Erik Glitman

For most of my career in competitive intelligence, the hardest part of the work was getting the information. Finding it, verifying it, and putting it in front of a decision maker before it went stale. That problem has not gone away, but it has changed shape. AI can now surface in seconds what used to take an analyst days. Which raises a new question for everyone in this field: if gathering is getting easier, what is the CI practitioner actually for?

In the CPG world, competitive intelligence is often focused on the obvious: pricing, packaging, distribution, and marketing. All important, but incomplete. What truly differentiates leaders in this space is understanding how competitors actually produce what they sell.

Today’s business environment, markets shifts happen almost daily. New competitors appear out of nowhere, and customer expectations change overnight. For leaders, making smart decisions isn’t just beneficial—it’s make-or-break. That’s where competitive intelligence (CI) becomes a strategic advantage.