Supply Chain Peer Groups

• A Benchmarking Success peer group consists of up to 10 non-competing companies from various industries who, through regular face-to-face meetings, participate in the exchange of KPIs and best practice information about supply chain functions and processes and the enabling technologies.
• The Peer Group is an advanced learning program. It educates members about applied supply chain concepts through joint sharing of ideas, concepts and experiences and so is based on examples of application either from within the Peer Group or externally as sourced by Benchmarking Success. The Peer Group is a powerful learning opportunity!
• The diversity of members sought enables a broad based peer group that can benchmark and improve a range of topics from inventory reduction, performance measurement to enabling technologies and customer order fulfilment.
• The objective for Peer Group members is typically to achieve both big step change as well as incremental improvements in supply chain performance. It is also a typically an excellent training and learning ground for developing supply chain management staff who can also attend.

Business Improvement Groups (BIGs)

• The Benchmarking Success (BMS) Peer Groups are known as Business Improvement Groups or BIGs. BMS has and currently facilitates a number of multi-company BIGs as illustrated below. Some of these have been running for over 10 years.
• We are also often called upon to run internal BIGS for large multi-divisional companies such as BHP.
                   
• BIGs provide an excellent forum to develop senior executives in their knowledge, application and appreciation of Supply Chain dynamics and ultimately provide a catalyst for business improvement.
• There is identified potential to further develop input structures to drive output improvements.
• Previous BIGs are also listed here:

Existing Peer Group's	Members
Retail Suppliers	Dulux, Campbells, Arnott's, Clorox, Maxxium, Nestle Foods, Energizer, Lexmark, Ingram Micro, Symbion Health.
Industrial Products	BP, Laminex, Incitec Pivot, AWB, PPG Industries, BHP Billiton, Orica Mining Service's, BlueScope Steel, Qenos
Distributors	Aus Post, Apple, General Mills, CNH, Honeywell, Atlas Copco, IBM, 3M, Konica, Lexmark, EA Energy, Energex, Ansell, Medtronic, Scalzo Food Industries, Sanitarium, Pfizer Consumer Health, Pirelli Cables and Siemens
Fleet Management	City Fleet, SA Fleet, Rhodium Asset Solutions, Telstra, Department of Finance, NT Fleet, NSW Fleet, Vic Fleet, Q Fleet, Advance Energy, NRMA, RACV, Pac Brands, Energy Australia

Developing Peer Group's	Potential Members
Retailers	Australian Discount Retail Group, Jeans West, Aus Post, Beacon Lighting, Mitre 10.
Retail Suppliers	Cadbury Schweppes, Lindt, General Mills.
Mining Suppliers	Orica Mining Services
Asia Pacific	Cisco

Previous Peer Group's	Members
Diverse Groups
Elite Peer Group	Dulux, Unilever, Arnott's, Jeans West, HP, Mattel, Simplot, Toyota and Merck.
Swinburne University	Effem (Mars), Fauldings (Mayne Pharmacy), PBR Brakes, Ericsson, Coca Cola Amatil and Visy
National Group	NRMA, Huntsman Chemicals, Crop Care, Defence, Rail Services, Q Rail, Allergan, Capral, ITW Fastex, Britax Rainfords, Utilux and Coles Myer
Blue Network	Honeywell, Duport, Comalco Rolled Products, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Ludowici and Gilbarco
Network 10 [Victoria]	Kodak, Dulux, Cadbury Schweppes, BASF, Mobil Lubricants, Caterpillar and Telstra Technologies
Network 20 [Queensland]	Energex, Campbell Bros, A Post, Stramit, Century Yuasa Batteries and CSR Wood Products
Diverse Network	Arnotts Biscuits, Apple Computers, Toll Logistics, NEC, Detroit, Volvo and Eli Lilly
New Zealand (National)	Group 1: BlueScope Steel, 3M, Telecom NZ, Fernz Chemicals, Amway, Zuelig Pharm, Country Foods (NZ Dairy), Fletcher Challenge Building, Livestock Improvement Group Group 2: Gillette, Nufarm, Diversey Lever, Coca Cola, Bluebird Foods, IBM, Mainfreight, Lever Rexona, GNB Technologies, Schering Plough, Sealed Air, Foodstuffs Group 3: South Pacific Tyres, Fliway, Colgate Palmolive, Commercial Print, NZ Vet, Barkers Fruits, Bridgestone. Group 4: 3M, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, ICI Paints, Arnotts Biscuits
Retail Suppliers
Retail Suppliers Group	Gillette, Mattel, Allergan, Uncle Toby's (Goodman Fielder), Hilton Hosiery (Sara Lee Apparel), Quicksilver, Bristol Myer Squibb, Hills, Simplot and GWF.
Retail Suppliers Network	Nestle, Cussons, Diageo, Hienz, Bonland, Herron Pharm, Meadow Lea (Goodman Fielder), Gillette, Farm Pride, Hilton Hosiery (Pac Brands), Bristol Myer Squibb, Hills, Simplot and GWF
Quick Response Network	Smiths Snackfoods (FritoLay), Hilton Hosiery, Nestle, CUB (Fosters), Streets Ice Cream, QIW (retailer), Shell Lubricants, Arnotts, Sunicrust and Boots Healthcare
Building
Building Industry Group	Smorgon ARC, Union Steel, BHP Building Products, Comalco Aluminium (Capral) and CSR Gyprock Bradford
Government
State Revenue Offices (National)	All State Revenue offices.
Distributors
Spare Parts Network	Telstra Technologies, International Trucks, Nippondenso, Mercury Marine, Nissan and Cummins Diesel
Split Case Network	A Post, Apple, Siemens, NEC, EA Energy, Volvo, Honda, Detroit Diesel, Mercury Marine, IBM, QDL, Hardy Spicer, Mayne On-line, Q-Stores, Energex and Moore Bus Sys.
Supply
Materials Management	Pacific Power, Syd Electricity, Tomago Aluminium, Prospect Electricity, BlueScope Steel, Illawarra Electricity, Western Mining, Nount Isa Mines and Qld Alumina
Supply Peer Group	CS Energy, Qld Health, Tarong Energy, BCC, GCCC, Qld Police
Heavy Engineering Materials Management	Callide Coalfields, Qld Nickel, Dalrymple Bay Coal, NRG Gladstone, Mackay Sugar, Walkers Ltd, Qld Electricity and South Blackwater Coal
Transport
Transport Operators Group	Boral, BOC Gases, Heggies Bulkhaul, Pozzolanic, Chemtrans, Mobil, A Post, Rocla, Ampol, BP Oil and Special Fleet Services.
Focus Groups
Export Distribution Network	AWB, PBR, Orica/PPG Ind, GMH, Uncle Bens, Kraft, Avalon Airport, Maynes Logistics, SPC, Panalpina, Arnotts Biscuits, Pilkington, Meadow Lea
Inventory
Inventory Focus Group	Holeproof, Honeywell, JAC, Bosch and ACI Glass Packaging
Internal Benchmarking Groups
Groups within these companies	Incitec, Goodman Fielder, Amcor, Steelmark, Pioneer and Fletcher Challenge, Smorgon.

The BIG Concept

 The Objective:

• To develop business improvement opportunities by the sharing and exchanging of knowledge and ideas.

The Scope:

• All key Supply Chain and Logistics processes, from end to end across the businesses.
• Focus on end to end improvement by leveraging/improving key processes and functions.
• Process and productivity benchmarking used as a tool, rather than pure cost benchmarks.

The Format:

• Quarterly one day BIG meetings, hosted by participants in turn.
• Facilitated and arranged by Benchmarking Success.
• Agenda agreed in advance by participants.
• Collaborative work is undertaken between meetings.
• The BIG format is developed to suit the participants, and is designed to ensure a steady progression of :
  • indentifying improvement opportunities
  • quantifying opportunities
  • realising and measuring the value of initiatives
• Each BIG meeting is a mix of
  • member presentation
  • discussions of key issues
  • development of potential solutions
  • agreement on future objectives
  • subject matter expert presentations
• Collaborative work within the group takes place between meetings to maintain the business improvement culture and momentum.

The Investment:

• The cost for participation in each of the BIG Peer Groups meetings is calculated based on an annual subscription basisQuarterly one day BIG meetings, hosted by participants in turn.