BENCHMARKING - A TOOL FOR ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE IN THE

WINE INDUSTRY
Onia NEACU BLEAJ
Third year PhD Student at Environmental Economics, Academy of Economic Studies, oana_neacsu@yahoo.com
Ana Maria BOBEIC
Third year PhD Student at Marketing Department, Academy of Economic Studies, a_bobeica@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The big companies have learned from experience that their success is based on the adopted strategies, on strategic
management as a whole. The company managers compare their work with the industry leaders, companies that have
implemented best practices and have achieved the best results. This practice, to compare the activity of a company with the
industry leaders, was named Benchmarking after the English word which means the custom of craftsman to compare
different sizes after a standard marked bench. In the recent years was noticed the expansion of benchmarking, the European
Commission adopting a series of measures to promote this useful tool, not only in economic sectors.
KEY WORDS
benchmarking, performance, leading, wine sector, benchmarking in healthcare.

Benchmarking is a structured method practiced worldwide, by identifying performance measures and adapting it
to improve performance and quality. It was launched by Xerox in 1980 and has been used extensively since then.
1. DEFINITIONS OF BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking is the process of identifying, understanding and adapting outstanding practices within the
organization and other organizations to improve performance. This involves a process of comparing the practices
and procedures with those considered best, in order to identify ways in which an organization can progress. Thus,
we can set new standards and goals, leading to a better satisfaction of the consumer needs, high quality products and
services, lower costs, etc.20
Formal definition of benchmarking is "ongoing processes of standards for products, services and practices
against resistant company competitors or those companies renowned as industry leaders". The brand and
organizational identity involves creating a specific space-time framework of the organizations.21
Since "benchmarking" is a relatively new term, it is not yet precisely defined so that different organizations or
different "experts" tend to express their own interpretation.
After the Oxford dictionary, it means purpose, goal, or standard program used as evidence or as a reference.
In connection with the origin of the word, Webster 1990 Edition states: "Benchmark - a point of knowledge or
assessment alleged to other assessments can be established" and in the same dictionary, the 1995 edition states:
"Benchmark - is a standard or a reference point by which others can be judged and appreciated."
The APQC (American Productivity and Quality Center) - Basic of Benchmarking, Houston, 1993:
"Benchmarking is a measure performed at its best which is recognized as the standard of perfection for that business
process."
A more comprehensive definition of APQC, Hustib, (1993, 'Benchmarking is a continuous and systematic
process of measuring and comparing the activity of an organization and leaders, whatever part of the world may be,
in order to obtain that information that would allow the organization to take action to improve its own performance.
Other definitions:
"Continuous comparison of a process, product or service with a similar activity, known as the best in order to
set objectives and actions for improving ambitious but realistic, to become and remain the best of the best in a
reasonable time "(Generald Balm)
"The constant search for new ideas and practical methods, processes and adaptation of these practices, or
adaptation of new ideas and their application in practice in order to become the best of the best." (Xerox )
"Benchmarking is the continuous process of evaluation of our products, services and methods in relation to the
most serious competitors, and now recognized leaders in their sector." (Robert Field)
"Benchmarking is a process in which a company identifies another area of development solutions, researches
the best practices of firms and implements new processes in order to improve their own quality and productivity."
"Benchmarking is a process of comparing its own business activity with the best companies in the field."
2. TYPES OF BENCHMARKING

Internal Benchmarking = it makes comparisons between departments within the same organization or
between cities of the same region;
20
21

Bodea C., Constantin V., Benchmarking, software project management, Journal of Economic Informatics, no. 3 (15) / 2000, p.39
Bleaj Onia, Hristache Diana -The valences of organizational competitiveness- Metalurgia Internaional, Vol.VII, No. 6 (2012), p. 135
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Competitive Benchmarking = involves a comparison of the results with its most powerful competitor or
between two similar cities;

Functional Benchmarking = involves a comparison between non-competitors on a particular function;

Generic Benchmarking= it involves a comparison between its own processes and best practices
regardless of the industry, and trying to adapt them to its own work;
If we can talk about strategic management, operational management, performance management, then we can
assign the same attributes to benchmarking too.
Although they combine and complement each other, strategic and operational management are two distinct areas
of responsibility which should not be confused. While operative management deals with current activities taking
place "every day" in an organization and it refers to the production, marketing and sales of goods and services
produced and so on, strategic management is a process of continuous adaptation to the business environment in
which operates, which means transforming itself in time, in order to harmonize with the environment.22
In the wine sector, strategic and performance benchmarking are recommended because it may highlight the
sector in terms of performance, into established objectives using data from sector performance and other indicators.
The obtained results through benchmarking instrument will depend mainly on the human and financial resources
involved in this activity, the sector data but also on the experience and training in benchmarking.

Figure1. Steps in a benchmarking project

3. BENCHMARKING IN THE WINE SECTOR IN ROMANIA
In the last two decades has been an important development in the interests and requirements of wine consumers.
These interests have focused more on quality, focusing on wines that come from areas with a tradition of viticulture;
wine is sold under the name of DOC (Controlled Origin Denomination) and GI (Geographical Indication).
In any national strategy, national interests are the criteria for selecting and ordering the strategic objectives and
binding the sector strategies.23
In order to make a comparison of the wine sector in Romania with the countries that occupy first places in
rankings, we shall take into account several aspects:
Wine consumption

22
23

Nane Marcela-Strategic Management of enterprise and challenges of transition, All Beck Publishing House, Bucharest, 2000, p.4
Bran F. Manea G., Rdulescu CV, Ioan I. - Survival-paradigm of a sustainable future, Economic Publishing House, 2011, p 134
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In terms of average wine consumption per capita, Romania ranks 8th place in Europe. Average consumption of
wine per capita in 2009 was 23 liters, more than in France where it was almost double or Italy. Also Czechs,
Germans and Greeks are located in the top league in terms of average consumption of wine per capita.
In 2012 Romanians consumed more quality wine than previous year, while the consumer level not experienced
improvements in terms of food consumption budget. According to data obtained from manufacturers, Romanian
drinking bottled wine in 0.75 L of over 12 USD price categories increased between 9 and 20%. This is confirmed
by the organization of wine producers, who announced that, unlike 2010, when 28,490,000 were sold by the
producers of DOC, last year their number reached 32,765,000.
Wine consumption in Romania is between 26 and 27 liters / capita /year, Romanian consumers preferring white
wine and sweet.

(Sources: www.oiv.int/oiv/info/enconjoncture)
Figure 2. Global wine consumption
Wine consumption has declined in all countries by 2007 to 2008. Up to that time, of economic turmoil, wine
consumption has had an upward trend (since 1998).
Wine production
Romania occupies the 5th place in the European Union after the vine surface and 6th place in grape production
and wine.
Currently, the area planted with vines in Romania is 181 800 ha, according to data from the vineyard register.
Regarding the place we occupy in Europe, according to Eurostat, in terms of the area occupied by vineyards,
Romania has an honorable 5th place after Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. Romania is ahead of Bulgaria in this
chapter, which is on the 6th position.

(Source: www.oiv.int/oiv/info/enconjoncture)

Figure 3. World wine production

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Import and export of wine
Romania, as a wine country, among the top 15 producers of the world occupying the 6th place in the European
market, exports wine in lower to lower quantities and unfortunately imports wine from producing countries in a
greater amount if we consider the period between 2007-2012.
Wine imports exceeded 734,650 hectoliters (hl) in the first 10 months of 2012, eight times higher than the same
period wine exports, which amounted 87,250 hectoliters, according to data from the National Vine and Wine
Employers.
In 2012 Romania sold to EU countries 7,590,918 liters and bought from the EU 79,816,171 liters. To non EU
countries Romania exported 2,022,918 liters and imported 3,322,634 liters. As an important way to streamline the
wine, creating a performance management requires the establishment of a restructuring and development strategy in
each economic agent from viticulture and winemaking, where economic activities are designed based on knowledge
of all factors of influence or contextual determinants. 24
Wine imports
Although Romania is the market leading place for wine producers, it imports significant amounts of wine from
EU countries and beyond.
The preference for imported wines, which come mostly from EU countries (79.8 million liters last year), is
justified by the price.
The main countries from where Romania imported wine are: Spain, Italy, Moldova, France, Bulgaria and
Germany. In 2010 Romania imported the largest quantity of wine from Spain 9,176.9 tones, worth 3,102,700 Euros.
In 2011 the main country from which Romania imported wine was Spain too, the amount increasing greatly in value
to 61627.1 tons in value of 22688.7Euro. Italy is the next country from which Romania imports large quantities of
wine. Increasing the amount of imported wine can be explained by the interest of traders to obtain reduced prices to
increase their profit because some imported wines are much cheaper than local ones by eliminating excise.
Wine exports
Ranked 10th in the world by the surface area with grape vines, Romania is ranked only in the top 32 exporters of
wine, with smaller deliveries of 100,000 hectoliters annually, according to the International Organization of Vine
and Wine (OIV) and is surpassed by all neighboring states: Moldova, Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia.
Although it is well positioned in terms of area occupied by grape-wines, Romania has not found yet the
resources to make money from the wine export.
A comparison between Italy, the largest wine exporter, and Romania shows how much Romanian viticulture has
to do in order to get industrialized. Italians have an area planted with grape vines only four and a half times greater
than that of Romania (800,000 hectares vs. 180,000 hectares), but Italys exports are more than 200 times higher
than those of Romania. With a European market where France, Spain and Italy compete for supremacy, Romanian
producers try to find salvation in China and Japan, but supplies are extremely low.
4. AN INTRODUCTION TO BENCHMARKING IN HEALTHCARE AND FURTHER ANALYSIS
Benchmarking as a process will be used by healthcare institutions in the future to reduce expenses and improve
products and service quality. As an important component of total quality management, benchmarking is a
continuous process by which an organization can measure and compare its own processes with other organizations
and leaders with the scope of efficiency. Functional and generic benchmarking has greater roles in the healthcare
industry in HR departments or Acquisition with functions such as payroll or purchasing. Benchmarking has to be a
team process because the outcome will involve changing practices, with effects in all the organization and especially
Marketing. The team should include members from: communications, marketing and computer proficiency with
skills as facilitators and outside contacts and also sponsorship of Local management. Benchmarking metrics in
healthcare usually can be classified in one of four categories: productivity, quality, time and cost-related with big
impact over the organization and its personnel.
CONCLUSION
The current state of the Romanian economy and alignment with EU policies obligation to make useful use of
techniques, tools to assist in developing strategies to strengthen the recovery and the wine sector and the entire
economy.
One of the tools used for this purpose could be benchmarking, taking the example of Western countries which
have successfully used.
Using benchmarking is a relatively new technique in Romania, which requires better training of decision
makers.
Its use in wine proves to be very useful, positioning Romanian sector in European and global context. Thus
considering the components sector (area, production, consumption, imports, exports, etc.) compared to countries of
the first places: Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, followed that policy makers analyze the strategies adopted by
these countries to implement similar strategies in Romania.
Successful implementation of benchmarking in Romania depends on the extent to which government policies
will be able to create the right environment.
24

Voicu R., Radulescu C.,-Agro-management units, ASE Publishing House, Bucharest, 2003, p.104-107
508

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http://www.ttonline.ro/articole/ce-este-benchmarking-ul-%C8%99i-cum-poate-deveni-el-un-instrument

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