is currently being
done
Useless if used for procedures that do not present a great
deal of opportunity for progress
Process owners and managers may feel intimidated or may
not admit/act on results

28. References
The Benchmarking Exchange. (2008) What is benchmarking?
Retrieved February 11, 2008 from
http://www.benchnet.com/wib.htm
Answers.com – Business & Finance. Business encyclopedia:
benchmarking. Retrieved February 11, 2008 from
http://www.answers.com/topic/benchmarking?cat=biz-fin
Besterfield, D. H., Besterfield, G. H., Besterfield-Michna, C., &
Besterfield-Sacre, M. (2003). Total quality management (3rd
ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Education International

29. Other Resources
American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC)
http://www.asq.org/index.html
Benchmarking and Best Practices Presentation
http://www.asq.org/articles/aqc-
proceedings/public_proceedings/54_2000/14094.pdf
The Benchmarking Exchange and Best Practices Homepage
http://www.benchnet.com/
Benchmarking: The search fo rIndustry Best Practices That Lead
to Superior Performance by Robert C. Camp
The Benchmarking Book by Michael J. Spendolini

30. Any question