What is Benchmarking?

Benchmarking gives you an opportunity to assess

your organisations capability against 11 key
business processes presented to you using a simple
visual tool.
How does it work?
Benchmarking works by NWAA representatives
assessing a company against a 5-step diagnostic
model that has been created to define where a
company sits between Learner, Developer,
Performer, Contender & World Class in
eleven different business areas. These are called the
Foundation Processes and are defined as:-
Leadership, Strategic Business Planning, Project
& Risk Management, Lean, make vs. Buy, Skills
Development & Planning, E-Business skills, Innovation
Management, Sales & Operations Planning and
Infrastructure & Facilities Management.
As part of the assessment NWAA will also present
feedback on your business from your key customers,
as well as your key suppliers and many companies
find this a very valuable part of the process.
When the company has been assessed against the
model a position on the model is defined for each
foundation process and presented back using a
simple to understand visual representation of the
score.
NWAA will also show how your results compare
against other suppliers at all levels of the supply
chain to provide an insight into how your company
compares with other organisations today.
How long does it take?
In total benchmarking takes around 1.5 days to complete.
The actual benchmarking assessment takes place in one
day, usually starting at about 8-30am and finishing at
about 5pm. The assessment includes a 2 hour session in the
morning with the senior management team and then half
hour sessions with each of the people responsible for each
of the key areas, such as Project Management.
There are also two focus group sessions; one with team
leader/middle management employees and one with
representatives from the shop floor/other departments.
The feedback session takes place around 3 to 4 weeks after
the initial assessment and takes around half a day to go
through. At the feedback session NWAA representatives
will feedback the results of the benchmarking assessment
during an interactive presentation. You will also receive a
concise 14 page report on the capabilities of your business
at the end of the feedback session.
But what do you get for your
investment?
What are the benefits of going through
Benchmarking?
Understand where your business strengths and
areas for improvement are in key areas
Interactive feedback to help you really
understand the results
Concise 14-page report to summarise the
capabilities of your business
Compare your business to other companies in
the industry
A start point for future improvement activity
Pendle Business Centre, Commercial Road
Nelson, Lancashire BB9 9BT
T: 0845 305 5615 W: www.aerospace.co.uk
North West Aerospace Alliance
North West Aerospace Alliance, NWAA and ASCE are all Trade Marks.
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How do I get involved?
If you are interested in going through the
NWAAs benchmarking process then please
contact NWAA using the contact details below:-
Ian Blades
Operations Business Unit Manager
T: +44 (0) 1282 604 444 (office)
E: ian.blades@aerospace.co.uk
Glen Bullen
Project Manager
T: +44 (0) 1282 604 444 (office)
E: glen.bullen@aerospace.co.uk
Take the first step to improving
your business today!
EUROPEAN UNION
Investing in Your Future
European Regional
Development Fund 2007-13
BIS
Department for Business
Innovation & Skills
Will other companies get to see
my business information?
No, NWAA will never disclose your confidential
information with any other party which means
that business critical information is not shared
and NWAA will never publicise any companys
information.
Some companies that have been through the
benchmarking have chosen to share their
assessment scores in public and the things that
they are doing to improve, but that is an individual
decision for each company to make for themselves.
What happens next?
Once you have been through your benchmarking
assessment, you then need to work on the areas that
you have highlighted for improvement.
At this point you can either enact this yourself,
or alternatively NWAA is happy to work with
you to help identify key training and coaching
programmes to implement your improvement.
Guide to
Benchmarking