SG&A Benchmarking
Measure SG&A Performance Today. Quantify AI-Driven Performance Tomorrow.
Traditional benchmarks show how selling, general and administrative (SG&A) functions perform today across cost, productivity, and service delivery. AI World Class benchmarks quantify what becomes possible when work is redesigned around artificial intelligence (AI). The Hackett Group® helps executive leaders identify SG&A performance gaps, quantify AI opportunities, and prioritize investments that improve productivity, reduce costs, and accelerate enterprise value.
The SG&A performance gap is growing
Organizations are under increasing pressure to improve productivity while controlling costs. At the same time, AI is creating new opportunities to redesign work across finance, human resources (HR), procurement, information technology (IT) and business services. The challenge is no longer whether to invest in AI. The challenge is knowing where AI can deliver the greatest business value and which initiatives to prioritize first.
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What we benchmark across SG&A
End-to-end enterprise performance
Quantify your SG&A performance gap1
SG&A benchmarking provides an objective view of where performance gaps exist today, where AI can create the greatest value and what future-state performance is achievable.
AI-enabled world-class finance organizations redesign workflows to reduce process costs while improving decision support.
Procurement teams create more value with fewer resources by automating routine work and focusing effort on strategic decisions.
HR organizations streamline recruiting, employee services and workforce management while improving service delivery.
AI-enabled world-class HR organizations fill professional positions nearly 50% faster, improving workforce agility.
Leading organizations shift resources away from maintenance activities and toward AI, emerging technologies and business enablement.
Finance teams spend less time producing reports and more time supporting strategic decisions and business performance.
1 AI World Class benchmark modeling based on peer median and AI World Class performance scenarios, The Hackett Group®, 2026
Benchmark against today’s leaders and tomorrow’s possibilities
Digital World Class® benchmarks measure how leading organizations perform today. AI World Class benchmarks quantify future-state performance when work is redesigned around AI-enabled execution.
Decision-grade benchmarks for high-stakes decisions
As AI adoption accelerates, executive leaders need to distinguish between informational guidance and decision-grade benchmarking. Strategic investment decisions require validated data, peer comparability and measurable business outcomes.
AI transformation starts with process, not technology
The highest-performing organizations do not begin with AI tools. They begin by identifying where process redesign can create the greatest business value.
Business impact
Focus on the processes with the greatest potential to improve productivity, reduce costs and enhance service delivery.
Implementation complexity
Evaluate organizational readiness, technology requirements and execution effort before investing.
Expected ROI
Prioritize opportunities based on measurable financial and operational outcomes.
Time-to-value
Sequence initiatives to accelerate benefits while reducing transformation risk.
How we help leaders prioritize AI investments
Quantify the opportunity. Prioritize the investment. Accelerate the return. Using Digital World Class® and AI World Class benchmarks, leaders can identify performance gaps, evaluate AI opportunities and build a transformation roadmap grounded in measurable business outcomes.
Trusted by the world’s best companies
The Hackett Group® provides benchmark standards used by many of the world’s highest-performing organizations, including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 90% of the Fortune 100, 68% of the DAX 40 and 53% of the FTSE 100. Our Digital World Class® and AI World Class benchmarks help leaders identify performance gaps, quantify AI opportunities, and prioritize investments with confidence.
Quantify your SG&A opportunity
Benchmark performance. Prioritize AI investment. Accelerate ROI. Benchmark SG&A performance across finance, HR, procurement, IT, shared services and enterprise support functions. Identify the largest gaps to Digital World Class® and AI World Class performance, and prioritize the opportunities with the greatest potential to improve productivity, reduce costs, and accelerate business value.
Frequently asked questions
What is SG&A benchmarking and why is it important?
SG&A benchmarking compares the cost, productivity, service quality and effectiveness of selling, general and administrative functions against peer organizations, Digital World Class® performers, and AI World Class benchmarks. It helps executive leaders identify performance gaps, reduce costs, improve operating leverage and prioritize investments that create measurable business value.
How does SG&A benchmarking help reduce costs?
SG&A benchmarking identifies inefficiencies, redundant activities and operating model gaps across finance, HR, procurement, IT, shared services and corporate functions. Organizations can use these insights to reduce SG&A costs, improve productivity and enhance service delivery while maintaining business performance.
What is the difference between Digital World Class® and AI World Class benchmarking?
Digital World Class® benchmarking measures how leading organizations perform today using current operating models, technology and best practices. AI World Class benchmarks quantify future-state performance by identifying how AI-driven process redesign can improve productivity, reduce costs and create enterprise value. Together, they provide a view of both current performance and future opportunity.
How does SG&A benchmarking help build a business case for AI investments?
SG&A benchmarking identifies where AI can create the greatest business value across enterprise functions. By quantifying performance gaps at the process, subprocess and work-step level, organizations can estimate expected productivity gains, cost savings, service improvements and ROI before making investment decisions.
What SG&A functions should be benchmarked first?
Most organizations begin with functions that represent the largest cost pools or greatest transformation opportunities, including finance, HR, procurement, IT and shared services. The right starting point depends on business priorities, performance gaps and AI readiness.
Can ChatGPT or other AI tools provide SG&A benchmarks?
AI tools can provide useful insights and recommendations, but they cannot deliver decision-grade benchmarks. Effective SG&A benchmarking requires proprietary benchmark data, peer normalization, process-level analysis, and proven methodologies that support executive decision-making and investment planning.
How does SG&A benchmarking improve productivity?
Benchmarking helps organizations identify where work can be simplified, standardized, automated or redesigned. By comparing performance against Digital World Class® and AI World Class organizations, leaders can identify opportunities to improve workforce productivity and service efficiency across SG&A functions.
How does SG&A benchmarking support AI transformation?
SG&A benchmarking provides the foundation for process-led AI transformation. It identifies performance gaps, quantifies AI opportunities, and prioritizes initiatives based on business impact, implementation complexity and expected ROI. This helps organizations focus investment where AI can create the greatest value.
What role does AI play in SG&A benchmarking?
AI accelerates opportunity identification, process analysis and investment prioritization. Platforms such as Hackett AI XPLR™ help organizations identify high-value AI use cases, quantify business impact and build transformation roadmaps. AI enhances benchmarking, but validated benchmark data remains essential for making investment decisions.
How does SG&A benchmarking improve operating leverage?
SG&A benchmarking helps leaders understand how effectively resources are being deployed across support functions. By improving productivity, reducing costs and increasing automation, organizations can improve operating leverage and support profitable growth.
Can SG&A benchmarking help redesign our operating model?
Yes. SG&A benchmarking provides insight into organizational design, service delivery models, governance structures, spans of control and workforce allocation. These insights help organizations design future-state operating models aligned with Digital World Class® and AI World Class performance standards.
What are AI World Class SG&A benchmarks?
AI World Class SG&A benchmarks quantify the performance organizations can achieve when work is redesigned around AI. They measure future-state improvements across cost, productivity, cycle time, quality and service delivery, and help leaders prioritize the opportunities with the greatest potential business impact.
How do I measure my organization’s AI opportunity?
The most effective approach is to benchmark current performance against AI World Class standards. This reveals where the largest performance gaps exist, identifies high-value AI opportunities, and provides quantified business cases that help leadership teams prioritize investment and accelerate measurable outcomes.
How long does an SG&A benchmarking engagement typically take?
Most SG&A benchmarking engagements are completed within several weeks, depending on scope and data availability. Organizations receive benchmark comparisons, performance gap analysis, prioritized recommendations, and a roadmap for improvement and AI-enabled transformation.