Benchmarking

BENCH – MARKING

INTRODUCTION

Benchmarking is a form of studying the required subject by comparing it with other in the same field to have an insight of how it is made and about features on it. The subject can vary accordingly.

It is classified into two categories

1. Technical benchmarking
2. Competitive benchmarking

Technical benchmarking

A benchmark is a criterion by which to measure something. Technical benchmarking is the act of testing a system (or component) by performing a standard set of tests. Technical benchmarking, therefore, is a technique used to compare several products against the technical criteria that are tested.

Competitive benchmarking

Competitive benchmarking is the process of comparing your company against a number of competitors using a set collection of metrics. This is used to measure the performance of a company and compare it to others over time.

Case scenario

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, five-year-old boy, his father, and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500kms away from Bangalore once in 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 with options so that he will buy a good car for his family.

Note: Pughazhyendhii is fond of big cars

Inferred requirements

1. 5 or 6 seater car
2. 1000km long drive
3. City is crowded so he doesn’t need a sporty speedy cars
4. Good mileage
5. Budget 8 – 10 lakhs
6. Well integrated high volume boot space to carry luggage for long drive
7. Safety

Cars listed out based on seating capacity and on road price in Bangalore

5 seaters

1. MARUTI S CROSS
2. HYUNDAI VENUE
3. MARUTI VITARA BREZZA
4. MAHINDRA XUV 300
5. NISSAN MAGNITE TURBO XVDT
6. FORD ECO SPORT
7. HONDA WR – V
8. TOYOTA URBAN CRUISER
9. RENAULT KIGER
10. TATA NEXON
11. TATA ALTROZ XT TURBO
12. MARUTI SUZUKI DEZIRE ZXI
13. HYUNDAI i20
14. VOLKWAGEN POLO

6 seaters

1. MAHINDRA KUV 100 NXT

By inferring the requirements from the case scenario I have figured out five segments to be compared to conclude a result.

After listing out the required specifications we need to compare it one by one and select at least 2 cars after concluding from each segment.

The first one that I am going to compare is ENGINE CUBIC CAPACITY (CC).

The requirements clearly says the car needed to satisfy the long drive of about 1000km as a family. So to travel this much distance without interruption and gradual speed with more weighs like person weigh and carrying materials weighs in boots space, The pulling capacity of the car has to be good enough i.e. it means if the CC of the engine is higher the fuel intake is also higher hence we can have a higher power output at power stroke. It is also required to have higher fuel tank capacity.

Therefore 5 cars with higher CC and fuel tank capacity were shortlisted, they are

1. FORD ECO SPORT (on road price – INR 10.14 lakhs) – 1496 cc & 52 liters
2. HYUNDAI VENUE E DIESEL(on road price – INR 10.40 lakhs) – 1493cc & 45 liters
3. MARUTI S CROSS (on road price – INR 10.39 lakhs) – 1462cc & 48 liters
4. MARUTI VITARA BREZZA (on road price – INR 9.28 lakhs) – 1462cc & 48 liters
5. TOYOTA URBAN CRUISER (on road price – INR 10.44 lakhs) – 1462cc & 48 liters

Now I am going to compare the important factor of requirement is MILEAGE

The family is travelling for long distance hence the mileage is an important factor. If the mileage is not fair enough then during the travel he needs to top-up his car frequently.

Therefore 5 cars with higher mileage were shortlisted, they are

1. HYUNDAI VENUE E DIESEL(on road price – INR 10.40 lakhs) – 23.7
2. MARUTI SUZUKI DEZIRE ZXI (on road price – INR 8.85 lakhs) – 23.26
3. TATA NEXON (on road price – INR 9.84 lakhs) – 21.5
4. HYUNDAI i20 (on road price – INR 9.76 lakhs) – 20.35
5. RENAULT KIGER (on road price – INR 7.09 lakhs) – 20

The next factor to compare is BOOT SPACE, since the note says he likes big cars and considering long drive with his baggage’s he needs higher volume of boot space.

Therefore 5 cars with higher Boot space were shortlisted, they are

1. RENAULT KIGER (on road price – INR 7.09 lakhs) – 405 liters
2. MARUTI SUZUKI DEZIRE ZXI (on road price – INR 8.85 lakhs) – 378 liters
3. MARUTI S CROSS (on road price – INR 10.39 lakhs) – 375 liters
4. HONDA WR – V (on road price – INR 10.5 lakhs) – 363 liters
5. FORD ECO SPORT (on road price – INR 10.14 lakhs) – 352 liters

SAFETY is also an important factor. Hence NCAP star rating is considered.

Therefore 5 cars with higher NCAP star rating space were shortlisted, they are

1. MARUTI S CROSS (on road price – INR 10.39 lakhs) – 5 star rating
2. HONDA WR – V (on road price – INR 10.5 lakhs) – 5 star rating
3. TOYOTA URBAN CRUISER (on road price – INR 10.44 lakhs) - 5 star rating
4. TATA NEXON (on road price – INR 9.84 lakhs) – 5 star rating
5. TATA ALTROZ XT TURBO (on road price – INR 9.58 lakhs) - 5 star rating

The last factor that I am going to consider is EXTERIOR DIMENSION of the, since Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii specified with a note including that he is fond of big cars.

Therefore 5 cars with higher exterior dimension were shortlisted, they are

1. MARUTI S CROSS (on road price – INR 10.39 lakhs) – 4300*1785*1595 mm^3
2. FORD ECO SPORT (on road price – INR 10.14 lakhs) - 3998*1765*1647 mm^3
3. MAHINDRA XUV 300(on road price – INR 9.88 lakhs) – 3995*1821*1627 mm^3
4. MARUTI VITARA BREZZA (on road price – INR 9.28 lakhs) – 3995*1790*1640 mm^3
5. TATA NEXON (on road price – INR 9.84 lakhs) - 3993*1811*1606 mm^3

Now it’s time to come to a conclusion that which cars meets Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii’s requirement. As I have listed the top 5 list of five different categories, Maruti S cross comes top five in four of the categories. It has third position in CC and fuel capacity, third position in Boot space, first position in safety rating and first position in exterior size of car. Mileage is the only category it is missing but it have a very good mileage of about 19 kmpl, competitors are close enough. By optimally considering all the categories Maruti S cross seems the best pick for Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii. It’s on road price at Bangalore also falls almost within his specified budget.