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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Enabling success: performance excellence

Harbour Logistics, a regional freight firm, compares its parcel sorting times and cost per parcel with those of a global courier in a different industry segment that is widely regarded as the best in the world at sorting. The two organisations do not compete. Which type of benchmarking is Harbour Logistics using?

Harbour Logistics is using best-in-class (functional or generic) benchmarking. It compares a specific process, parcel sorting, with the world leader in that process, even though the leader is not a competitor. Competitor benchmarking would require comparing with a direct rival, and internal benchmarking would compare internal units.

  1. AInternal benchmarking
  2. BCompetitor benchmarking
  3. CBest-in-class (functional or generic) benchmarkingCorrect
  4. DStrategic benchmarking of the whole corporate strategy only

Explanation

Harbour is comparing a specific process against the recognised leader in that process, regardless of whether it is a direct competitor. This is best-in-class (functional/generic) benchmarking. Competitor benchmarking would require comparison with a direct rival, which is not the case here.

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