Benchmarking the entire cost chain Available to Purchase

In 1986, a mid‐sized manufacturer of building materials (“Company A”) was just completing a major new renovation of an old production facility. As the new facility came on line, company executives needed to establish concrete goals for minimizing costs in the hotly competitive and price‐sensitive market for its product. To meet this objective, the company benchmarked itself against eight of the most profitable competitors in the industry.