Neely et al. (1995: 86–146) defined it as the process of quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of an action or activity. The purpose of performance measurement is to find out whether things are going the right way and, if not, to find
what were the causes that generated a poor performance. After this step, there have to be found solutions for improving performance. There are several reasons for measuring performance: for improving performance, for avoiding inconveniences before it’s too late, for monitoring customer relations, for process and cost control and for maintaining quality (Ackerman, 2003: 1). The main instruments for assessing performance are performance indicators, also named key performance indicators. They are specific characteristics of the process which are measured in order to describe if the process is realised according to pre-established standards. The best way to use indicators is to compare process values with normal, standard values. If there are poor results, poor performance, in reality, improvements for the process have to be made. Indicators are used basically for comparison with expected values. They are the control system of the studied process. In our case, setting an indicator system for warehousing activity is the key for performance improvements, as it shall be presented in our example. We present here some key indicators that are used around the world to measure warehouse performance
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