Competitive Intelligence: Structuring and Staffing for Competitive Advantage.

Business Editors

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2003

Global leaders are investing in and developing strong competitive intelligence (CI) capabilities as powerful tools for competing in today's economic environment, according to a new study by research and consulting firm Best Practices, LLC.

Now available in the Best Practice Database, these new findings highlight the staffing levels and reporting structures of many of the world's most respected CI organizations.

The Best Practice Database includes a full-line of research from Best Practices, LLC and recently expanded offerings on competitive intelligence topics. Drawn from exclusive interviews with competitive intelligence executives at 19 global companies, the new competitive intelligence research in the Database demonstrates how companies structure and staff CI groups to achieve the greatest return on investment. Topics covered in the study include:

-- Information gathering tools and techniques

-- Performance measurement systems

-- Information communication and management methods

-- Benchmark partner case studies

-- Comparison matrix of companies' CI operations

Visit the Best Practice Database at http://www3.best-in-class.com/dr11.htm to download a free competitive intelligence document from our Best Practice Database.

The Best Practice Database is a timesaving research tool that provides best business practices, metrics, presentation slides and flowcharts on key business topics. Some of the newest members of the Best Practice Database include executives at the following companies:

-- Cap Gemini Ernst & Young

-- IBM 

-- JP Morgan Chase

-- Bayer

-- Boehringer Ingelheim

-- Berlex Laboratories 

-- Georgia Pacific

-- Ortho McNeil

-- Owens Corning 

Busy executives and managers have found annual subscriptions to the Best Practice Database provide the simplified, ongoing access to key decision support material they need:

"When I walked around showing colleagues the information I collected off the database, they all said, 'This is exactly what I have been looking for,'" said Edmundo Deleon, program analyst at U.S. Department of Transportation.

To learn more about the Best Practice Database, contact Susan Silverstein at 919/767-9251 or at [e-mail].

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class organizations. For more information, call 919/403-0251 or visit http://www.best-in-class.com.