In the business world, paying attention to what's happening in the market, seeing how other companies are behaving, observing innovations, and even the problems other companies are experiencing, all serve as lessons for us to grow our businesses. This is market intelligence. Making comparisons for the purpose of learning is a healthy practice recommended by many management experts. This practice, when done appropriately and systematically, is known as benchmarking.
Benchmarking can also be performed internally, comparing areas and departments, aiming for the improvement of internal processes. According to Priscila Nogueira, director of strategic alliances at Stratec, in the day-to-day of business, companies should compare their performance with other companies or internally, between areas or departments, in order to assess their degree of competitiveness because, by analyzing in depth the performance differences and their origins, it is possible to identify improvement opportunities, and thus enhance the organization's positioning.
However, it is not always easy to apply this process because obtaining information from competitors or other areas is not always possible, it is necessary to have reliability in the data obtained, organize it in a way that facilitates analysis, and transform the information into real gains for the company.
According to Priscila, the main obstacles to systematizing benchmarking, both externally and internally, are obtaining the data, leveling it and making sure the measures used are reliable, tabulating and analyzing the data collected, and continuing to take action. “Obtaining data from companies is not always easy. Some data is published in accordance with current legislation, or in response to shareholder demands, but the data that organizations want to compare is not always available for free consultation,” she says. Priscila also points out that it is necessary to ensure that the data was calculated on the same basis, in other words, it is necessary to understand how it was calculated. “Despite being presented under the same name, indicators can be calculated differently from company to company, making it difficult to analyze them. Even internally, if the calculation of indicators is not systematized, divergences can occur in their calculation formula, invalidating comparisons,” he warns.
She also comments that it's not enough to gather data, compare, and not internalize the knowledge for results. “Benchmarking should not be limited to comparison, but rather to the incorporation of knowledge aiming for a differentiated and sustainable strategic positioning. Without this, benchmarking becomes a cost and tends to be discontinued by the organization,” she warns.
Stratec's Strategic Management software features a new benchmarking component that enables comparative analysis between indicators to identify best practices. The component can be used for both internal and external benchmarking. With this new feature, franchisor companies, corporations with multiple manufacturing units, retail chains, hospital networks, school networks, and many others will be able to benefit from benchmarking, acquire new knowledge, and reach new performance levels, strengthening their strategic positioning. “We are also structured to, together with our partners, support the internalization of knowledge acquired through benchmarking,” adds Priscila.
