A benchmarking method for business-process reengineering and improvement

Benchmarking assists businesses in identifying potential targets for improv ement. It is the initial step a firm must undertake before planning and imp lementing reengineering methods to achieve higher productivity. Although se veral benchmarking methods have been proposed in the literature, research i n this area lacks rigorous analytical tools for effective benchmarking. A b enchmarking method must simultaneously analyze and integrate several key pe rformance measures of business processes in identifying best practices. Thi s is easier said than done because it is by no means a trivial task to blen d multidimensional information in a useful and effective manner. This artic le proposes a benchmarking method that simultaneously considers multiple me asures and aids in business process reengineering efforts of organizations. The proposed technique is based on a combination of multifactor productivi ty analysis, game theory, and clustering methods. These models are tested o n a previously reported data set of manufacturing processes. Our results pr ovide some very interesting insights into benchmarking practices, which whe n followed by firms will help in successful business process reengineering efforts.