Benchmarking

Benchmarking is a key component of strategic management and refers to a systematic comparison of performance based on objective criteria. It is used to evaluate a company’s performance and identify potential for improvement.

There are different types of benchmarking:

  1. Internal benchmarking: this involves comparing different areas or departments within a company in order to identify best practices and uncover differences in performance.
  2. External benchmarking: This involves comparing companies with similar business models or in the same industry in order to identify industry-wide benchmarks and gain competitive advantages.
  3. Functional benchmarking: This involves comparing processes or functions within a company with those of other companies, regardless of industry, to identify best practices and increase efficiency.
  4. Competitive benchmarking: This refers to the direct comparison with competitors in order to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and then improve one’s own competitiveness.

Through benchmarking, companies can identify the best practices that lead to differences in performance and formulate goals and measures derived from them. This enables a sustainable increase in performance and competitiveness on the market.

Overall, benchmarking is an important process in corporate management that makes it possible to evaluate performance, identify potential for improvement and develop strategies to increase competitiveness. By using benchmarking, companies can increase their efficiency and be successful in the long term.