Origin of the Word Benchmarking – Century Management (2024)

FAQs

What is the origin of the word benchmarking? ›

The term benchmark, bench mark, or survey benchmark originates from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in stone structures, into which an angle iron could be placed to form a "bench" for a leveling rod, thus ensuring that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned in the same place in the future.

The beginning of modern benchmarking

In the early 1900's, benchmarking was still a process of business owners studying their competitors' techniques. However, as mechanical engineering advanced, so did the style of benchmarking. In the mid-1900's, businesses began undertaking reverse engineering of competitor products.

Benchmarking is the process of measuring key business metrics and practices and comparing them—within business areas or against a competitor, industry peers, or other companies around the world—to understand how and where the organization needs to change in order to improve performance.

Benchmarking is defined as the process of measuring products, services, and processes against those of organizations known to be leaders in one or more aspects of their operations.

Benchmarking was begun in the late 1970s by Xerox Corporation. During this time, Xerox was losing market share and feeling a lot of pressure from its competitors. In an attempt to try and “get back into the game”, Xerox decided to compare its operations to those of its competitors.

The term 'Benchmarking' was coined by Xerox in 1979. At this time, Xerox realized that Japanese competitors sold copy machines at a price that was well below Xerox' production costs. As a result, Xerox conducted a market-related Benchmarking study (competitive Benchmarking) for its production department.

Robert Camp, universally regarded as the founding father of the benchmark process, this bestseller is quite simply the definitive reference on the topic. Camp guides readers through the historic ten-step benchmarking process that he developed while at Xerox.

benchmark (noun as in reference point) Strongest matches. criterion gauge standard yardstick. Strong matches. measure touchstone.

This process is known as “benchmarking.” A term originating in land surveying, benchmarking is about measuring metrics and practices and then comparing them with data from other businesses. It's a strategic tool that saves money, increases efficiency, and highlights ways to gain a competitive edge.

The different sources of external comparison present us with further sub-divisions of the benchmarking process, namely competitive, industry and generic benchmarking.

What is the main purpose of benchmarking? ›

Benchmarking can compare your company's products, processes, and functions against other companies in the same industry or marketplace. The goal is for you to identify areas where there are opportunities for improvement so that they may yield more excellent success rates than before.

Benchmarking is an effective way of learning what others are doing particularly well, and then using this knowledge to determine how and where you can improve your own operations. By learning from others, you can expand your perspective and identify new ways and better ways of working.

Benchmarking is the pursuit of superior company performance through best practices. It involves setting operational targets based on industry best practices.

It is called a benchmark test because it validates the software/system against a set of benchmarks or references.