Benchmarking
BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking 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. The point of Benchmarking is to identify internal opportunities for improvement.
AUTOMOTIVE BENCHMARKING
Automotive Benchmarking refers to the systematic comparison of processes, services, and Products in Automobile industry. This involves intensive research and even collaboration of companies to compare their processes, services, and products being offered to the public.
Other than improving and creating better outcomes, Benchmarking also helps in:
- Fostering collaboration and teamwork in order to become more competitive.
- Increasing company-wide awareness of important performance and areas for improvement.
- Increasing employee awareness of internal procedures and cost structures.
Benchmarking 1 - It is an eagle eye view comparison of two products as a whole rather than dealing with specific parts. For example - Two vehicles as a whole be compared.
Benchmarking 2 - It involves a much more detailed comparison. Specific components are compared and studied in detail. For example – a door panel engineer will study door panels of different cars and will see which one is better. Then as per study, changes are made to achieve good results and at par with the best ones available in the market.
CASE STUDY
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.
According to the problem statement given, 4 vehicles currently present in the Indian market have been compared.
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| MODELS |
TATA NEXON XE |
MARUTI SUZUKI BREZZA |
MARUTI SUZUKI BALENO |
HYUNDAI VENUE |
| Price | ₹ 9.03 lakh | ₹ 9.84 Lakh | ₹ 7.90 Lakh | ₹ 9.27 Lakh |
| Fuel Type | petrol | Petrol | Petrol | Petrol |
| Engine Size | 1199 cc | 1462 cc | 1197 cc | 1197 cc |
| Transmission | Automatic | Manual | Manual | Manual |
| Peak Power | 118 bhp @ 5500 rpm | 102 bhp @ 6000 rpm | 88 bhp @ 6000 rpm | 82 bhp @ 6000 rpm |
| Peak Torque | 170 Nm @ 4400 rpm | 136.8 Nm @ 4400 rpm | 113 Nm @ 4400 rpm | 114 Nm @ 4000 rpm |
| Safety Rating | 5 star | 4 star | 0 star | 4 star |
| Boot Space | 350 litres | 328 litres | 318 litres | 350 litres |
| Ground Clearance | 209 mm | 200 mm | 170 mm | 195 mm |
| Size | 3995 mm L X 1811 mm W X 1606 mm H | 3995 mm L X 1790 mm W X 1685 mm H | 3990 mm L X 1745 mm W X 1500 mm H | 3995 mm L X 1770 mm W X 1617 mm H |
| Seating | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
VERDICT
According to me, TATA Nexon would be a perfect fit for Mr D.S. Pughazhyendhii. Since he needs a good family car, safety should be given the utmost priority. Tata Nexon being the safest among all already gains an advantage over others. Having a good turning radius of 5.1m makes it ideal for crowded cities like Bangalore and with a great mileage of 16 km/l, it is an ideal choice for daily commuting as well. The automatic transmission would also make the daily commuting experience much better. A big boot space of 350 litres will carry the luggage of his whole family when going to Madurai. Not only the car looks big and muscular (which Mr D.S. Pughazhyendhii is fond of), its turbocharged 1.2l of engine packed with 118bhp and 170 Nm of torque can take it to any place without any difficulty. Mr D.S. Pughazhyendhii should look no further and go with Tata Nexon XMA (S) variant.