That is quite a common question already present in the corporate literature. It leads to several types of answers, almost all of whom are connected to corporate approaches concerning the markets where companies are.

Conducting a Google search for “Market Intelligence”, we found over 127 million results. A quick analysis of the first 50 results revealed: 24 who linked market intelligence to artificial intelligence and big data; another 23 were results linking market intelligence to information about client, to sales processes and market research; other 7 results related to competition analysis; 3 results concerned corporate procurement; 2 results related to business scenarios’ management; 1 lead to a blog about advertising and marketing, while 1 dealt with stock exchange. Nonetheless, not a single one dealt with Market Intelligence as a powerful integration of information that links clients and suppliers of a certain industry. It is exactly about such a specific approach that we talk about in this text.

In 1979, Professor Michael Porter published in the Harvard Business Review for the first time his Five Forces Model of Competitive Strategy. That is a concept widely discussed in various forums connected to business strategy – from congresses and seminars to executive training and MBAs, including academic papers and PhD thesis. Like all theoretical models, Porter’s Five Forces Model has admirers and critics, but I don’t consider an overstatement to say that most of big corporations has heard about it and/or make use of it in their internal discussions about competitive strategies of their companies.

The Porter’s Five Forces Model are: 

1. The existing industry rivalry,

2. Threat of new entrants,

3. Threat of substitute products or services,

4. Power of suppliers,

5. Power of clients,

It is the integration of information from the last two forces within a specific industry which supports our definition of Market Intelligence.

When analyzing the bargaining power of clients in a specific industry, it is necessary: to map and analyze their opportunities and to know how big they are; to understand the role of the diversification of clients and to make a critical analysis of each of those, besides the making an analysis of each client’s future plans, in order to be able to design possible futures for this client in the industry.

Analyzing the bargaining power of suppliers, it is required: to acknowledge their capabilities; to have domain on the characteristics and types of contracts; to evaluate the payment conditions of each type of contract and the financial strength of each supplier, in addition to knowing quite well how to release invitations and to analyze bid results to have the better supplier for your project. In addition, obviously, of being able to design short-term, mid- and long-term scenarios which take into consideration analyses of tendencies about new technologies and innovation processes in a specific industry as a whole – including the inter-relation between clients and suppliers.

Following this approach, Market Intelligence does not deal with debugging of an enormous quantity of data through the use of digital technology tools, nor of looking at clients separately, or suppliers alone; it does concerns itself with the combination of structured information about clients and suppliers of a specific industry and of how their integration may bring advantages, profitability and businesses sustainability for both.

During the last 18 months, the sector of Brazilian industrial services has gone through an “earthquake” which destroyed its bases. Many highly qualified service providers stopped operating and many clients of such services lost references about their suppliers. Nonetheless, many of them managed to follow the market ups and downs and design possible futures which allowed them to overtake the “storm”. It was possible to open these new paths only with the joint work between service providers, associations, confederations, and clients. The storm is not over yet, although it is possible already to observe results that this powerful approach of Market Intelligence can bring about. It was a harsh experience and, at the same time, a great learning opportunity.

In May of this year, upon completing 4 years of existence but holding in the baggage other almost 40 years of experiences by its partners and consultants, BrainMarket initiated its brand repositioning and, starting in September of 2021, to position itself as a consulting company which operates in the interface between clients and suppliers in the Brazilian industrial services, and launch its redesigned trademark, with the inclusion of "Market Intelligence".

For us, Market Intelligence is the ability to read market signals in an integrated manner and to apply those for the benefit of organizations and for the development of the industry.