What tips or suggestions do you have for measuring your company performance against industry or competitor benchmarks? Or does your company or you even care about how you perform against others in the industry?

Benchmarking is full of pitfalls.  That's not to say it isn't worth doing.  It can add a lot of value if used correctly.  The biggest value from benchmarking comes not from understanding that that your company is better or worse than Company A, but in understanding why.  Is there a real performance improvement opportunity?  Or is the difference a result of the strategic trade-offs you have made, differences in product portfolio, supply chain structure, etc.? If there is a performance improvement opportunity, what is the other company doing differently that gives them a performance advantage?

In terms of tips:
* Ensure that you are measuring the same thing in the same way. Make sure that a difference in performance is real and not just due to differences in how it is being measured
* Normalize the results where you can (e.g., headcount / sales vs. just headcount), adjusting for any known structural differences (e.g., Company A outsources distribution and so has lower headcount)
* Compare companies on multiple dimensions (e.g., company A may have the best inventory turns, but if they have terrible customer service are they really 'better'?).  Consider where competitors may be making trade-offs
* When you identify a point of interest (e.g., Company A is better on both inventory turns and customer service), take the time to ask why.  Dig deeper to understand.

It depends on your business, your USP and the competitiveness of your offering.
But first you must understand your strategic focus. Many companies use benchmarking as a tool to gauge industry best practices and identify areas for improvement. Others have a primary focus on meeting unique objectives and/or delivering customer value. Competitor benchmarks are a reference point, but the real goal is tracking your own success against your own objectives.