The process of implementing competitive intelligence in a company

Abstract

It is a common occurrence in business practice that the management of a company, in an effort to jump-start the function of the Competitive Intelligence unit, makes a number of mistakes and errors. Yet it is not difficult to avoid these missteps and achieve the desired level of Competitive Intelligence activities in a purposeful and effective manner. The author believes that a resolution of this problem lies in his concept of Competitive Intelligence viewed as a system application discipline (like value analysis or value engineering), which is why he approaches the problem of actual implementation of Competitive Intelligence in a company by referring to standards ČSN EN 12 973 and ČSN EN 1325-2. The author then proposes his own procedure for implementing Competitive Intelligence in a company. He first describes the various ways of securing the Competitive Intelligence services. Depending on the manner of securing these services, it is necessary to choose the actual method of bringing Competitive Intelligence into the company. The author goes on to lists the essentials that every program of Competitive Intelligence implementation should have. The process of Competitive Intelligence implementation unfolds in three stages, those being: 1. Managerial preparation for the introduction of Competitive Intelligence. 2. Personnel-oriented and professional preparation for applying Competitive Intelligence. 3. Organizational preparation for the implementation and practice of Competitive Intelligence. In Discussion, the author points out the most common mistakes he encountered in practice when implementing the Competitive Intelligence function.