Abstract:

Against the background of European integration and globalisation of the aerospace industry competitive intelligence receives new significance. More than ever before good knowledge of one’s competitors is essential if one wishes to succeed in the market. Structures such as those existing in the aerospace industry which are becoming more and more complex make it increasingly difficult to keep all relevant areas of competition under observation. In addition a global company spread over various locations suffers from a growing lack of transparency in its internal knowledge base and with a flood of external information swelling by day. This paper describes the structure and process of competition analysis at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) which enables the competitive scene to be kept under continuous observation and events relevant to the company’s competitive position to be identified and announced in an early-warning system. The paper shows how it is possible to build such a system. The central area of activity is the formation of competitor working groups operating across the borders of individual departments.