New Competitive Intelligence Benchmarking Report

The Competitive Intelligence
unit plays a vital role by providing senior management and key decision
makers with actionable information they need to respond strategically to
external change. However, CI is a relatively new corporate function, often
underdeveloped and undervalued; at most companies the CI group was
established only in the last five years.

To be effective, a CI group needs an environment that includes
proximity to key customers and/or executives, opportunities for frequent
interaction with stakeholders, direct management by an executive champion,
functional independence and a seat at the decision table.

Insights and metrics were collected from surveys and in-depth
interviews with CI leaders across industries, including Amgen,
Boehringer-Ingelheim, Boeing, Citigroup, Eli Lilly, Fidelity Investments,
IBM, Kraft, LexisNexis, Merck, Motorola, Novartis, Procter & Gamble,
Raytheon, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, SAS, and Wyeth. Data is presented for the
full benchmark class and the pharmaceutical segment.
Sample findings around structure and alignment of the CI group include:
-- 64 percent of benchmarked companies have standalone CI departments.
-- 26 percent of CI groups report to either strategic planning, 26 percent
to marketing and 22 percent report to market research.
-- On average, there are only 2.7 levels of management between the CI head
and the CEO, which helps achieve greater proximity to company decision-
makers.