While much has been hypothesized regarding benchmarking, it is of the essence to note that it primarily connotes to the practice of identifying, comprehending, and adjusting the prosperous business processes and practices employed by other firms. The primary intent of benchmarking is to enhance the success of the business. This is because the practice benchmarking allows firms to employ similar strategies that are likely to be employed by their competitors; hence, offers an equal competing platform. Worth noting is the fact that benchmarking as a business practice is applicable for both manufacturers and service-oriented firms. While it is true that benchmarking may appear to be a form of competitive analysis between two or more firms, it is essential to note that benchmarking is more defined and confined to certain factors. Nonetheless, benchmarking and competitive analysis can be merged together in order to ease identification of existing gaps (Stapenhurst 8); hence, guide the formulation of adequate strategies aimed at filling such gaps.
In the context of manufacturing, benchmarking plays a critical role in that it allows organizations to compare their performance to that of other organizations. Precisely, the recent past has experienced an immense increasing in the outsourcing of production activities by different manufacturing firms. As a result, manufacturing managers have found themselves under pressure to ensure that they produce products of higher quality. In addition, timeliness in delivery of the products, competitiveness of prices, and customer care service has evolved into a matter of concern amongst various manufacturing managers. In order to address these concerns, manufacturing managers should carry out benchmarking because it allows them to identify optimum workflows, adequate production schedules, continuous improvement programs, and operational maintenance procedures (Kozak 24), which are likely to offer a viable platform for the progress of their manufacturing firms. This analysis depicts the essence of benchmarking in the field of manufacturing.
Work Cited
Kozak, Metin. Destination Benchmarking: Concepts, Practices and Operations. Wallingford [u.a.: CABI, 2004. Print.
Stapenhurst, T. The Benchmarking Book. Boston: Routledge, 2009. Print.
