Benchmarking

BENCHMARKING:-

It is a process of measuring the performance of a company’s products, services or processes against those of another business considered to be the best in the industry “best in class.” The point of benchmarking is to identify internal opportunities for improvement.

By studying companies with superior performance, breaking down what makes such superior performance possible, and then comparing those processes to how your business operates, you can implement changes that will yield significant improvements.That might mean tweaking a product’s features to more closely match a competitor’s offering, or changing the scope of services you offer, or installing a new customer relationship management (CRM) system to enable more personalized communications with customers

Steps:-

Benchmarking is a simple, but detailed, five-step process:

• Choose a product, service, or internal department to benchmark
• Determine which best-in-class companies you should benchmark against – which organizations you’ll compare your business to
• Gather information on their internal performance, or metrics
• Compare the data from both organizations to identify gaps in your company’s performance
• Adopt the processes and policies in place within the best-in-class performers

Benchmarking will point out what changes will make the most difference, but it’s up to you to actually put them in place.In order to benchmark anything, you need to have quantitative data available to study. That means breaking down internal processes to calculate performance metrics. Quantify everything, because only quantifiable information can be accurately compared.

The vehicle benchmarking program considers 10 main attributes scoring up to 815 single criteria. The 10 main attribute are as follows:

• Performance
• Driveability
• Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
• Sound / NVH
• RDE: CO2 / Real life fuel consumption
• Pollutant emissions
• Friction
• Thermal, energy management
• Vehicle dynamics, handling
• Ride Comfort
• Safety Rating

BENEFITS

In addition to helping companies become more efficient and profitable, benchmarking has other benefits, too, such as:

• Improving employee understanding of cost structures and internal processes
• Encouraging team-building and cooperation in the interests of becoming more competitive
• Enhancing familiarity with key performance metrics and opportunities for improvement company-wide

In essence, benchmarking helps employees understand how one small piece of a company’s processes or products can be the key to major success, just as one employee’s contributions can lead to a big win.

REQUIREMENT

Benchmark with presently available cars in the market for the following case.

SUGGESTIBLE CARS:-

1. Tata nexon
2. Kia Sonet
3. CITROEN C3
4. Hyundai Venue

1.Tata nexon:-

Good Things:

1. Best in class safety package
2. Powerful engines (petrol & diesel)
3. Ride and feels like a big vehicle

Could be Better:

1. Quality of plastic inside the cabin
2. Sluggish infotainment
3. Slightly hard ride

SPECIFICATIONS:-

MODELS /SPECIFICATIONS	Tata nexon
Price	9.24 Lakh
Mileage(ARAI)	21.5 KM/L
Engine Displacement (cc)	1497
Transmission Type	Automatic
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	44
Fuel type	Petrol
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	108.5 @ 4000
Max Torque (Nm@rpm)	260 @ 1570 - 2750
Seating Capacity	5
Boot Space (Litres)	350
Body Type	SUV
Safety	5 stars NCAP rating

Kia Sonet :-

Good Things

MODELS /SPECIFICATIONS	Kia Sonet HTK plus1.2
Price	9.19 Lakh
Mileage(ARAI)	18.4 KM/L
Engine Displacement (cc)	1197
Transmission Type	Manual
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	45
Fuel type	Petrol
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	82 @ 6000
Max Torque (Nm@rpm)	115 @ 4200
Seating Capacity	5
Boot Space (Litres)	392
Body Type	SUV
Safety	3 stars NCAP rating

CITROEN C3:-

Good Things:-

• Excellent performance
• Great ride quality
• Comfortable cabin

Could be Better:-

• Equipment levels
• No automatic gearbox

Specifications:-

MODELS /SPECIFICATIONS	CITROEN C3(6 variants)
Price	5.71 Lakh
Mileage(ARAI)	19.4-19.8 KM/L
Engine Displacement (cc)	1198 – 1199
Transmission Type	Manual
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	30
Fuel type	Petrol
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	80 @ 5750
Max Torque (Nm@rpm)	115 @ 3750
Seating Capacity	5
Boot Space (Litres)	315
Body Type	SUV
Safety	4 stars NCAP rating

Hyundai Venue:-

Good Things

Could be Better

• Cramped rear seat - Does not feel airy, uncomfortable for three occupants
• Unsorted ride - Broken surfaces are felt within the cabin, bounces at higher speeds
• Pricey top-end variants - One can upgrade to a lower-spec Creta instead

MODELS /SPECIFICATIONS	Hyundai Venue
Price	9.50 Lakh
Mileage(ARAI)	17.5 km/l
Engine Displacement (cc)	1197
Transmission Type	Manual
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	45
Fuel type	Petrol
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	82 @ 6000
Max Torque (Nm@rpm)	114 @ 4000
Seating Capacity	5
Boot Space (Litres)	350
Body Type	SUV
Safety	4 stars for front crash 5 star for side crash

COMPARISION:-

MODELS /SPECIFICATIONS	Tata nexon	Hyundai Venue	Kia Sonet	CITROEN C3
Price (in lakh)	9.24	9.50	9.19	5.71
ARAI Mileage (kmpl)	21.5	17.5	18.4	19.4-19.8
Engine (cc)	1497	1197	1197	1198 – 1199
Transmission Type	Automatic	Manual	Manual	Manual
Fuel Tank Capacity (Ltr.)	44	45	45	30
Fuel type	Petrol	Petrol	Petrol	Petrol
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	108.5 @ 4000	82 @ 6000	82 @ 6000	80 @ 5750
Max Torque (Nm@rpm)	260 @ 1570 - 2750	114 @ 4000	115 @ 4200	115 @ 3750
Seating Capacity	5	5	5	5
Boot Space (Ltr.)	350	350	392	315
Body Type	SUV	SUV	SUV	SUV
Safety	5 stars NCAP rating	4 stars for front crash 5 star for side crash	3 stars NCAP rating	4 stars NCAP rating

CONCLUSION

I would suggest Tata Nexon for Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii family, Nexon is a excellent offering which is safest car in its segment. It is also value for money product with class leading features.