Two techniques useful in competitor analysis are value-chain analysis and benchmarking. "The value chain desegregates a firm into its strategically relevant activities in order to understand the behavior of costs and the existing and potential sources of differentiation." u The activities that an organization performs to design, produce, market, deliver, and support its products or services comprise its value chain. A marketing-driven value chain is shown in Exhibit 2-4. A value system is composed of the chains of organizations such as suppliers, a manufacturer, and distribution network (e.g., distributors, dealers, retailers). Competitive advantage occurs when the organization perform value-chain activities (e.g., product design, marketing, production, distribution) at lower costs, or better, than competing firms. Value-chain analysis examines each key activity to determine where an organization has a competitive edge." Benchmarking is the process of continually comparing a company's performance^ on critical customer requirements against the best in the industry (direct competitors) or the class (companies recognized for superiority in performing certain processes) in order to determine which areas should be targeted for improvement." Benchmarking places at­tention on the entire value chain rather than only completed products, the tool was devel­oped by Xerox in 197919 compare the manufacturing cost and features of its copying ma­chines to competitors' products. Today, many companies are using benchmarking