The links between just-in-time practices and alignment of benchmarking performance measures

The purpose of this paper is to examine if there are links between just-in-time (JIT) practices and consistency of benchmarking performance measures at various levels of organization.

A set of ten hypotheses were used to examine the differences between traditional and JIT organizations in the effectiveness of benchmarking performance measures. A questionnaire-based survey data were used to test the hypotheses. The target population was manufacturing firms in Midwestern US; the sample covers organizations in a variety of industries. Out of 91 completed surveys received, 84 surveys were usable resulting in a response rate of 17 per cent. Out of 84 usable surveys, 33 organizations were grouped as JIT and 51 as traditional organizations.

JIT organizations are better in recognizing external environmental factors, developing organizational core competencies, building learning organization through knowledge workforce, and using a broad and balanced mix of performance measures that are consistent with organizational strategy.

Research is general and not industry specific.

Effective performance measurement is a critical element of organizational success. It requires a thorough understanding of organizational strategy and deployment of the strategy into consistent sub-strategies and action plans.

The benefits of JIT principles go beyond inventory management. These principles can be applied to other areas such as effective performance measurement.