Abstract
One of the drivers of both strategic planning and success in the marketplace is the role of competitive intelligence systems (CIS). CIS activity and its value to consumer/competitive intelligence are well established. In a survey of a broad cross section of firms, it was found that two thirds of the companies indicated a dramatic increase in level of activity and nearly three fifths (54%) said the impact of marketing intelligence systems (MI) contribute heavily to tactical and strategic decision making (Lackman, Lanasa, and Saban, 2000). Small and medium enterprises (SME’s) traditionally have neglected CIS partly because of the cost and the complexity. However, a low cost, less complex tool is operative in an SME as illustrated in this paper. An integral part of CIS is forecasting capability which needs to be built into a CIS in order to effectively serve strategic planning. This paper specifies the basic elements of a CIS and the forecasting modules required for the system’s effectiveness, including the external and internal modules of a basic CIS and the forecasting models needed to support each CIS module in an integrated format all feasible for an SME