The document discusses competitive intelligence (CI), defining it as strategic business analysis used to gain intelligence rather than just information. CI is important for maintaining a competitive advantage by anticipating the future. The CI process involves defining a question, gathering data, analyzing the data, drawing insights, and reporting findings. CI has 12 applications and relies on both primary and secondary sources. Ethical considerations require using only publicly available information.

1. Competitive Intelligence Superfactory Excellence Program™ www.superfactory.com © 2006 Superfactory™. All Rights Reserved.

4. Why Competitive Intelligence? The only company’s that don’t need competitive intelligence are those with no competition. In a world of hyper-competition (lower barriers to entry, global marketplace, customer focus, etc.), few companies can abstain from some form of competitive intelligence. Even if you don’t have competition, competitive intelligence will generate numerous benefits: early warning systems, more accurate forecasting, business development, market research, due diligence, etc. © 2006 Superfactory™. All Rights Reserved.

6. CI Project Management For the most part, competitive intelligence is executed as a project. And most projects are very fast and tight since management needs answers quickly. Example: On September 12, 2001, almost every American Corporation with operations in Pakistan went to their CI Departments and asked: Do we need to pull out of Pakistan and what financial impact will this have on our company? And I need an answer by the end of the week. © 2006 Superfactory™. All Rights Reserved.