Continuous improvement doesn’t happen in a vacuum. To raise the quality, reliability, and performance of their products and processes, organizations must look beyond their own four walls.
Benchmarking — the practice of studying others to improve your own performance — is a foundational tool for competitive advantage.
Whether comparing products, processes, or management systems, effective benchmarking helps organizations discover new ideas, set realistic goals, and accelerate improvement.
Let’s take a step back and explore the basics of benchmarking: what it is, how it works, and why it matters.
What Is Benchmarking?
According to Merriam-Webster, benchmarking is “to study something — such as a competitor’s product or business practice — in order to improve the performance of one’s own company.”
In simple terms, benchmarking means learning from others:
- Studying what others do well
- Understanding how they do it
- Adapting that knowledge to strengthen your own operations
In quality engineering, manufacturing, and design, benchmarking offers a structured way to recognize gaps, discover best practices, and inspire innovation.
Types of Benchmarking
Benchmarking can take many forms, depending on the situation and objectives.
1. Competitive Benchmarking
This is the most recognized form of benchmarking: studying direct competitors to understand how your products, services, or processes compare.
One classic method of competitive benchmarking is the tear-down analysis — disassembling competitors’ products to study their materials, design choices, and cost-saving measures.
For example, a dishwasher manufacturer might maintain a tear-down lab stocked with competitors’ models. Engineers could analyze everything from hose quality to control panel electronics to aesthetic features, constantly learning and evaluating how their own products measure up.
Competitive benchmarking focuses on:
- Product features and functionality
- Material selection and costs
- Manufacturing techniques
- Service levels and customer experience
The goal is not merely to copy, but to understand strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
2. Functional Benchmarking
Benchmarking doesn’t have to involve direct competitors. Organizations can learn from non-competing companies that excel in specific activities.
For example:
- A medical device company might study a consumer electronics company’s packaging methods.
- A manufacturer of industrial pumps might learn inventory management techniques from a food distributor.
- Two unrelated firms shipping to the same customers might collaborate on logistics improvements.
Functional benchmarking focuses on process excellence, not market competition. It highlights how cross-industry learning can drive operational efficiency.
3. Benchmarking Against Standards
Another form of benchmarking is measuring internal practices against external standards.
A common approach in quality management is the gap analysis, where a company compares its systems and procedures to industry-recognized standards like ISO 9001 or AS9100.
Gap analysis helps organizations:
- Identify compliance shortfalls
- Understand maturity levels relative to best practices
- Prioritize improvement initiatives
Benchmarking against standards is especially important for organizations seeking certification or those working in regulated industries.
The Benchmarking Process
Effective benchmarking is structured and methodical. A typical benchmarking project involves several key steps:
- Identify the Focus Area
Choose a product, process, or performance metric you want to improve. Be specific. - Select Benchmark Partners
Decide whether you will study direct competitors, non-competing companies, or standards. - Collect Data
Gather detailed information through product analysis, industry reports, site visits, customer feedback, or audits. - Analyze Differences
Understand how your performance, design, or process differs from the benchmark and why. - Adapt Best Practices
Identify feasible improvements that suit your context. Customize them intelligently rather than copying blindly. - Implement and Monitor
Put improvements into practice and track performance over time. Continuous monitoring helps sustain gains and reveals new opportunities.
Practical Example: Benchmarking in Action
Imagine a company that ships temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products.
To improve shipping performance, they could:
- Conduct competitive benchmarking by purchasing competitors’ shipped products and analyzing packaging integrity and temperature logs.
- Engage in functional benchmarking by collaborating with a frozen food distributor to learn best practices in cold-chain logistics.
- Benchmark against standards by performing a gap analysis against ISO 13485 quality management requirements.
Combining insights from all three forms of benchmarking would result in a far more robust shipping process than relying on internal experience alone.
Common Challenges in Benchmarking
While powerful, benchmarking has its pitfalls:
- Incomplete or inaccurate data can lead to wrong conclusions.
- Copying without adaptation often fails, as every company has different resources, goals, and cultures.
- Narrow focus (looking only at competitors) can blind organizations to broader innovations.
- Neglecting continuous monitoring can cause improvements to stagnate.
Successful benchmarking requires critical thinking, adaptability, and ongoing follow-up.
Final Thoughts
Benchmarking is not about imitation — it’s about learning intelligently.
By studying competitors, partners, and industry standards, professionals in quality, reliability, manufacturing, design, and laboratory fields can accelerate improvement, reduce risk, and deliver greater value to customers.
Used well, benchmarking expands an organization’s horizons: showing not just where it stands, but where it can go.
In a world of continuous improvement, benchmarking remains an essential tool for moving from good to great — and from great to exceptional.
Ray Harkins is the General Manager of Lexington Technologies in Lexington, North Carolina. He earned his Master of Science from Rochester Institute of Technology and his Master of Business Administration from Youngstown State University. He also teaches manufacturing and business-related skills such as Quality Engineering Statistics, Reliability Engineering Statistics, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and Root Cause Analysis and the 8D Corrective Action Process through the online learning platform, Udemy. He can be reached via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ray-harkins or by email at the.mfg.acad@gmail.com.
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