At the Information Resource Centre of Bell Northern Research's Ottawa laboratory, information services are provided at three levels. Level I is transactional and reactive, uses a narrow range of sources, and is delivered on a queue basis (ready reference, basic searching, SDI). Level II service is transformational and proactive, information is filtered and synthesized, results are assessed for relevance and packaged to enhance access and usability (targetted alert services, in-depth research, customised resources and databases). At Level III, information professionals collaborate with users, sharing strategic goals and in-depth knowledge of the competitive environment. Customers are decision makers and executives who demand timely and focused information. Information is tracked, analyzed, highlighted, and delivered in memos, presentations or spreadsheets (in-depth competitor analysis; technology and patent tracking; market intelligence and analysis.
Gib, Andre and Eileen Walraven. 1992. Teaming Data Management and Competitive Intelligence Professionals: An Approach that Provides a Competitive Advantage. In Professional Papers from the 83rd Annual Conference of the Special Libraries Association held in San Francisco, CA, June 6-11, 1992, 128-138. Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association.
At McDonnell Douglas, corporate librarians and competitor intelligence analysts teamed successfully to analyze the advanced manufacturing capability of a competitor in order to present to management an assessment of the competitor's probability of launching a certain product within a time frame and attaining a set of design and technology objectives. The participants concluded that the multidisciplinary approach multiplied the respective strengths of both the information specialists and the intelligence analysts and provided the firm with a competitive advantage.
Linder, Jane C. 1992. Today A Librarian, Tomorrow A Corporate Intelligence Professional. Special Libraries 83, no. 3 (Summer 1992): 142-144.
At Digital Equipment Corporation, one corporate library evolved into a Marketing Information Services Group that consisted of a team of librarians, other information professionals, and marketing consultants who develop corporate intelligence, conduct their own market research, and provide insight on strategic marketing issues. The group also established a videotext information system that linked more than 10,000 sales and marketing staff throughout the US.
Mori, Akio. 1994. The Toshiba Business Information Center Moves Toward the Virtual Library. Special Libraries 85, no. 4 (Fall 1994): 277-280.
The Toshiba Business Information Center has successfully integrated the use of computer, networking, and electronic media technologies to enlarge its role from simply storing information to gathering, value-adding, and distributing information. The Center provides an electronic information tool on the end-users' desktops that allows them to access the latest news, journal articles, government reports, and many other sources. All the information in this database is customized by the Center staff who know which information should be directed to which group of users. The Center staff read articles and reports as soon as they are available to select relevant items, assign key words, and add them to the database Ñ with a turnaround time that is much shorter than any commercial database service. Press releases, overseas news, and government announcements and reports are faxed to the center immediately after release. Their headlines are captured by an optical character reader, and original images and charts are kept in an optical file system. Users scan the headlines and request for needed images which are then transmitted by fax, allowing them to obtain information even before it appears in newspapers. Mori concludes that the Center could not have been successful without two elements:
"professional expertise and technology. The Center staff's intensive knowledge and ability enables them to establish a 'filter' to select and organize information on behalf of the CenterÕs users. The Center staff consistently strives to identify information needs within the Toshiba Group or even in respective divisions. . . . Secondly, the [Center] would not function without today's technologies such as OCRs, optical filing systems, LANs, and e-mail systems." (p. 279-280)
Dommer, Jan. 1991. Maintaining the Competitive Edge at Upjohn Company. Inside Business (Spring/Summer 1991): 13.
At Upjohn, staff from clinical pharmacology and two internal libraries formed a Products and Markets Information Research Team. The team synthesized information from commercial databases and internal sources to provide timely and accurate information to assist management decision making about resource allocation in response to competitors' actions.
Prusak, Laurence and James Matarazzo. 1992. Information Management and Japanese Success. Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association/Ernst & Young.
This study covered corporate libraries and information centres in eight large Japanese companies in banking, electronics, insurance, manufacturing, research services, and telecommunications. The study's principal findings highlight the differences in approach towards information management between these successful Japanese firms and the conventional view of corporate libraries in western companies. First, Japanese firms place a tremendous value on information and do not feel the need to justify information management expenditures. Second, business information, events, and situations are perceived and presented in their contextual settings. Third, the mission of the information function is closely aligned with the strategic thrust of the organization. Fourth, information technology is seen as an enabler of information management, not the primary component. Fifth, the management of the information function is alternated among all company managers. Sixth, Japanese management reads. The researchers saw senior executives actually reading in their corporate information centers and libraries. Japanese executives regard reading as a necessary component of managerial work, and are not embarassed to be seen reading during the business day.