What is Competitive benchmarking?

• A. Comparison against the best elsewhere in the Organisation
• B. Comparison against the best elsewhere in the Industry
• C. Comparison against the best functional area in any industry
• D. Calculate the quantity of materials required for each type of material and when they will be required

Answer: (B)

Competitive benchmarking is about measuring your performance against the best performers in your own industry. It focuses on external rivals and aims to see how you stack up on key metrics—such as price, quality, delivery speed, customer service, and efficiency—and to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. By comparing with industry leaders, you can set realistic targets and adopt proven practices to close the gaps. This differs from internal benchmarking, which compares processes within your own organization, and from functional benchmarking, which looks for best practices in a specific function across different industries. The option about calculating material quantities is unrelated to benchmarking.