Competitive Intelligence

By Manfred Hader, Stephan Baur, Heiko Mosetter, Paulo Franklin and Christian Krys

Our business environment has become significantly more chaotic. Growing geopolitical tensions, trade conflicts, and rapid technological disruption have created a world that is more volatile and uncertain than ever. In this context, Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a critical tool for gathering the insights needed for informed and forward‑looking decisions.

Competitive intelligence is key to succeeding in a hyper uncertain world

In a hyper uncertain environment, companies must anticipate future trends and challenges to avoid blind spots. Competitive Intelligence – a structured process of gathering and analyzing information on competitors and markets - is essential for effective decision‑making. By tracking industry developments and market shifts, organizations can manage uncertainty more effectively, identify opportunities, and secure long‑term growth.

In practice, a comprehensive CI system combines two approaches: searching and scanning. Searching targets known, relevant factors - comparable to focused "seeing". Scanning captures unknown, emerging factors - similar to broadly "listening". Both perspectives are required to steer a company through today’s turbulent conditions.

Competitive intelligence is key to succeeding in a hyper uncertain world

In a hyper uncertain environment, companies must anticipate future trends and challenges to avoid blind spots. Competitive Intelligence – a structured process of gathering and analyzing information on competitors and markets - is essential for effective decision‑making. By tracking industry developments and market shifts, organizations can manage uncertainty more effectively, identify opportunities, and secure long‑term growth.

In practice, a comprehensive CI system combines two approaches: searching and scanning. Searching targets known, relevant factors - comparable to focused "seeing". Scanning captures unknown, emerging factors - similar to broadly "listening". Both perspectives are required to steer a company through today’s turbulent conditions.

The scanning mode detects weak signals that are not anticipated

Even when external experts contribute to scenario planning, some blind spots will remain. Companies must therefore capture weak signals from unexpected sources since opportunities and threats increasingly emerge from industries or players outside the traditional competitive radar. A helpful analogy is the Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS), which scans 360 degrees to detect emerging threats. The more complex an industry is, the more important broad scanning becomes.

In emerging industries such as Advanced Air Mobility (which develops highly automated aircraft), drones, and AI, key future shaping factors are generally harder to identify than in more established sectors. Yet even traditional industries are increasingly exposed to complex and turbulent environments. Energy utilities, for example, face growing competition from distributed energy generation technologies such as solar, wind, and biomass. Automotive companies built around internal combustion engines are under pressure from electric vehicle manufacturers and providers of mobility as a service. As a result, an organization’s ability to scan its environment without a predefined information target is becoming critically important.

Many companies recognize too late that their mission and value proposition no longer hold. A robust early warning system that combines tracking predefined uncertainties with scanning for unexpected weak signals enables earlier responses, more strategic options, and better decision‑making.

Effective CI relies on consistent implementation

Applying CI systematically is crucial. Effective CI requires structured implementation and knowledge transfer to employees. Roland Berger has a systematic process in place to conceptualize and implement a CI process.

At the end of the process, the company will have a comprehensive approach for anticipating environmental changes and proactively adjusting its strategic direction, product positioning or any other key topic the company is focusing on.

CI offers considerable advantages

Competitive Intelligence provides actionable insights into competitors, markets, and emerging trends. E.g., for a globally active freight forwarder, we, together with the board, identified the most important topic towards 2030 (visibility in logistics) , developed scenarios identifying blind spots and tipping points of indicators to be monitored, created transparency on market dynamics and customer needs, and developed necessary strategic moves. For a leading aircraft manufacturer, we implemented a CI process including a broad set of tools like wargaming and weak signal analysis and established a global internal network to understand and predict the competitor’s most likely movements, turning employees into industry sensors. In both cases, key to success was the close involvement of the C-level executives during the process and the transfer of methodological know-how.

Beyond risk mitigation, CI enhances operational efficiency and long‑term profitability. It supports market gap identification, positioning refinement, and predictive analytics It supports cross-functional teams in identifying market gaps, refining positioning, and leveraging AI-driven tools for predictive analytics, ensuring agility in dynamic and complex environments. Ultimately, companies embedding CI gain stronger advantages, higher market share, and superior strategic outcomes.

For some risks you have insurance, for strategic risks you have CI.