Pandemic triples competitive intelligence services market in Romania - analysis

The market for competitive intelligence services has tripled in the last two years in Romania, as companies are much more attentive, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to fluctuations in the markets in which they operate, competitors' movements, changes in the labor market and the predictability of the political and social climate as a whole, according to the Corporate Intelligence Agency.

In this context, the need for rapid implementation of measures with a major impact in the short, medium and long term is likely to generate a greater need for intelligence products to support decision makers. Thus, company managers wanted to be better informed in order to analyze markets, companies, and trends more quickly, possibly in real time, in a legitimate attempt to minimize the risks generated by new investments, fraud, new partners or new product launches.

Competitive intelligence services involve collecting, analyzing and providing information about vulnerabilities, risks, but especially about opportunities in a market in order to support strategic decision making in companies.

"We have been able to talk about the competitive intelligence market in Romania for a short time. Like any new market, it is directly linked to several socio-economic factors: the degree of competitiveness in a given sector or industry, the appetite for investment in a given region, government incentives or tax policy. All these have a direct influence on how company management relates to the need for competitive intelligence services. And in this field, Romania is still at the beginning compared to the more developed economies in the West", says Gabriel Zgunea, CEO Corporate Intelligence Agency.

Competitive intelligence services account for about 301TPTP3T of the entire corporate intelligence market in Romania, estimated at around €10 million in 2020.

Currently in Romania, the biggest appetite for competitive intelligence services in Romania is among international companies operating in highly competitive sectors, such as investment funds, banking, insurance, insurance, retail and energy companies. At the same time, more and more managers are realizing the importance of allocating resources in this respect and value prior information, due diligence and objective market knowledge.

"In terms of the evolution of the competitive intelligence market in Romania, the outlook looks very good - beyond a greater understanding of the beneficial effects of these services, we have also seen increased investment interest, especially from foreign investors. With Brexit, but not only for this reason, we have seen a lot of investors looking at the opportunity to invest in Romania or move their business here. It is exactly in such a context that we expect to see a dynamic growth of the competitive intelligence market, as services of this kind are at the basis of a correct and informed decision-making process, and at the basis of a sound and efficient risk management policy", Gabriel Zgunea adds.

What needs companies have when using competitive intelligence services

Identifying vulnerabilities is one of the main needs of companies, and this is why they turn to enhanced due-diligence, especially for investments. This is a complex service that covers all the potential vulnerabilities or problems a company may face when considering a new investment.

In addition to this due-diligence time, companies frequently use competitive intelligence services to get to know their business partners or to get to know a key person who is of particular relevance to their business, or might be in the future - such as a key employee. These background check services are targeted and designed to help companies remain compliant with the rigors of their internal policies, such as "know your partner" policies.

"In M&A projects, after we have intervened in the due-diligence process, legal teams have been called in to modify the contractual clauses, following the identification of elements unknown at that time by the partner, consultant or lawyers involved in the transaction, or the transaction has been suspended, and sometimes even canceled, because it was deemed that there was too great a financial or reputational risk. In terms of risk management, after our intervention, the partner restructured the company, changed processes/procedures in the organization, ceased working with employees involved in occupational fraud activities or terminated partnerships with suppliers of goods/services suspected of non-compliant practices and other activities," says Dan Rusu, Senior Partner Corporate Intelligence Agency.

Also, more and more companies are turning to this kind of services just to improve their risk management capabilities. This is competitive risk, which is particularly relevant when companies are considering launching a new product, when a new competitor emerges, or when they are considering restructuring their business strategy.

Corporate Intelligence Agency is a risk management company dedicated exclusively to the business environment, specialized in identifying potential vulnerabilities, risks or business opportunities of the companies that use its services.

Corporate Intelligence Agency offers premium solutions in Applied Intelligence, Competitive Intelligence and Risk Management, using the latest tools and technologies, along with the dynamism, creativity, and especially the very high level of expertise in the intelligence field of the experts in our team.