This document provides an overview of benchmarking. It defines benchmarking as comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry best practices to identify areas for improvement. The key points covered include:
- Benchmarking has advantages like process and product improvement, time/cost reduction, and informing competitive strategy. Potential disadvantages include practices not suiting an organization and reluctance to share information.
- There are four main types of benchmarking based on what is compared: product, performance, process, and strategic. Types also include internal/external and comparisons to generic, international, best-in-class, and best-of-the-best organizations.
- The benchmarking process involves planning, analysis, integration, action, and