Strategic benchmarking

Benchmarking--the process of comparing relevant information relating the scope of services, volumes, prices and service levels against those of successful endeavors to better your business processes--is a good idea on every project, but it's perhaps most important when it comes to outsourcing arrangements. However, benchmarking is often not employed strategically to the best effect. The purpose of benchmarking is to confirm that users are paying a fair price and getting reasonable service, yet many companies tend to resist benchmarking provisions because they believe they have all relevant data. Companies that want to use benchmarking only as a mechanism to drive down price or improve service delivery will find it a costly and frustrating process. Benchmarking is expensive and time-consuming even with a cooperative supplier, let alone with an uncooperative one. To ensure that benchmarking works as intended, take a big-picture view of the process and make sure that the benchmarks are comparing the user with its true peers.

Learn more about effective benchmarking:
- read the article at Computer Weekly

ALSO: read this on the value of benchmarks when outsourcing