Benchmarking involves comparing business processes to industry best practices in order to improve performance. Xerox used benchmarking against Japanese competitors and found its processes were less efficient, with higher costs and more defects. Xerox implemented benchmarking across supplier management, inventory control, manufacturing, marketing and quality. This led to significant improvements such as reducing defects by 78 per 100 machines, cutting inventory costs by two-thirds, and making Xerox a leader in its market. Benchmarking proved highly beneficial for transforming Xerox's operations and performance.