SCIP Iowa Chapter Recap: GLOCAL – The CI Perspective of Going from Local to Global

By Karen Ripperger
Senior Marketing Research Consultant
Principal Financial Group

On December 5, 2013, the SCIP Iowa Chapter hosted a networking opportunity and expert panel at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines. The luncheon event brought together professionals, students, professors, and thought leaders in the fields of strategy, competitive intelligence, marketing, and library and information services, as well as experts in business law, ethics, and entrepreneurship. With special acknowledgements to the SCIP organization, the annual SCIP conferences, and supportive local chapters, the event was a success, and in fact, one of the most successful professional exchanges in Iowa.  

All attendees benefited from the motivational exchange of ideas and the opportunity to create new contacts and networks.  However, the highlight of the day was an expert panel featuring premier strategy and competitive intelligence who shared some of the best practices from the Midwest’s greatest and most successful businesses.  The panel members each showcased the unique efforts of their companies and functional teams to better serve dynamically expanding organizations. 

The SCIP Iowa Chapter invited Stacy Bell of Deere & Co., Kelsey Hare of DuPont Pioneer, and Judy Leavitt of Rockwell Collins, Inc., to come together to help current and prospective CI professionals to understand the scope and reach of CI within the state of Iowa and beyond. 

All three companies have Midwestern roots, and all three have grown from humble beginnings to global, publicly traded corporations with Fortune rankings.  Here is a bit of history to get us started:

Table 1:  2013 Statistics and Figures by Company

Company	NYSE	Fortune Ranking	Origin	Revenues ($billions)	Number of Employees
Deere & Company	DE	85	Started in 1837 in Grand Detour, Illinois	37.8	67,044
Rockwell Collins	COL	511	Started in 1933 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa	4.61	21,000
DuPont Pioneer	DD	72	Started in 1926 in Des Moines, Iowa*	Ag Segment $11.7 Total Sales $35.7	64,000

*Indicates data for business segment only.  Unless noted, data is for total parent company including segment.

 

At Deere & Co., Bell explained, the CI function provides the opportunity to use the best available competitive information for optimal decision making. The following diagram tells the story:

The basic three-step process involves:

·         Understanding the competitive environment in each SBU and geographic area

·         Monitoring competitors’ foreign investments and growth aspirations, and

·         Assembling the puzzle to predict future strategies.

Next, Leavitt explained how Rockwell Collins measures the effectiveness of CI through the following framework:

“What”	Success Criteria	Aligns with	Stakeholders	Metric Idea	CI MOE
Megatrends / Early Warning	Company can adapt to new markets more quickly than competitors	Globalization strategies	Corporate Development & BU Strategy Leaders	New megatrends, new/emerging competitors identified	1-2 Megatrends aligned with growth targets
CI Skill Sets	CI practitioners have and use appropriate tools, analytical techniques to gain competitive insights	Growth initiatives	CI Council members	Council members able to use appropriate databases & tools without assistance and apply new analytical techniques	CI Council survey results measure use of tools and techniques  and determine new training needs
Human Intel Networks (Subject Matter Experts - SMEs)	Goal of human intel as 1st source for insights – Extensive SME network for knowledge sharing	CEO’s vision of collaboration	CI Council members; all CI practitioners	Examples of knowledge sharing	Capture numerous examples of intelligence reuse and estimates of time/money saved

Finally, Hare explained how DuPont Pioneer strives to make sure all leaders are focused on the “right” intelligence issues at the “right” time.  The culture, operations, and understanding all work in tandem for continued competitive insights and shared knowledge.

Here are the key steps for reaching that point:

About the Panel Members

Stacy Bell is Research Strategist for Deere & Company, located in Moline, IL, and is responsible for conducting primary competitive intelligence and competitive simulations across all divisions and regions of Deere.  She started her career with Deere in May 2002 as a Reference Librarian, moved on to the position of Demand Planner for the Agricultural Equipment division for Brazil and Australia, and managed the Research & Information Services team.  She has been a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) since 2003 and is the co-founder and former coordinator of the SCIP Iowa chapter.

Kelsey Hare is the Senior Manager of Competitive Intelligence at Pioneer, a DuPont business. She is responsible for determining competitor strategies and environmental shifts and providing conclusions and implications as input into the strategy development process. The Pioneer CI team has received recognition by DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman as being one of DuPont’s top competitive intelligence functions. The competitive intelligence model that Kelsey and her team developed is being leveraged across DuPont globally to enhance competitive intelligence capabilities. She has been a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) since 2003, served on the SCIP Board of Directors from 2008-2010, and is the co-founder and former coordinator of the Iowa SCIP chapter. Kelsey is also a former member of the Iowa American Marketing Association Board of Directors.

Judy Leavitt is Strategic Intelligence Manager in Corporate Development at Rockwell Collins and is responsible for strategic research and analysis for growth opportunities in new markets.  She chairs the company’s Competitive Intelligence Council and is a member of the company’s Enterprise Risk Management Advisory Council.  A SCIP member since 1995, Judy served on the SCIP Board of Directors, was co-coordinator of the SCIP Iowa Chapter and served on the Competitive Intelligence Foundation Board.  She received the SCIP Catalyst award in 2006 and SCIP’s prestigious Fellows Award in 2008. With Jan Herring, she co-developed the World-Class CI Program Roadmap, which won the SCIP 2009 Best Conference Presentation award.  In addition, Judy has been a member of the Conference Board Council on Competitive Intelligence for several years, serving on various committees and as Chair of the Council.