6

6.1

Benchmarking

Definition of benchmarking

Benchmarking or comparative analysis - involves identifying best practices in other administrations or work areas in order to
reveal potential improvement opportunities, and then implementing those best practices in your own administration. The overall
aim of benchmarking in a customs context is to improve efficiency and effectiveness in national customs administrations by
comparing procedures or processes with the same or similar procedures/processes used by other countries. It can also be used
to provide useful information to donors about the operation of customs procedures which will help them focus on areas where
they need to provide support and take action to facilitate improvement.

Benchmarking supports the detailed analysis of specific processes and procedures, and targets predetermined
priority areas in a planned and clearly defined manner. It is a well-established business improvement tool, first
developed by the private industry. It is effective in making an impact on performance and in meeting the challenge
of delivering outcomes that contribute to continuous improvement.
Working together as partners is a vital aspect and can increase co-operation and effectiveness
within the Columbus program.
Benchmarking is :

a process used to seek specific information based on the practices, procedures and processes
carried out by (an)other customs administration(s), in order to compare them;

a collaborative process that means sharing information on processes and measures that stimulate
innovative practices and improve performance;
a technique which helps us to improve processes, efficiency, effectiveness and/or economy;

6.2

initiated and carried out by the customs administrations concerned.

Motivation for benchmarking

Within the customs field, benchmarking is likely to be most useful as a means for contributing to the improvement
of service delivery or policy functions.
Customs administrations are required to meet the challenges of the globalization of trade, to counter the threat of
fraud and criminality and to ensure security at borders. Benchmarking can be a useful mechanism to help
customs services rise to these challenges and threats. As benchmarking can be conducted more than once, it
offers the possibility of ensuring that performance improvement is sustained.
A key principle of international benchmarking is partnership: the initiating organization will seek partners with
whom to work, as without partners work cannot proceed. It is therefore important to be ready and willing to
support other countries, even if at first it may seem that there will be no immediate benefit to ones own
administration. The motivation for participation should be based on a desire to contribute to the improvement of
the applicant country, wherever that may be.

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6.3

Benefits of benchmarking

Benchmarking is an effective tool for systematically studying and improving performance in a very specific work
area. It encourages administrations to be pro-active in seeking better business solutions, to be outward-looking
and never complacent.
Benchmarking can be carried out to evaluate and improve an existing system, procedure or working method or it
can be undertaken as part of the creation of new systems etc, to ensure that implementation is achieved in the
best possible way. Furthermore, a benchmarking exercise can be used as just one business process within a
change or restructuring programme so that the outcome is not itself the primary catalyst for change but is instead
used to confirm that the administrations ideas about the intended direction of change are correct.
Benchmarking is therefore a very flexible tool. Participants can choose how and when they will use it, and can select the
level of complexity and detail they will incorporate into their benchmarking exercise. Opportunities for improvement or
optimum strategies for change are identified. A simple exercise that merely compares working methods can be just as
valid as a more complex comparison, for instance a detailed comparison of performance measurement data.

Each benchmarking partner can use the final benchmarking report to evaluate their performance and/or their
procedures against the identified best practices. The extent to which the initiating administration does not operate
according to best practice can be used to identify opportunities for improvement and to create an agenda for
change. Implementing the agenda for change so that the identified improvement opportunities are adopted is the
point at which the true benefits of benchmarking are realised.

6.4

How benchmarking works

The benchmarking process involves two or more partners working together to undertake systematic research,
analysis and comparison to identify and learn from best practices. The partners must be open and honest,
particularly where discussions about problems and difficulties are concerned.
There are, however, a number of different approaches for conducting an exercise that can be adopted, and
combined as necessary, depending on the specific needs of the benchmarking partners. For example:
A benchmarking exercise can be carried out:

Once only: a one-off exercise to achieve a step-change in performance.

Repeatedly: carried out on the same subject periodically (e.g. on a multi-annual basis) to
monitor and improve performance continuously in a specific area.

As a pre-feasibility study: to develop new processes, understand how best to implement

As a validation study: to confirm that the chosen approach on an issue is correct and to
assess the benefits.

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 Benchmarking can be:

Internal: used to compare one specific process within your own administration. For instance:
comparing how different customs offices inside the own organization control goods under the
warehousing regime;

External: used to compare one specific process with a similar one from an external customs
administration. For instance: comparing how customs offices of different countries control
warehoused goods.

The benchmarking partner(s) can be either:

2-way (fully reciprocal): all partners exchange information, make site visits to each others
organization and share responsibility for analysis, agreeing on conclusions and report writing; or

1-way: the partners are happy to supply information and to host inward site visits but, perhaps due to
resource constraints or having to give precedence to other priorities, are unable to participate more

fully. The passive partner therefore does not request information or make a return site visit, and
does not contribute to the analysis of the data/information collected, to drawing conclusions or to
writing the final report. However, a copy of the final report and information on how the
recommendations have been implemented should be made available to the partners.

Benchmarking exercises involving large numbers of partners can be run by a small project
team under the guidance of a member of the Management board.
The comparison carried out during a benchmarking exercise can focus on:

the working methods used: this involves studying the procedures used, e.g. whether a process
is computerized or carried out manually; or whether a specific control is random, risk-based or
based on percentages; and/or

the performance achieved: this involves studying performance indicators or measures, e.g.
the proportion of checks resulting in the identification of an irregularity; or the actual costs of

a specifi function.
The data and information gathering process can be based on:

Site visits: visits to the relevant experts and workplaces where the activity being
benchmarked is carried out, with discussions with relevant officials; and/or

Questionnaires: written communication with relevant officials requesting specified performance

Whatever approach has been adopted, at the end of the benchmarking exercise a final report is produced in
which the best practices are identified.

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2 MONTHS

Planning

Identify benchmarking topic

Identify potential partner administrations

Hold preliminary meeting(s) with partner administrations(s)

Approval
1 MONTH

Formal proposal send to management board

Collecting information
& data

Planning (kick-off) meeting between partners

2 MONTHS

Each partner collects and analyses their

Analysing
the findings

Analyse and compare data

1 MONTH

Partners conduct sit visits, gather from

Identify proposed best practices

Reporting & making

recommandations

Agree content of final report, including best

Implementation
& follow up

Submit final report to managementboard

Prepare and agree implementation plan using self-assesment

Implement improvements

Evaluation and report to Managementboard

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6.5

Integral image of Strategic Management

Innovation Frame

Cause & Effect

Logframe

Strategic Action Planning

Desired Result

Principles of Change Management

TheDevelopmentCompendium2009IVI-5

FUTURE

P RE S E

Benchmarking

cWCODiagnosti Report

SWOT Analysis

Stakeholder Analysis