Competitive Intelligence on Time of Crisis

BY TAREK EL DIWANY
Managing Associate GEDcom AG


Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a disciplined, legal and ethical system used to collect business information, perform analysis and disseminate findings tailored to the key intelligence questions (KIQ) of decision-makers. It is used by companies to learn about their competitors, their own capabilities and the business environment of new markets in which they are considering future operation. CI is practiced in many countries across the globe, with the US, Germany and France among the dominant players.
There is an ethical gray zone in CI practices, where companies have to be careful not to tread, namely misrepresentation of oneself and the gathering of information safeguarded as confidential. Companies using CI have to follow the code of ethics set by the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), a global NGO whose goal is to promote CI as a discipline bound by strict ethical guidelines, which are listed on its website (www.scip.org).
In business situations, companies classify strategic decisions as either of an active or reactive nature. Was your company monitoring the economic indicators in the run-up to the global financial crisis or was it blind-sided? How is the changing global business environment affecting the actions, reactions and market strategies of your company and your competitors? What new competition is appearing on the business battlefield?
Once the KIQ are defined, the implementation of a CI cycle will help you reach well-timed strategic decisions to guard against the global financial crisis. And through the aid of your own in-house competitive intelligence unit, you can engage in continuous monitoring, collection of business information, analysis and dissemination of the findings at the proper time – all of which would minimize the risks that companies are currently facing.

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