1 / 21

Competitive Intelligence

Competitive Intelligence. An Introduction INLS 227 Fall 2002 Business Reference Sources and Services. Presented by Amy Davis, SILS, UNC Chapel Hill 2002. What is Competitive Intelligence?.

Anita
Download Presentation

Competitive Intelligence

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Competitive Intelligence An Introduction INLS 227 Fall 2002 Business Reference Sources and Services Presented by Amy Davis, SILS, UNC Chapel Hill 2002

  2. What is Competitive Intelligence? • “Competitive Intelligence is a systematic and ethical program for gathering, analyzing, and managing external information that can affect your company's plans, decisions, and operations” Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  3. What CI Is Not... • Corporate Spy Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  4. CI and Ethics • “Economic espionage represents a failure of Competitive Intelligence” • SCIP’s Code of Ethics states: • Professionals must accurately disclose their identity when soliciting information • Respect all requests for confidentiality • Good competitive intelligence uses publicly available sources: • Published information sources • Interviews • CI professionals can ethically discover information in a fashion similar to that of journalists and other researchers. Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  5. The Goal - Why Use CI? • Early Warning • Good competitive intelligence allows decision makers to prepare for changes in the market • Act instead of react Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  6. The CI Cycle Planning & Direction Feedback Collection Analysis Dissemination Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  7. The CI CycleStep One - Planning & Direction • Working with management to determine information needs • Develop effective communication, interviewing and presentation skills • Know the organizational structure, culture and environment • Know your internal and external capabilities • Conduct an information resource gap-analysis • Articulate findings about intelligence needs into the cycle Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  8. The CI CycleStep Two - Collection Activities • Collecting information a legal and ethical manner. • Sources used: • Primary • Secondary • Internal • External • Must be able to ensure validity of sources • Recognize patterns and anomalies in information • Formal research skills are crucial Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  9. The CI CycleStep Three - Analysis • Interpreting data and drawing meaningful conclusions for recommended actions • Arguably the most important step in the cycle. • Raw data itself cannot usually contribute to key decision making and strategy Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  10. The CI CycleStep Three - Analysis • Guidelines for analyzing data • Use inductive and deductive reasoning • Employ alternative and creative thinking • Be familiar with analytical models and know when and why to use them. • Ex. Risk assessment, Opportunity analysis and Trend analysis • Recognize gaps in information • Know when to quit! Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  11. The CI CycleStep Four - Dissemination • Presenting key discoveries to management • Organize findings and convey them with assertiveness and diplomacy • Accentuate the positive • Cost savings • Competitive advantage • Modes of dissemination • Custom reports • Databases • Training seminars • Personal communications Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  12. The CI CycleStep Five - Feedback • Evaluating the response of management and decision makers is crucial to determining success of CI endeavor. • Be sure to capture all feedback to incorporate in future projects • Use this dialogue to determine future information needs. Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  13. Competitive IntelligenceTricks of the Trade • CI Professionals use a variety of tools and techniques • Wargame Exercises: Use alternative competitive scenarios to test “what-ifs” • Patent Tracking: Reveal areas in which competitors are likely to make breakthroughs • Data mining existing information • Creating psychological profiles of key management figures in competing companies • Use trade shows and conferences wisely Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  14. Competitive IntelligenceTools of the Trade • Advancements in technology have improved efficiency and impact of CI programs • Corporate Intranets • Data management programs • Data mining programs • Text retrieval and classification • Patent searching • Still lacking in systems to analyze data Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  15. Competitive IntelligenceSources • Primary Sources • Internet • Financial Reports • Government Documents • Annual Reports • Speeches • Secondary Sources • Internet & Online • Edited TV/Radio Programs • Analysts’ Reports • Newspapers & Magazines Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  16. Competitive IntelligenceSources Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  17. Competitive IntelligenceWho Uses CI? - Industries • A 1998 survey showed that 82% of companies with annual revenues of more than $10 billion have an organized intelligence function • Top Industries with CI groups • Chemical/Pharmaceutical • Communications/Telecom • Computers/Hi Tech • Defense/Aerospace • Financial Services Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  18. Competitive IntelligenceWho Uses CI? - Internal Customers • Competitive Intelligence is most utilized by the following departments: • Market Planning & Research • Research & Development • Business Development • Product Planning • Strategic Planning • Financial Planning Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  19. Competitive IntelligenceWhere Does CI Reside? • The Competitive Intelligence function can operate out of a wide variety of departments in an organization. Prominent examples include: • CI Department • Market Planning, Research, or Analysis • Strategic Planning • Information Center or Services • Business Development/Product Planning • Financial Planning Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  20. Competitive IntelligenceProject Examples • Identification and assessment of competitors for start-up, niche consulting firm • Company information • Organizational • Financial • What’s the other guy doing? • Marketing efforts • Product release Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

  21. Competitive IntelligenceFor More Information…. • Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals • Educational Programs and courses • George Washington University • UCLA • Rutgers • CI Consulting Firms • Brief seminars Source: Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

More Related