Maximizing the use of CI consultants: A corporate practitioner's perspective

✍ Scribed by Jay H. Bauman; Michael Gelinne

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Weight: 76 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1058-0247
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6386(199807/09)9:3<3::aid-cir3>3.0.co;2-2

✦ Synopsis

Glaxo Wellcome Inc.'s strategic information/competitor intelligence department has developed a systematic approach for integrating external consultants into the competitive intelligence process. Contracting the services of consultants takes place only after exhausting all internal sources of information and achieving "buy-in" from internal stakeholders. Criteria such as industry experience, size, and fees are weighed. A project agreement that outlines fees, deliverables, and key issues is drafted, along with a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA) for each consultant candidate to sign. Once the relationship is established, ongoing briefings are maintained with those working directly on the project, rather than with the project manager. Search strategies are discussed and reassessed, while stakeholder expectations are managed. During debriefings, transcripts of interviews conducted by the consultants are reviewed, rather than interview summaries. Constructive feedback to the consultants is the final, necessary step.