Intelligent Supply Chain Management with Automatic Identification Technology

RFID-enabled business models are proposed in this chapter to innovate supply chain management. The models demonstrated benefits from automatically captured real-time information in supply chain operations. The resulting visibility creates chances to operate businesses in more responsive, dynamic, and efficient scenarios. The actual initiative of such novel RFID enabled applications is therefore to encourage intelligent supply chain management to dynamically respond changes and events in real-time. As the RFID implementation costs are continuously decreasing, it is expected that more novel business models would be inspired by the technological advancement to foster more intelligent supply chains in the near future.

Understanding Key Intelligence Needs (KINs)

This chapter explains how to translate an organization’s strategic aims into key intelligence needs (KINs) and how to prioritize and categorize the needs. It argues that an essential aspect for any competitive intelligence (CI) professional is to gain the confidence of management to determine what information about the environment should be collected in order to produce intelligence. Furthermore the author hope that understanding how to determine a set of KINs as derived from an organization’s vision, mission, and strategic objectives and how to break down KINs into general and specific KINs will assist CI professionals to understand what their internal customers want to know about, need to know about and should know about and why, when they need to know it, and who needs to know it by identifying KINs. The application of KINs in a practical situation is illustrated in a case study of a South African company in the furniture industry.

Using Grid for Data Sharing to Support Intelligence in Decision Making

This chapter is about conceptualizing the applicability of grid related technologies for supporting intelligence in decision-making. It aims to discuss how the open grid service architecture—data, access integration (OGSA-DAI) can facilitate the discovery of and controlled access to vast data-sets, to assist intelligence in decision making. Trust is also identified as one of the main challenges for intelligence in decision-making. On this basis, the implications and challenges of using grid technologies to serve this purpose are also discussed. To further the explanation of the concepts and practices associated with the process of intelligence in decision-making using grid technologies, a minicase is employed incorporating a scenario. That is to say, “Synergy Financial Solutions Ltd” is presented as the minicase, so as to provide the reader with a central and continuous point of reference.

Knowledge Creation and Sharing

Strategic intelligence involves examination of internal and external organizational environments. Of course people inhabited each of these environments. Whether they are customers, allies or employees, these are not standardized units but real human beings with personal histories, perspectives, and opinions. Recent research and practice have led to the development of relatively complex methods for inquiry which can be applied by human analysts and which recognize contextual dependencies in a problem situation. One such method, the strategic systemic thinking framework, is outlined in this chapter. The purpose of complex analysis in relation to strategic intelligence is not, in our perspective, decision-making—it is developing an ability to make informed decisions. Until software tools could not support recently complex methods, since the limitations of traditional mathematical algorithms constrained their development. We suggest a model, which lays the foundations for the development of software support and can tolerate the inherent ambiguity in complex analysis, based on paraconsistent (multivalued) mathematical logic.

Supporting Executive Intelligence Activities with Agent-Based Executive Information Systems

This chapter examines the theoretical underpinning for supporting executive intelligence activities and reviews conventional studies of executive information systems (EIS) over the last two decades in responding to the current executives’ information processing needs and the current Internet era. The reviews suggest the need for designing advanced EIS that are capable of responding and adapting to executive information. This chapter recognizes the necessity of revitalizing EIS with advances in intelligent technologies and Web-based technologies. Empirical studies were conducted to elucidate executives’ desires and perceptions of the prospect of agent-based technologies for supporting executive intelligence activities in the more integrated and distributed environment of the Internet. Based on the insights gained from empirical studies, this chapter concludes by presenting a three-level agent-based EIS design model that comprises a “usability-adaptability-intelligence” trichotomy for supporting executive intelligence activities.

An Ontology-Based Intelligent System Model for Semantic Information Processing

In the context of increasing usage of intelligent agent and ontology technologies in business, this study explores the ways of adopting these technologies to revitalize current executive information systems (EIS) with a focus on semantic information scanning, filtering, and reporting/alerting. Executives’ perceptions on an agent-based EIS are investigated through a focus group study in the UK, and the results are used to inform the design of such a system. A visualization prototype has been developed to demonstrate the main features of the system. This study presents a specific business domain for which ontology and intelligent agent technology could be applied to advance information processing for executives.

Gaining Strategic Intelligence Through the Firm's Market Value

This chapter uses the market value to assess the different factors and actors that influence the firm performance. The market value of a company, obtained from the stock exchange, can be used to both, detect and measure the impact of elements of the role, market, and far environment. The empirical application analyzes the hospitality industry that is currently facing an increasingly complex business environment: apart from the terms uncertainty, complexity, and dynamism that shape the environment, in this industry the concepts of munificence and illiberality are strongly applied. This procedure can aid in scanning-related activities, as the analysis shows that environmental events are recognized quite well.

Leveraging What Your Company Really Knows

Strategic intelligence is about having the right information in the hands of the right people at the right time so that those people are able to make informed business decisions about the future of the business. Thus, in order to improve a company’s strategic intelligence process, management must take a critical look at how effectively they manage information. Effective information management requires specific information-processing practices, employee behaviors and values, and technology. The information orientation (IO) framework is a tool that managers can use to determine the company’s level of effective information management and to identify areas where they can make improvements. By achieving IO maturity—aligning processes, people behaviors, and technology practices with business strategies—a company can derive a competitive advantage and future leadership. IO mature companies are most successful at collecting and openly sharing the strategic intelligence that their employees need in order to successfully monitor and proactively react to future market trends or events.

Bibliometry Technique and Software for Patent Intelligence Mining

This chapter introduces the bibliometry treatment techniques as a way to obtain elaborated information for competitive intelligence experts. It presents various bibliometry treatments using software able to analyze patent databases as well as commercial database extracts or Web information. With the growing complexity of science, technology, and economy it is of a prime importance for decision makers and strategists to have the best possible view of their environment. The bibliometry analysis provides different ways to cross information, build lists, charts, matrices, and networks. In the process of knowledge creation the bibliometry analysis can be used to provide new set of information from large mount of data. This information can be used for brain storming, SWOT analysis, and expert evaluation.

The Nature of Strategic Intelligence, Current Practice and Solutions

This chapter discusses the nature of strategic intelligence and the challenges of systematically scanning and processing strategic information. It reveals that strategic intelligence practice concentrates on competitive intelligence gathering, non-competitive related intelligence have not yet been systematically scanned and processed. Much of the intelligence is collected through informal and manual based systems. Turning data into analyzed, meaningful intelligence for action is limited to a few industry leaders. The chapter proposed a corporate intelligence solution, which comprises of three key intelligence functions, namely organizational-wide intelligence scanning, knowledge enriched intelligent refining, and specialist support. A corporate radar system (CRS) for external environment scanning, which is a part of the organizational-wide intelligence scanning process is explored in light of latest technology development. Implementation issues are discussed. The chapter develops insight of strategic intelligence, and the solution could significantly enhance a manager’s and a company’s sensibility and capability in dealing with external opportunities and threats.