Excellence in Financial Management

Excellence in Financial Management

Course 12: Competitive (Part Intelligence (Part 2 of 2)

Prepared by: Matt H. Evans, CPA, CMA, CFM

This course provides more in-depth coverage about competitive intelligence – specific techniques and models used as well as CI Systems. Before taking this course, you should complete Part 1 of this course. This course is recommended for 2 hours of Continuing Professional Education. In order to receive credit, you will need to pass a multiple-choice exam which you can take over the internet at www.exinfm.com/training/course12-2

Chapter

1

Critical Concepts

Before we get into Part 2 of this short course, let’s touch on the fundamentals behind competitive intelligence. From Part 1 of this course, we learned that competitive intelligence relies on a very analytical process to transform data and information into intelligence. We also understand that competitive intelligence is not just about studying the competition, but studying the entire external landscape - customers, suppliers, regulators, and all forces that impact the organization. Therefore, our analysis must be very broad in scope. The primary output from competitive intelligence is the ability to make forward-looking decisions. For example, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric determined strategy based on key intelligence questions: What is the detailed global position of your business and that of your competitors: market shares, strengths by product line, and by region today? What actions have your competitors taken in the past two years that have changed the competitive landscape? What are you most afraid your competitors might do in the next two years to change the landscape? “If the defining goal of modern day business can be isolated to just one item, it would be the search for competitive advantage. And, as everyone in business knows, it’s a lot harder than it used to be. On the one hand, competition is more intense than ever – technological...