The Power of Benchmarking: Sharing Challenges Across Industries

The Center for Operational Excellence works alongside our members to foster a problem-solving culture that’s grounded in tried-and-true operational excellence tools, and that’s constant and far-reaching. Through membership, organizations gather actionable insights from industry executives at COE programming, tap into research findings focused on today’s greatest challenges, and connect with Fisher College of Business students poised to become tomorrow’s leaders.

By learning from each other and accessing the resources Ohio State has to offer, member companies have the constant support needed to chart a path to excellence that builds resilience and adaptability in a rapidly changing world.

Member organizations also get access to one another. A unique benefit of COE is the direct line of best practice sharing and problem solving through benchmarking. COE acts as the matchmaker to connect you with other organizations experiencing similar challenges. Or, we can connect you to the dozens of subject matter experts on-hand at Ohio State and our catalogue of speakers.

We look for organizations that have already conquered the challenge you’re facing, but we also look for those who are on a similar journey and can be a good sounding board for potential solutions. COE member companies span a variety of industries and we find that sometimes the most beneficial connections are the ones you’d least expect.

“Our [COE-facilitated] benchmarking has taught us that, for the most part, our problems are not unique. There are multiple companies across industries facing the same issues. The upside is that there are a multitude of people engaged in solving the same problem, and the COE benchmarking provides access to these insights,” said Gio Bernardo, US Continuous Improvement Manager at Agrana Fruit. “COE members help because they want to help, not because they’re paid to help. As members, we’re all vested in each other’s success.”

Over the past two years, COE has facilitated 75+ benchmarking opportunities between member companies. Member organizations shared best practices on a variety of topics including: sourcing and recruiting a diverse candidate pool, developing a core continuous improvement team, 5S practices, technology and tools for customer experience, lean transformation, HR analytics, remote work, and more.

“Instead of having to work through consultant or intermediaries, the Center for Operational Excellence gives us direct access to other companies pursuing OpEx – companies we can meaningfully learn from. These connections are ongoing, and are much deeper than what you could establish at a single conference,” explains Tom Paider, Vice President, Digital Workplace Technology, Nationwide Insurance.

Are you interested in benchmarking opportunities with other COE companies? Contact COE’s Member Relations Manager, Annie Platten, at Platten.6@osu.edu for more information.