By the late 1970s, Xerox was losing significant market share toits Japanese competitors. Not only were the Japanese productsexcellent, but also, to Xerox’s dismay, they were sold for lessthan Xerox could manufacture them. Xerox found that it had ninetimes as many suppliers as the Japanese companies and made seventimes as many manufacturing defects. Lead times for new productswere twice as long, and production setup times were five times aslong as the competitors. Xerox introduced benchmarking in 1980. Itsprocesses and practices were benchmarked against the best in andout of its industry. As a result of these efforts, Xerox saveditself. Today Xerox is a world-class competitor, capable of holdingits own in terms of technology, price, service and customersatisfaction against any competition. Benchmarking at Xerox hasreached into every facet of the company and remains a primaryfeature of the corporation.

Discussion questions:

1- Using public domain information, such as that available onthe internet, determine where Xerox stands relative to itscompetitors today?

2- What do you think motivates Xerox to invest inbenchmarking? (3 marks)

3- What ethics should be followed by Xerox in implementingbenchmarking with other competitors? (1 mark)

4- In your opinion, what kind of improvement should Xeroxundergo? (2 marks)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

A Using public domain information available on the internet Xerox currently stands as a major player ... View the full answer