Benchmarking is a valuable mechanism for improving the quality and standards of a product offering. It involves comparing an organization's performance against that of other industry players, with the goal of identifying areas for improvement and best practices to adopt. In the case of Company A, the use of benchmarking helped them realize that their product X had fewer features compared to their competitor's product Y, leading to the necessity of increasing the number of features to increase market share.
One approach to developing a benchmarking strategy for quality enhancement is to focus on identifying and adopting best practices from industry leaders. By studying the processes and strategies of successful companies, organizations can gain valuable insights into how to improve their own product offering. For example, Company A could look at industry leaders such as Apple or Samsung, who consistently introduce innovative features to their products, to understand their approaches to product development and customization.
Moreover, it is important to gather relevant data and assign proper metrics to the activities being benchmarked. In the case of Company A, the team identified marketing and purchasing as the activities adding the most to the cost of the product. This highlights the importance of gathering data related to these activities and measuring their performance in order to identify areas for improvement.
In terms of quoting industry players that have engaged in benchmarking to enhance the argument, examples could include companies like Toyota and General Electric. Both these companies have successfully used benchmarking strategies to improve the quality and standards of their products. Toyota, for instance, implemented benchmarking to improve their production processes and became known for their efficient and reliable cars. General Electric focused on benchmarking to improve their Six Sigma processes, resulting in improved product quality and customer satisfaction.
In conclusion, benchmarking is an effective mechanism for improving the quality and standards of a product offering. By comparing performance against industry leaders and adopting best practices, organizations can identify areas for improvement and enhance their product offering. The approach to developing a benchmarking strategy should involve gathering relevant data, assigning proper metrics, and studying successful industry players. By doing so, companies can strive to continuously improve the quality of their products and establish themselves in the market.
TOPIC 8: ADDENDUM (B): ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
Question 1
Company ‘A’ has used performance benchmarking to compare its product ‘X’ with the competitor’s product ‘Y’ and found out that the product ‘X’ is priced slightly lower, but it also has fewer features than product ‘Y’. The company recognized that to win a larger market share and establish itself in the market, it has to increase the number of features in its product while keeping the price at the same level or even decreasing it.
To achieve this, the company ’A’ has set up a team that investigated the product ‘X’ value chain analysis. The team identified that the activities adding the most to the cost are marketing and purchasing parts in an open market. The team also identified that by buying standards parts in the market, the company has little room to introduce new features as this would require customized parts for its product ‘X’. The next step was to assign the proper metrics to market and purchasing activities and gather the required data. The company joined the benchmarking network and, in a few weeks, gathered enough data to compare the performance of its processes.
In view of the above scenario, critically discuss benchmarking as the mechanism of improving the quality and the standards of the product offering. Should one have to adopt any Benchmarking Strategies, what should be one’s approach in developing the Benchmarking Strategy that provides the impetus for quality enhancement? Use theory to enhance your research-based answer to the above practical case. While presenting you are expected to quote industry players that have engaged in the path to enhance your argument. (40)
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