As the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry enters the 21st century, the pressure on companies to maintain the level of productivity required for consistent year-on-year growth is increasing. Benchmarking has become a tool for obtaining the information needed to support continuous improvement and gain a competitive advantage. During the process of benchmarking, best practices can be identified while giving management the ability to improve on existing performance in an objective, well-informed manner. When used appropriately, benchmarking provides a new perspective on traditional methods while enabling companies to monitor their performance.