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, aka “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.

There are two basic kinds of improvement opportunities: continuous and dramatic. Continuous improvement is incremental, involving only small adjustments to reap sizeable advances. Dramatic improvement can only come about through reengineering the whole internal work process.

Step-by-Step Benchmarking

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

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, five-year-old boy, his father, and his mother. He visits his native place Madurai which is 500 kms 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

Now we are comparing the 4 cars based on the requirments of Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii by considering his requirments and his budget.

1.Maruti Dzire ZXI AGS

Specifications

Engine & Transmission

Engine 1197 cc, 4 Cylinders Inline, 4 Valves/Cylinder, DOHC

Engine Type 1.2L DualJet

Fuel Type Petrol

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 89 bhp @ 6000 rpm

Max Torque (Nm@rpm) 113 Nm @ 4400 rpm

Mileage (ARAI) 24.12 kmpl

Driving Range 892.44 Km

Drivetrain FWD

Transmission AMT - 5 Gears, Manual Override

Emission Standard BS 6

Dimensions & Weight

Length 3995 mm

Width 1735 mm

Height 1515 mm

Wheelbase 2450 mm

Ground Clearance 163 mm

Kerb Weight 904 kg

Suspensions, Brakes, Steering & Tyres

Front Suspension MacPherson Strut

Front Brake Type Disc

Rear Brake Type Drum

Minimum Turning Radius 4.8 metres

Steering Type Power assisted (Electric)

Wheels Alloy Wheels

Spare Wheel Steel

Front Tyres 185 / 65 R15

Rear Tyres 185 / 65 R15

Features

Safety

Overspeed Warning 1 beep over 80kmph, Continuous beeps over 120kmph

Emergency Brake Light Flashing No

Puncture Repair Kit No

NCAP Rating 2 Star (Global NCAP)

Airbags 2 Airbags (Driver, Passenger)

Child Seat Anchor Points Yes

2.Honda Amaze 1.2 VX MT Petrol

Specifications

Engine & Transmission

Engine 1199 cc, 4 Cylinders Inline, 4 Valves/Cylinder, SOHC

Engine Type i-VTEC

Fuel Type Petrol

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 90 bhp @ 6000 rpm

Max Torque (Nm@rpm) 110 Nm @ 4800 rpm

Mileage (ARAI) 18.6 kmpl

Driving Range 651 Km

Drivetrain FWD

Transmission Manual - 5 Gears

Emission Standard BS 6

Dimensions & Weight

Length 3995 mm

Width 1695 mm

Height 1501 mm

Wheelbase 2470 mm

Kerb Weight 935 kg

Suspensions, Brakes, Steering & Tyres

Front Suspension McPherson Strut, Coil Spring

Rear Suspension Torsion Beam, Coil Spring

Front Brake Type Disc

Rear Brake Type Drum

Minimum Turning Radius 4.7 metres

Steering Type Power assisted (Electric)

Wheels Alloy Wheels

Spare Wheel Steel

Front Tyres 175 / 65 R15

Rear Tyres 175 / 65 R15

Features

Safety

Overspeed Warning 1 beep over 80kmph, Continuous beeps over 120kmph

Emergency Brake Light Flashing No

Puncture Repair Kit No

NCAP Rating 4 Star (Global NCAP)

Airbags 2 Airbags (Driver, Front Passenger)

Child Seat Anchor Points Yes

Seat Belt Warning Yes

3.Hyundai Aura SX 1.2 (O) Petrol

Specifications

Engine & Transmission

Engine 1197 cc, 4 Cylinders Inline, 4 Valves/Cylinder, DOHC

Engine Type 1.2 Kappa Petrol

Fuel Type Petrol

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 82 bhp @ 6000 rpm

Max Torque (Nm@rpm) 114 Nm @ 4000 rpm

Mileage (ARAI) 21 kmpl

Driving Range 777 Km

Drivetrain FWD

Transmission Manual - 5 Gears

Emission Standard BS 6

Dimensions & Weight

Length 3995 mm

Width 1680 mm

Height 1520 mm

Wheelbase 2450 mm

Suspensions, Brakes, Steering & Tyres

Front Suspension McPherson Strut

Rear Suspension Coupled Torsion Beam Axle

Front Brake Type Disc

Rear Brake Type Drum

Steering Type Power assisted (Electric)

Wheels Alloy Wheels

Spare Wheel Steel

Front Tyres 175 / 60 R15

Rear Tyres 175 / 60 R15

Features

Safety

Overspeed Warning 1 beep over 80kmph, Continuous beeps over 120kmph

Emergency Brake Light Flashing No

Puncture Repair Kit No

NCAP Rating 2 Star (Global NCAP)

Airbags 2 Airbags (Driver, Passenger)

Child Seat Anchor Points Yes

Seat Belt Warning Yes

4.Ford Aspire Titanium Plus 1.2 Ti-VCT

Specifications

Engine & Transmission

Engine 1194 cc, 3 Cylinders Inline, 4 Valves/Cylinder, DOHC

Engine Type Ti-VCT

Fuel Type Petrol

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 95 bhp @ 6300 rpm

Max Torque (Nm@rpm) 119 Nm @ 4250 rpm

Mileage (ARAI) 18.5 kmpl

Driving Range 777 Km

Drivetrain FWD

Transmission Manual - 5 Gears

Emission Standard BS 6

Dimensions & Weight

Width 1704 mm

Height 1525 mm

Wheelbase 2490 mm

Ground Clearance 174 mm

Kerb Weight 1044 kg

Suspensions, Brakes, Steering & Tyres

Front Suspension Independent McPherson

Rear Suspension Semi-independent (Twist beam typ)

Front Brake Type Ventilated Disc

Rear Brake Type Drum

Minimum Turning Radius 4.9 metres

Steering Type Power assisted (Electric)

Wheels Alloy Wheels

Spare Wheel Steel

Front Tyres 195 / 55 R15

Rear Tyres 195 / 55 R15

Features

Safety

Emergency Brake Light Flashing No

Puncture Repair Kit No

NCAP Rating Not Tested

Airbags 6 Airbags (Driver, Passenger, 2 Curtain, Driver Side, Front Passenger Side)

Child Seat Anchor Points No

Seat Belt Warning Yes

	Maruti Suzuki Dzire ZXi AGS	Honda Amaze 1.2 VX MT Petrol	Hyundai Aura SX 1.2 (O) Petrol	Ford Aspire Titanium Plus 1.2 Ti-VCT
Good Things	First major update comes with refreshed styling New features are added as a part of the update Maruti’s renowned aftersales and high resale value	Spacious cabin Ease of driving (CVT automatic) Fuel-efficient engines, updated features	Upmarket compact sedan with radical styling Many segment-first features Tried and tested powertrains with an option of CNG	Amazing ride and handling. Value for money. Feature-packed.
Could be Better	Fit and finish is short of segment-leading The AMT automatic gearbox is jerky Base variants miss out on many features for its price	Petrol engine could do with more zest Interior fit and finish could have been better	The radical design might not be to everyone’s liking Top-spec trim is on the expensive side CNG powered model gets just one trim	Inconsistent fit and finish. Average rear-seat headroom. No rear-door pockets.

conclusion :

By comparing all the four cars specification and features based on the requirement of Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii and his budget

Maruti Suzuki Dzire ZXi AGS is the best car because it has the better mileage compare to other cars and the design of this car is well proportioned and it looks pleasing, Maruti is also known to be the best with low cost of maintenance.