Benchmarking

Benchmarking in the automobile industry

Benchmarking involves a structured comparison between similar products, services or processes on some dimensions of performance.

For example it can be used to compare the availability and delivery of features in a product and in this form often provides the basis of consumer tests and reviews. These look at products and services and provide recommendations based on which is best or some form of ranking amongst competitors.

It is particularly useful when comparing not only performance but also practice – in other words what do the different organizations do to enable that performance to be delivered? And applied in this way it is a powerful tool in process innovation sin e studying how the ‘best’ achieve their performance can provide powerful clues for changing the way processes operate. Process benchmarking of this kind can operate at several levels:

• Between similar processes in the same factory or service branch

• Between different factories or service branches

• Between different competing organizations

• Between different sectors using the same process

GIVEN CASE

Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii is a married man who lives in Bangalore which is a highly crowded city. His Family comprises five members including his wife, a five-year-old boy, his father, and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500kms away from Bangalore once a month. Also, he will be using his car to commute to his office. His budget falls between 8 to 10 lakhs on road. Please suggest to him options so that he will buy a good car for his family.

REPORT

The above case of Mr. Pughazhyendhii leads to following filters. They are

• The number of commuters is five including a child and hence the vehicle should be spacious with enough leg room
• He uses his car for Daily office commute and a monthly trip to his native .This would give a total estimate of more than 2500km/month and 20000km/year.
• The budget is from 8-10 Lakhs and he is also fond of big cars
• Based on these underpinning factors the suggestion would be a choice of SUV Vehicle and
• Considering the long run of the vehicle the viable option would be Diesel variant which helps to save fuel costs and other upfront maintenance and also has better mileage.
• In a crowded city like Bengaluru Automatic Gear transmission would be best suited but due to budget constraints and fuel efficiency Manual Transmission is preferred

PERFORMANCE

• In comparison of all three vehicles we see, as far as dimensions are concerned there vehicles are about the same.
• Kia Sonet gives the stable power and torque which quiet good compared to other vehicles. Ford ecosport has 52 liters of fuel tank capacity but Kia Sonet has better mileage than all the other.

INTERIOR

• TATA Nexon is the best among the group because of its spacious Cabin Interior with more Leg room for the rear passengers and suits best for the family drive by giving best seating for the fifth passenger.
• The Glove Box and Rear HVAC Vent are the standout features of TATA NEXON and also has improved sunvision and Instrument Panel Clusters with added utiliy holders along the side doors.
• Nexon's Infotainment touch screen has sub par performance compared to Ford Ecosport, Kia Sonet and Hyundai Venue.
• Kia Sonet has a better Plastic Interior trim quality and Dual tone variant of Hyundai Venue and material looks better whereas the Quality of XM variant Nexon is not superior compared to other models
• The Blue link connectivity App with smarphone from Hyundai Venue gives additional scoring for Venue among others

EXTERIOR

• Kia Sonet is a standout in this category and offers the maximum bootspace of 392 litres falling just behind EcoSport but Nexon provide way better ground clearence of 209mm which will be well suited for the Indian Roads
• The Facelift, Headlight and Tail Light are stylish in NEXON and gives a land rover discovery like front with beefy and bulky front end.
• The Lagged out ABC Pillars of TATA NEXON offers better head room among the other models.

SAFETY and COMFORT

• Almost all the models has same safety features of Dual Airbags, ABS with EBD, parking sensors, corner stability control and also dead pedal.
• Apart from that Automatic Rain Sensing Wipers, Tyre pressure monitoring system are available in TATA NEXON 1.5XM within the price range .

Here we can see that as Tata Nexon has good infotainment but the main points i.e. in the budget of 8 to 10 lakh the Kia Sonet is the only car we are having with diesel fuel all the other cars are petrol fuel car.

Also Kia Sonet have the Maximum ARAI mileage compared to all the other vehicles. Kia Sonet does not have a good infotainment as Tata Nexon.

Looking at all the aspects I feel for Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii KIA SONET is good option.