Avoid relevant sector intelligence at your cost. It is crucial in the information age and something that others - your competitors - will be good at.
Regardless of where you are in the supply chain the importance is clear. Knowing your current position, sector structure, driving forces, competitor positions and, especially, behind-the-scenes competitors and special customer/supplier relationships is crucial.
It is crucial to survival.
Assembling and analysing sector intelligence has to be an ongoing process - the same as for any national security agency.
KGP's tentacles for information gathering are global as the world's largest automotive supplier found when it asked for intelligence on a key sub- sector component in its automotive business.
Professional private sector investors fully understand the importance of in- depth sector intelligence before committing funds, often in areas that may be relatively new to them. An opportunity for a major aluminium diecasting company to invest in a new cylinder block process technology led it to engage KGP to gain an understanding of the new sub- sector outside its current experience.
Sector intelligence is also vital for public sector agencies. Inward investment or export potential from or to different parts of the world are critically dependent on the way relevant sectors and sub-sectors work in different parts of the world. The intelligence has to extend into all levels of the supply chain and the positioning of the OEMs are of major significance as KGP clients among the UK's regional development agencies have been able to allow for in assessing potential.
Automotive sub sectors that we have analysed in the 20+ years of our existence include:
· Aluminium diecasting;
· CGI casting;
· LIght duty vehicle transmissions;
· Engineering Services;
· In-vehicle safety technology;
· Heavy duty driveline aftermarket;
· Mobile energy storage.
The above is not an exhaustive list.