PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate and document a new approach to best practice benchmarking called rapid benchmarking. Rapid benchmarking is defined by the authors as an approach to dramatically shorten the typical length of time to conduct a successful best practice benchmarking project.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology involved a case study exploration of a multinational dairy company's best practice benchmarking approach using structured interviews and data collection to examine the speed and results achieved through its benchmarking approach and whether it was justified in naming it as rapid benchmarking. A comparison of the speed of the dairy company's approach was undertaken against 24 other organisations that had utilised the same benchmarking methodology (TRADE Best Practice Benchmarking). In addition, a literature review was undertaken to search for other cases of rapid benchmarking and compare rapid benchmarking with other rapid improvement approaches.FindingsThe findings revealed that the approach used by the dairy company was unique, with best practices being identified and action plans signed off for deployment within a five-day period (far quicker than the average time of 211 days reported by other organisations). Key success factors for rapid benchmarking were found to be allocating five dedicated days for the benchmarking team to spend on the project, identifying the right team members for the project, obtaining sponsorship support for the project and providing intensive facilitation support through a benchmarking facilitator.Research limitations/implicationsOnly one company was found to use a rapid benchmarking approach; therefore, the findings are from one case study. The depth of analysis presented was restricted due to commercial sensitivity.Practical implicationsThe rapid benchmarking approach is likely to be of great interest to practitioners, providing them with a new way of finding solutions and best practices to address challenges that need to be solved quickly or with minimal expense. For organisations that have been using benchmarking for many years, the research will enable them to re-evaluate their own benchmarking approach and consider if rapid benchmarking could be used for some projects, particularly for internal benchmarking where it is easier to apply.Originality/valueThis research is the first to identify and document a rapid benchmarking approach and the first to provide a detailed analysis of the length of time it takes to undertake best practice benchmarking projects (and each stage of a benchmarking project).