Benchmarking is a process of comparing your supply chain performance with the best practices of other organizations in your industry or sector. It can help you identify gaps, opportunities, and areas for improvement in your supply chain quality. In this article, you will learn how to use benchmarking to enhance your supply chain quality in four steps.
There are different types of benchmarking that you can use to measure and improve your supply chain quality. For example, you can use internal benchmarking to compare your performance across different plants, departments, or processes within your organization. You can also use external benchmarking to compare your performance with other organizations that have similar products, services, customers, or markets. Additionally, you can use functional benchmarking to compare your performance with organizations that have different products or services but excel in specific functions or processes that are relevant to your supply chain. Finally, you can use generic benchmarking to compare your performance with the best-in-class organizations across any industry or sector.
Em conversas com os maiores empreendedores, fa?a benchmarking com os melhores, n?o importa se est?o ou n?o no mesmo mercado que você. Mas olhe para fora, para os que fazem aquilo melhor. Normalmente n?o se quer comparar, se quer melhorar, colocar no patamar de competitividade.
I love this question: "How can you use benchmarking to improve supply chain quality?" This sounds impressive...and many of us cringe at the subject when it presents itself in such an ominous manner. We simply feel suddenly overwhelmed as many of us out there do not understand exactly what they are referring to. So, let's not do that! Let's try to keep it really "simple" so that everyone out there can understand because, after all, the first step in process improvement begins with "YOU!" That's right! "YOU" are the most important resource in process improvement...and I think many managers and supervisor out there have forgotten this...or worse, perhaps don't even know themselves. "Benchmarking" is a tool to measure something being done!
Once you have chosen your benchmarking approach, you need to decide what aspects of your supply chain quality you want to benchmark. You can use various criteria and metrics to evaluate your supply chain quality, such as cost, time, reliability, flexibility, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, defect rates, waste reduction, or compliance. You should select the criteria and metrics that align with your supply chain goals, objectives, and strategies. You should also ensure that the criteria and metrics are relevant, measurable, comparable, and actionable.
So, if "Benchmarking is a tool to measure something being done", the second step is need or desire to want to improve that something. This is really where "YOU" come in. Have you ever had to do something where you just felt this is "dumb?". If the answer is "yes", then change it! And now comes next big word, "Kaizen". This is another ominous word Business Leader like to throw out there to make themselves feel intelligent. But what is it? "Kaizen" is simply put, a Japanese philosophy or approach to everyday life by making small continuous "changes" to improve our everyday surroundings. Kaizen is deeply rooted in the Japanese business culture and strives to improve via changes to processes, products, or services over time.
The next step is to collect and analyze your benchmarking data. You can use different sources and methods to gather your benchmarking data, such as surveys, interviews, site visits, audits, reports, or databases. You should collect both quantitative and qualitative data to get a comprehensive and accurate picture of your supply chain quality. You should also verify and validate your data to ensure its reliability and validity. After collecting your data, you should analyze it to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You should compare your performance with the best practices of your benchmarking partners and look for gaps and areas for improvement.
So now that we know of something we want to "change to improve", we need to first know how much of something we do BEFORE so that we can "track" those "changes" to see how much better we did AFTER. These are your "Benchmarks!" How YOU did BEFORE...the "change"...and AFTER. This could be as simple as the 150 steps taken to get to the broom you use 10x per day...and by "moving it" (Change) to where "YOU need it" now takes only 20 steps. This "improvement" is said to be "quantifiable". YES, another be word! "Quantifiable" refers to something that can be measured or simpler put, "Counted". Since we now "know" we are saving 130 steps per trip...and this 10x per day, we are "saving" not only the wasted 1300 extra steps, but also the time! Time=$
The final step is to implement and monitor your improvement actions. Based on your benchmarking analysis, you should develop and prioritize your improvement actions to address the gaps and areas for improvement in your supply chain quality. You should also assign responsibilities, resources, timelines, and targets for each action. Moreover, you should communicate and involve your stakeholders, such as employees, suppliers, customers, or regulators, in your improvement process. Furthermore, you should monitor and evaluate your improvement actions to track your progress and results. You should also review and update your benchmarking criteria and metrics to reflect your changing needs and expectations.
So...now that YOU have made a "change" and moved the broom closer to where YOU needed it...this is what Managers often term, or define as"Implemented". In other words, YOU "did" something. Now you need to "monitor" that change. In other words, your boss wants count how many times you did this in order to know "how" this "change" is beneficial, or "good" for the company. Again...simple! You do this for 1 week, saving 1300 steps each day, meaning you saved 1.5 hours of working costs, or 7.5 hours each week. Now I do not know how much money YOU make, but you can see how this "change" can add up to BIG savings real quick! And BIG savings= BIG dollars...especially over time! And it all started with YOU being a DIY Influencer...and your "change!"
So, now that you have made the "change"...what is next for you? Well, Kaizen would make you want to even make this "change" better...making it perhaps easier to remember "what" hangs "where". Consider drawing an outline of a broom or even painting an outline of a broom so not only YOU, but everyone knows what hangs there. This is the first step in "Shadowboarding." Another big word basically stating that YOUR change has a "home", or a place where it belongs! There you have it! Your next "Improvement" to Benchmark! ;-) Lastly, I would encourage you to teach those around YOU about Kaizen, and encourage THEM to embrace the idea of small continuous "changes" to improve our everyday surroundings. YOU begin to see the benefits of DIY Influencer!