The Meaning and Analysis of Benchmarking: Canon Hong Kong - Essay Example

"Benchmarking " and Section # of "Benchmarking" The following pages include the meaning and analysis of Benchmarking, the Process of benchmarking. Background of the Billing department Canon Hong Kong and the company portfolio. Main Body of the Report: Introduction: The subject of the report is Benchmarking .Wherein Internal Benchmarking and External Benchmarking will specifically be discussed. Furthermore, the purpose of the report on the following pages will be twofold: 1) Answering the question, if benchmarking is intended to set world class standards for organizations to aspire to. 2) Discussing an organizations process and how internal and external benchmarking is setup and implemented in that particular organizational process. Since the purpose of the report is twofold, we will initially be choosing on an organization and then subsequently on one of its processes. In this case, the organization chosen is: a copiers company in Hong Kong (i.e. Canon or Ricoh). The organizational process chosen is the billing departments' functional objectives processes. Which is: But the report further will also entail the reporting system for management review and management review in particular. The structure of the report will be as follows: 1) We will primarily be defining and analyzing the meaning of benchmarking and benchmarking in organizations. 2) We will then, highlight on the process of internal and external benchmarking. 3) We will answer the question posed to us: which was: if benchmarking is intended to set world class standards which organizations can aspire to. 4) We will specifically look into how the billing department functions at this organization in Hong Kong. Billing Departments Process and it Aims At Canon: The concept and the basic idea of being able to use the process of Imaging is not a very new one. But yet it seems that the thought of using images for billing and other purposes has completely taken over all organizations that exist, including Canon. Being, a company that provides Hi-tech products to make processes easier for other organizations and their departments. Canon makes sure that they use the best technology and the smartest billing system both online, and in person for all its customers around the globe. Now, another very vital question this fact is that what all this new technological developments on the side of the billing departments are aimed at It is basically aimed at efficient visual storage. Along , with the huge task of being able to recover orders, both purchase and sales. This genre also includes other vital documentations that the organizations need to do while processing bills of their customers at the billing department. These include both the consumers and the corporate clients. Further more the aim of the billing department is the use of the latest technological resources produced by the company itself like The BP-1000 billing machine, Canon Image RUNNER line, Universal Send providing flawless alteration of paper documents into digital files Canon Image WARE Document Manager Etc. Also the use of, Canon's high-powered, magneto-optical-disk technology. Known as the Cano file 250 is able to provide the department a storage and processing capacity of can 6,000 letter-size pages per disk side. It also enables scanning of documents i.e. 40 pages per minute and these too are letter sized ones Canon's aim is at making the process convenient for both the aspects i.e. Consumer billing and corporate Billing. The further aim is also being able to increase the processing speed of bills , the company also wants to aim at lesser paper waste or expense , and last but not the least it tends to facilitate the process of customer convenience both corporate and consumer in relation to the billing of their orders and purchases . The procedure for customer billing entails, their use of an image reading machine which captures the product id's image, runs it through the system, and display's the Cost of it on the machine and a computer generated bill is used. Like wise for corporate clients, whenever they place the order a system check is done in order to ensure the price tag, delivery mode, and other formalities. As soon as they are done the order is shipped or delivered at the client's convenience and specified address. Meaning and analysis of Benchmarking: Benchmarking basically has initiated the process of letting businesses attain that special extra intelligence required for obtaining and idea as to how the best competitors are handling any certain process within their organization helps these organizations, comprehend how far they can and should stretch themselves to be one of the best . Also, comprehending what characteristics are required to be in this league aid improvement. This information has to be efficiently used by organizations so that they can work on improving their performance. There are various ways in which benchmarking has been defined, but in simpler more comprehendible terms, by benchmarking is meant the process wherein a certain organization, observes its competitor performing a certain task, running a certain department in a certain peculiar successful way, and tries to pick up lead on those ideas and then improve or at least try to improve their performance. (Yaeger, 1) Process of Internal and external benchmarking: The following two are grouped as the categories of benchmarking partners Internal: The internal benchmarking process basically entails, benchmarking departments within the organization (as the word Internal Applies). The process applied herein should be aimed at making internal comparisons amongst the varying process from your organization sites within. All of the efforts of the organization are put to internal benchmarking which enhances performance. For example: the internal benchmarking of the billing process at Canon would entail the following steps: the department initially will have to select another internal billing department as a benchmark. Now this would be rather easy to do, as Canon is a global enterprise and is based in U.S and other European and many Asian countries as well. So, if for instance Canon Hong Kong's Billing department needs to internal benchmark it self. Then they can select any of the other billing departments at Canon for their Benchmark, gather as much data as possible on their workings and functions and carry out the procedural benchmarking at the department. This can be considered and deemed as healthy competition. External: It is basically the processes in which comparisons between various organizations, other than your organizations are carried out. This is conceived as the most authoritative creator of producing the best practices. Benchmarking of constituent parts from your organization, sites and functions, is called internal benchmarking. The example of an external benchmarking practice in regards to the billing department at Canon would be: the department selecting a benchmark, probably Kodak or Xerox's billing department process . And then accordingly benchmark their own department at Canon. The Benchmarking Process: The process of Benchmarking is considered as a tool that every management has to help improve their processes. The measurement of performance is involved greatly in the process. If the Benchmarking processes are kept up-to-date, there is no doubt why the organizations would not be able to become World class organizations, being the best in all. ( Yaeger , 1) The Benchmarking Steps The process of benchmarking can differ from organization to organization, but aims at similar goals. It is necessary that the organization planning to benchmark should be able follow a very methodical and efficient and structured loom. This can be done by organizations themselves , but it is suggested that it would be best if such projects would be carried out with the help of trained personnel , so that in order to be sure to cover each snip of the issue . Because, all procedures after being done will need to be analyzed and thus improvement criteria's will have to be set at the end of each benchmarking process. Majorly there are four distinct phases that are involved in the process of benchmarking. 1. Planning Phase As this initiates the benchmarking cycle, it is deemed to be one of the most important steps of all. If due to any reason, the organizational team, leading the process, makes mistakes, or does not plan each process in detail; they eventually affect the rest of the stages in the cycle. This demands complete time and devotion, to make sure that enough is done to eliminate mistakes as much as possible. This will help the other stages turn into more being the initial phase; this is a most important phase. Any mistakes, errors or incompleteness in this phase generally affects the rest of the phases successful and proficient. Internally and externally there will certain differences in the kind of partners. For an internal benchmarking process of the Billing Department, the partners would be from within the organizations various other departments. For an external benchmarking, there will be external companies and organizations whose department functionality details would be used. The Internal Benchmark team should be made up of individuals working in other departments of the same organization, and an external benchmark would mean to compare and contrast the workings of your department with that of the others. People from other departments should be invited herein to help design the internal benchmarking in order to be sure that they are being scrutinized. Step 1: what exactly to Benchmark: - it is indispensable at this point for the top management of the organization to be really involved. They are the ones to decide which processes are the most vital. This should be considered as the top to bottom approach, in selecting certain projects of specific processes. Assigning priorities to each should then follow. The customers are especially studied, and analyzed in their behavior patterns to make sure that the priority which has been set to varying processes is in conformance. The customers basically require cost efficiency, and better technological products in return the customers priority , is better value of money . Step 2: The Benchmarking Organization (Whom to Benchmark) - The second but very vital step is to decide upon which organization and its processes would be used as a BENCHMARK .the internal benchmarking would include better looking and some organizations might not be available; these may include competitors who are directly linked to the organization. The organization might not be able to gather enough benchmarking data from them. Thus it is suggested that varying number of organizations should be chosen for this type of a study. And then subsequently more information on how they conduct their specific processes is obtained Step 3: Studying the Superior Process - This step probably is one of the most vital ones in the whole process. This is also considered the most complex and the most time consuming one. Many at times, there are situations wherein, there will be situations, where the organizations will not be able to disseminate certain confidential information about the organization. There are instances when upon enquired by another organization; firms are not ready to disseminate any information if any sort. Also, usually organizations don't like to indulge into detailed discussions of their processes. This can even happen, if the visits at these organizations are by appointment or pre planned. This step should be planned in a manner that one visit to the organization and collection of information from original authentic sources within a good time period should be enough to gather all the useful data and information your organization requires for the aim of Benchmarking . 2. Analysis Phase This stage again, is made up of two modules initially involving the analysis of all the data and information gathered in the phase of Planning the Benchmarking. All individuals who are closely related to the process will much be a part of this stage. Step 4: Finding Reasons and Devising Improved Processes - the benchmarking team, should be able to investigate reasons for giving out the best results, after benchmarking. Basing the detailed analysis on all the data and information gathered another process should be developed. Step 5: Goal Setting for Improved Processes - In, the next step herein being, the setting up and aiming of goals and targets for the enhancement of the organizations existing processes. Step 6: Communicating Findings and Gain Acceptance - the top management should then be made aware of the advice and ideas on how the organization's processes can be altered. Obviously if there is no approval for these recommendations from the top level management, the implementation would not be possible. The key process workers should be informed of the targets, the department has to achieve. They would also help organizations meet their targets. Step 7: Establish New Functional Goals - In the occurrence of these recommendations and suggestions being accepted by the top level management the acceptance and then the subsequent retargeting of the functional goals should be the next step. 4. Action Phase This Phase lastly is made up of three vital steps. They keep monitoring the processes regularly with the use of weekly reports that keep the administration involved. Step 8: Develop Action Plan for Implementation - since the recommendations for new processes have been accepted, a very detailed plan as to how they would be implemented needs to be drawn. Individuals who are responsible should be able to make sure that all the work and assignments are done and completed on the time line specified. Step 9: Implement Specific Actions and Monitor Progress - the top level management at this point has another major responsibility. To make sure that all the activities, tasks are coordinated and organized in a proper manner. Step 10: Keep the Process Continuous - if the organization is successful in the completion of the benchmarking process. The top management should make sure that continuous efforts be made in the future to ensure the best level of working of the organization. Considering the advantage of benchmarking, which is that by the learning process organizations are better able to improve themselves. (Mahalik, 1) Benchmarking intended to set world Class Standards The statement that these benchmarking are intended to set world class standards which organizations can aspire to is quite agreeable. The fact will remain that the process of benchmarking basically encourages business and organizations to keep themselves in a continuous search and improve mode. Gradually, this practice then evolves and is considered routine in an organization. Internal Benchmarking also plays a vital role, in an organizations long term success. Background: Canon Hong Kong Company Limited - Corporate Profile The Canon Hong Kong Company limited was established in the year 1971. Basically it operates as a base for Marketing, distribution, Strategic Planning and coordination, and also provides technical support service of the company's products to Hong Kong and Taiwan. With specific reference to Hong Kong, the Canon Hong Kong Company looks after the marketing and service part of the operations for all the product lines the company has. These product lines include photocopiers, bubble-jet and laser printers, fax, cameras, digital cameras, video camcorder, scanners, projectors and etc. The company has always committed itself to providing the customers with high quality yet novel cameras and office equipment. This they pledge to cater to the consumers as well as business in operation. The CEO of Canon Hong Kong is also the president for Canon Hong Kong. The CEO and the president Mr. Kensaku Konishi, is very convinced and positive about the future growth and development of Canon in Hong Kong. He deems it as one which will be very bright and successful. Since the establishment of Canon Hong Kong the company has acted and performed a very responsible and nurturing role towards the community in the form of Charities locally, and also has dealt with several social causes. These Include donation by Canon Hong Kong of 1.5 million HKD to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority in order to support and facilitate the process of supporting the frontline staff at the hospital . This became a major issue since after the eruption of, brutal Acute Respiratory Syndrome also known as (SARS). Also since that episode the launch of "Hong Kong Ka Yau" movement came was launched. The endeavor was to rejuvenate assurance and to catch the attention of guests from around the world in the year 2003.The Canon Hong Kong also assists the Canon's Global Cartridge Recycling Program. These Used toner cartridges are basically transported to Dalian China where they are very safely broken apart and then subsequently recycled. The company aims, to act as socially responsible as it acts a business unit in the community. Total Consumer satisfaction has been the primary goal of Canon Hong Kong. In other words customer is considered King. The year 2003 was a successful one for Cannon Hong Kong as they were awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certification. This honor of the ISO certificate has served as a landmark in Canon's accomplishments to develop into the acknowledged leader in imaging technologies and solutions, and to playing a momentous responsibility in Hong Kong's community. Canons role in China has develop and increased significantly implying the role of Canon in that peculiar area. Furthermore, Canon (China) was established in Beijing in 1997, and now the company has evolved further and opened new has branches in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan and Xian with all in all in excess of 600 employees. The Canon Hong Kong Corporate Philosophy - Kyosei The corporate values of Canon are kyosei, by this is meant "living and working together for the common good". Canon's aim is the pursuit of these values. It also is to sustain the expansion of a social order with in which all people enjoy contentment and accomplishment despite the fact that there are major variations in civilization, traditions, language and race, and also greater consequences in each of them. On the other hand, there exist a lot of imbalances in our-world- specifically in areas that of employment, revenue levels and the surroundings which are hindering the accomplishment of kyosei. The Canon Hong Kong, are aggressively determined to solve these imbalances. The company also believes that they should be able to ascertain fine associations not only with their clientele and communities in which they maneuver, but also with nations and the milieu. Because of this very reason, the goal of Canon Hong Kong has been always to facilitate the opulence of the world and cheerfulness of the world and the happiness of the community. Alongside, the Company aims to continue its process of growth. Canon aims at the corporate philosophy "Kyosei" with pledge to dole out all the community in the world. (Canon Hong Kong) Billing department function at Canon Honk Kong: Operations Clients primarily get in touch with with the Company through one of the Company's salespersons. This preliminary contact will rivet computerized anthology of information on the subject of the customer's monetary situation and its compensation history collectively with information on its oodles, plus the quantity of freight to be delivered, the genesis and destinations of shipments, the agenda in which such shipments are to be made and any special needs. Once this information has been serene, the company and the shipper will consult and see eye to eye upon the shipment rates. One or more of the company's customer coordinators is then assigned to the shipper's account. Customer coordinators are assigned to a precise region and are accountable for harmonizing a shipper's cargo with a truck situated inside the customer coordinator's assigned region. The customer coordinator then assigns a shipment to a correspondent. Dispatchers are in charge for assigning shipment information to assigned drivers. Dispatchers and drivers converse with one another either by telephone as the driver makes schedule stops in transportation, or, from side to side the use of a special credit card, by means of an inter-computer association amid the Company and a fuel billing network. This association also enables the correspondent to monitor the progress of a particular load. At the shipment's origin, the driver notifies the correspondent when the shipment has been encumbered and then profits to the shipment's purpose. When the shipment has reached its objective, the driver is assigned another shipment by the correspondent. Once documents (such as driver's log, bill of lading, fuel tickets) have been established by the Company, they are examined by the fuel and safety departments and then by the billing department, which verifies shipment and billing information formerly entered into the computer by operations personnel. Computer-generated bills are characteristically sent to the customer on the same day shipment documents are received. The Company transmits freight bills and shipment status information electronically through "EDI" (Electronic Data Interchange) for certain customers. Through the use of its computer system, approving software and inter- computer association with a fuel billing network, the Company monitors and coordinates routes and shipments. This system also enables dispatchers and customer coordinators to immediately send and receive shipment information. The computer system is also used for payroll, billing and accounting. The approving software used with the computer system for the above purpose was premeditated and implemented by Company management. (Edgar, 1) Benchmarking is the course of action of representation of substantial assessment amid a company's schedule and the routine of acknowledged best practices. For a lot of companies, these notorious preeminent practices can develop into a symbol of hope for incessant enhancement, pointing human resources to improved conducts to get things done. Internal benchmarking is meant looking inside an organization to uncover your own pearls of wisdom to influence crossways the organization rather than looking externally to other companies or other industries. The companies in todays yearn for a swift return on ventures, and internal benchmarking can facilitate to lessen the total time to do benchmarking. In addition, it is time and again a great deal easier for recruits to acquire best practice when they can see the practice being established inside their own company. Internal benchmarking goes further than serving to categorize the best practices; it can also promote a culture of erudition and novelty spurred on top of domestic competition. A corporation with a vigorous logic of antagonism in the midst of divisions or business units will be a company that experiences novelty at every level. Internal benchmarking in addition aids a company to endorse inspiration distribution and augmented communication between departments and business units. Companies know how to recognize internal most excellent practices from numerous sources. This is more than ever accurate for midsize and big companies with numerous divisions, warehouses, or business units. For example, if a corporation is benchmarking a customer fulfillment process, recruits caught up in the endeavor possibly will give the impression of being across to different warehouses to identify which one of the warehouses performs the best. At most companies, internal best practices hang about anonymous merely for the reason that methods for extracting and communicating these possible most excellent practices don't subsist. To make sure that the corporation's benchmark is efficient, a corporation wants to put into practice a progression designed to promote idea sharing. Here are four simple steps to help you get started: 1) Make out which process to benchmark. For example, receiving, picking, or order management. 2) Put in order the benchmarking endeavor. This can be as simple having one or two citizens from each Billing department perform one- or two-day site visits at every one of your billing departments with the objective of discovering the unique propositional element that each department may have. (Here it should be kept in mind that there are two sorts of customers, the consumers and the corporate clients). 3) Prioritize the thoughts the squad finds and turn them into projects with timelines for adopting the best practices you have found. This is imperative for the reason that your team will likely find several areas of development, and prioritizing ideas into a scheme will facilitate you comprehend your improvements quicker than taking a shotgun approach. 4) Put into operation and start in on to comprehend the reimbursement. In the most essential terms, if process X of the billing department is notorious as the best at receiving, then your team ought to expend time knowledge the essential occurrence that propels exceptional recital in the process X and begin to translate those practices to the circumstances in the other billing departments . Procedure performance development can be an elongated and complicated journey. Internal benchmarking is one contrivance that you could lend a hand you in your journey. In the contemporary world of today and the business environments therein, there is no good reason for not leveraging these pearls of wisdom. (Vitasek, 1) The process of external benchmarking on the other hand includes that, the company planning to do the benchmarking process. They decide which organizations in their view are modernly located. Set the benefit and initiate the process s. good research takes you to good targets. And so the situation would not be feasible. Conclusion: The basic aim of benchmarking you billing department should be as follows: For each individual section of your company's billing department is evaluating varying processes. Now a days benchmarking of billing departments is being carried out to improve the revenue status and to be able to produce short term result s. Mostly, all the customers are aiming at the following process of billing, there are certain critical aspects to the billing process; exactness, importance and being able to be Comprehensible etc. There must also subsist awareness of the fact, that the customers purchasing and ordering patterns, will affect the process and working of the billing department. So thus it is vital that organizations should consider this and initiate the process of internal and external benchmarking if they haven't as yet. This will facilitate the process of building such a department with processes and workings that would be convenient for both the organization and its clientele. Tackling and evaluating complaints regarding the billing department, are another genre to be taken real good care of as, this might let organizations make or lose clientele forever. Canon Hong Kong Co. Ltd. was established in the year 1971. The Canon Hong Kong has always served as a foundation for the tactical preparation, promotion and advertising, delivery and after sales service support for all kinds of products from Canon all through Taiwan and Hong Kong. Canon has always used the COPC Standard for their benchmarking practices for improving their service and products, departments and processes. ( Swedersky , 2001) References 1) Cheryl Yaeger Benchmark Consulting International The Value of Benchmarking. http://www.benchmarkinternational.com/Articles/Value%20of%20Benchmarking.pdf 2) Pradeep Mahalik, 2000-2007 iSixSigma LLC, Benchmarking: Ten Practical Steps with Review Points. http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c070312a.aspaction=print 3) Canon Hong Kong, Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. http://www.canon.com.hk/en/Corporate/About/AboutUs.aspx. 4) CANNON EXPRESS INC Form: 10-KFiling Date: 9/27/1996 http://sec.edgar-online.com/1996/09/27/00/0000801558-96-000006/Section2.asp. 5) Niel Jones, PHS Management Training PHS Associates Ltd. Registered in England and Wales, http://www.training-management.info/About.htm. 6) By Kate Vitasek ,Sep 13, 2006 10:13 AM , Kate Vitasek is president/founder of Bellevue, WA-based consultancy Supply Chain Visions. Four Steps to Internal Benchmarking. 7) Karen Swedersky, MHA, 2001, MEASURING SUCCESS Evaluating Your Billing Processes Read More