Publisher's Synopsis
Benchmarking is potentially the most powerful weapon in the corporate armoury. It?s the technique that enabled Cummins Engine Company to slash delivery time from eight months to eight weeks, Lucas to reduce the number of shopfloor grades at one of its sites from seventeen to four and British Rail to cut cleaning time for a 660-seat train to just eight minutes. In other companies order processing time has been brought down from weeks to days, engineering drawings output doubled and inventory cut by two-thirds. - - And yet, in spite of the articles, the seminars and the conferences, managers continue to ask ?What is benchmarking?? and ?How do we do it?? The purpose of this book is to answer those questions. Through a series of case histories and references it shares the experience and knowledge acquired by benchmarking companies across a wide range of industries. Above all, it provides a detailed step-by-step guide to the entire process, including a complete set of planning worksheets. - - Case studies include: Siemens Plessey, Volkswagen, British Rail, Lucas Industries, Shell, Rover and Hewlett Packard. - - Benchmarking is a flexible discipline that has become a way of life in some of the world?s most successful organizations. Learning from the best can help your own company to become a world leader in those areas that are critical to its performance. In so doing you will achieve an enduring competitive edge.
