Benchmarking competitive strategies and best manufacturing practices: |a study into four sectors of the Turkish industry

Abstract

This thesis is a benchmarking study into domestic manufacturing industry, attempting to quantify how well companies operating in Turkish electronics, cement, automotive, and white goods suppliers industries match up to best practice, both in the practices they adopt and in the operational outcomes that result, and to quantify the impact of this match up on the overall business performance. In this respect, it is a study on competitiveness using the engineering approach. The data used in the study are gathered by conducting a benchmarking survey to a sample of 82 companies, in 1997 and 1998. The sample companies are investigated by means of a Best Manufacturing Practice Model, similar to a business excellence model. Depending on how close they are to best practice, both in practices they implemented and the outcomes they achieved, two small groups are isolated from the sample and are classified as "leaders" and "laggers". These companies are later analyzed to identify their competitive priorities, manufacturing objectives, and action plans envisaged for the next two years. By creating a comprehensive benchmark of the practices and performances of these companies, it provides a tool for other companies for assessing themselves to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses.