1) Benchmarking involves measuring one's own products, services, and practices against the best performers worldwide in order to identify areas for improvement. 2) In the 1980s, Xerox Corporation's market share and profits significantly declined as Japanese companies were able to undercut Xerox's prices by having manufacturing costs that were 40-50% lower. 3) After adopting benchmarking practices from Japanese companies, such as reducing suppliers and instituting quality control programs, Xerox was able to dramatically cut costs and defects while improving customer satisfaction, productivity, and performance.