Explain benchmarking and scanning a technology. Discuss the differences between them.
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Technology benchmarking varies across industries. Competitors understandably are reluctant to share their secrets, but trading information for benchmarking purposes can prove highly valuable.
Benchmarking can lower cost and raise speed, quality, sustainability, and customer service. ?Benchmarking against potential competitors in other countries can be useful. Companies may find key or pacing technologies overseas that they can import easily and to significant advantage. Moreover, overseas firms may be more willing to share their knowledge if they are not direct competitors and if they can receive beneficial information in exchange.
Whereas benchmarking identifies current practices, scanning uncovers what can be done and what is being developed. In other words, benchmarking examines key and perhaps some pacing technologies, whereas scanning seeks pacing and emerging technologies—those just being introduced and still in development.
Scanning uses some of the same tactics used in benchmarking. However, scanning identifies and monitors potential sources of new technologies for the industry. It often requires reading more cutting-edge research journals and attending research conferences and seminars. How much scanning is done depends largely on how close to the cutting edge of technology an organization decides to operate.
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