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, "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.

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.

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.

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.

In my view,

I would suggest Diesel Engine Vehicle, SUVs and Sedans is preferrable.

SUGGESTIBLE CARS

1. Tata Nexon
2. Hyundai Venue
3. Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza
4. Ford Eco Sport

TATA NEXON

Pros:

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

Cons:

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

MODELS / SPECIFICATIONS TATA NEXON

ARAI Mileage 21.5 kmpl

Engine Displacement (cc) 1497

Max Torque (nm@rpm) 260Nm@1500-2750rpm

Transmission Type Automatic

Fuel Tank Capacity 44

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 108.5bhp@4000rpm

Seating Capacity 5

Boot Space (Litres) 350

Body Type SUV

Safety 16.06/17

HYUNDAI VENUE

Pros:

1. Ease of driving on offer.
2. Three different engine options.
3. Feature loaded.

Cons:

1. Isn’t as big as rivals.
2. No diesel automatic on offer.
3. 2 petrol is weak on punch.

MODELS / SPECIFICATIONS HYUNDAI VENUE

ARAI mileage 18.14 kmpl

Engine Displacement (cc) 998

Max Torque (nm@rpm) 171.6Nm@1500-4000rpm

Transmission Type Automatic

Fuel Tank Capacity 45

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 118.35bhp@6000rpm

Seating Capacity 5

Boot Space (Litres) 350

Body Type SUV

Safety 4 stars NCAP rating

MARUTI SUZUKI VITARA BREZZA

Pros:

1. Peppy & efficient 1.5 petrol.
2. Good value for money.
3. Neutral ride, easy to drive.

Cons:

1. No more diesel option.
2. Rivals offer more space.
3. Design isn’t attractive as before.

MODELS / SPECIFICATIONS MARUTI SUZUKI VITARA BREZZA

ARAI Mileage 18.76kmpl

Engine Displacement (cc) 1462

Max Torque (nm@rpm) 138Nm@4400rpm

Transmission Type Automatic

Fuel Tank Capacity 48

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 103.26bhp@6000rpm

Seating Capacity 5

Boot Space (Litres) 328

Body Type SUV

Safety 12.51/17

FORD ECO SPORT

The Ford Ecosport is considered as one of the best sub-4m compact SUVs currently on sale in the Indian market. The car gets powerful and refined engines and also comes with an aggressive and appealing design language. If you in the market to buy a new compact SUV and wondering if the Ecosport is the best of all.

Pros:

1. Build Quality.
2. Powerful and Responsive Engines.
3. Looks.
4. Driving Dynamics.
5. Long List of Safety Features.

Cons:

1. Not So VFM.
2. Feels Dated.
3. Stiff Suspension Setup.
4. Narrow Second Row.
5. Thick A-Pillar Causes Blind Spot.

MODELS / SPECIFICATIONS FORD ECO SPORT

ARAI Mileage 21.7kmpl

Engine Displacement (cc) 1498

Max Torque (nm@rpm) 215Nm@1750-2500rpm

Transmission Type Manual

Fuel Tank Capacity 52

Max Power (bhp@rpm) 98.63bhp@3750rpm

Seating Capacity 5

Boot Space (Litres) 352

Body Type SUV

Safety 4 stars NCAP rating

COMPARISON:

MODELS / SPECIFICATIONS	TATA NEXON	HYUNDAI VENUE	MARUTI SUZUKI VITARA BREZZA	FORD ECO SPORT
ARAI Mileage	21.5 kmpl	18.14kmpl	18.76kmpl	21.7kmpl
Engine Displacement (cc)	1497	998	1462	1498
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	260Nm@1500-2750rpm	171.6Nm@1500-4000rpm	138Nm@4400rpm	215Nm@1750-2500rpm
Transmission Type	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic	Manual
Fuel Tank Capacity	44	45	48	52
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	108.5bhp@4000rpm	118.35bhp@6000rpm	103.26bhp@6000rpm	98.63bhp@3750rpm
Seating Capacity	5	5	5	5
Boot Space (Litres)	350	350	328	352
Body Type	SUV	SUV	SUV	SUV
Safety	16.06/17	4 stars NCAP rating	12.51/17	4 stars NCAP rating

CONCLUSION:

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