Commercial information is a combination of information and data on the activities of the enterprise, its organizational structure, external and internal relations, production technologies and the range of products, as well as other issues related to its activities.
What relates to commercial information
Without systematic and regular provision of the organization with all kinds of data, its work will become impossible. The following information is referred to as commercial information:
- data on the external environment of the enterprise (market, legislative standards, as well as the activities of competitors);
- internal information (on production activities, reserves, as well as bottlenecks);
- information about consumers of the organization’s products and services (their financial capabilities, as well as age, national, geographical composition, and so on);
- information about competitors, namely, the range of products, sales methods, and price policy;
- information on goods and services that are sold on the market (qualitative, quantitative composition, as well as cost);
- market price data;
- information on sales and distribution channels of products, as well as mechanisms for bringing them to the final supplier;
- advertising materials, as well as information about their effectiveness.
Main components
The following components of commercial information can be distinguished:
- business (refers to working with counterparties);
- scientific and technical (describes innovations and production technology);
- production (planned and actual indicators of output);
- management (organization of enterprise management);
- marketing (market information);
- financial (cash flows).
Distribution of commercial information
Information in commercial activities can be disseminated in two main ways:
- through periodicals - in the form of specialized magazines and catalogs (it is worth noting that they need to be constantly updated as the situation in the enterprise changes);
- by creating electronic databases, which can contain both comprehensive information for each enterprise, and detailing of individual areas of their commercial activities.
It is important to understand that commercial information includes both publicly available and private data. The first include contact details of the organization, the names of its leaders, areas of production and other activities, as well as information about some assets. As for classified data, they are determined by the organizational form of the enterprise (this can be information about loans, partnership agreements, production technologies, etc.) and cannot be disseminated.
Types of Commercial Information
Information of a commercial organization is divided into several varieties:
- open public data (this may include registration and contact information of the organization, its activities, as well as the range of products or the list of services provided and other points that the company management does not consider it necessary to hide);
- information intended for regulatory authorities (we are talking about a variety of reporting forms);
- only direct management of the company and a limited circle of employees have access to classified information (this refers to production technology and materials used, contractual relations, as well as other information that is a trade secret).
The role of commercial information
Commercial information should be reliable and relevant to ensure the smooth operation of the enterprise, and in particular - its managerial link. It allows you to correctly assess the current situation and take appropriate measures.In modern conditions, commercial information is of particular value, because it is characterized by a number of advantages:
- makes it possible to constantly analyze the economic and production situation;
- used in the preparation of plans, forecasts, as well as at the control stage; timely receipt of reliable information gives the organization a number of competitive advantages;
- allows you to find out the attitude to the company from both customers and partners and competitors;
- constant monitoring of the situation in the internal and external environment;
- a sufficient amount of information about the company in the public domain improves its image and increases the level of trust;
- allows you to make timely adjustments to the strategic goals of the organization; reduces the risk of loss.
Sources of commercial information
Commercial information can be obtained from the following sources:
- marketing research (can be carried out independently, and you can also use the information provided by partners and contractors);
- internal documentation of the company (various kinds of reporting, as well as current documents that are issued to confirm the conduct of production operations);
- external sources (statistical information of special services, organizations and agencies, which is published in periodicals and is in the public domain).
Classification of Commercial Information
It is worth noting that commercial information is rather heterogeneous. In this regard, the following classification was developed:
- Based on time:
- retrospective (allows you to assess the situation that prevailed in previous periods to adjust future plans);
- current (gives an idea of the current results of activities);
- forecast (determines the estimated state of the organization in future periods).
- Regarding the stage of making management decisions:
- stating (describes the current situation at the enterprise as a whole, as well as in its individual units);
- explanatory (necessary to understand the factors that led to a particular situation);
- planned (gives an idea of the future state of the enterprise);
- control (allows you to assess the compliance of current indicators with the declared).
- In scope:
- general (contains data on the enterprise as a whole);
- local (describes the state of individual structures and units of the organization).
- In accordance with the purpose:
- planned (used to determine future indicators);
- accounting (recorded in documents to fix the current state of affairs);
- regulatory reference (used to bring production processes in line with the rules);
- statistical (allows you to track the dynamics of indicators over the past few periods);
- marketing (describes the situation on the market).
- By frequency of receipt:
- discrete (arrives with a certain periodicity);
- episodic (acts at a time, if necessary);
- continuous (used to monitor the current situation).
Commercial information and trade secrets
There is a separate category of data that cannot be disseminated, but can only be used by a limited circle of employees. This is a category such as confidential commercial information. This is documented information, access to which is limited not only by the internal charter of the company, but also by legislative standards.
It is worth noting that such concepts as commercial information and trade secret cannot be equated. The latter is protected by regulatory legal acts. We can say that state legislation gives an entrepreneur the right to classify a number of information about the activities of his organization.This is due to the fact that the publication of some data can cause serious material damage. Thus, we can say that a trade secret carries a certain value and benefit to the entrepreneur as long as it is not known to third parties. However, their concealment should not harm society.
Trade Secret Information
The following categories of data can be classified as trade secrets:
- scientific and technical information (production technology, equipment design, inventions, patents, software products, methods of organizing work at the enterprise; technological plans);
- technological information (design drawings, chemical formulas, plans for production and output);
- financial information (pricing algorithm, profit received from product sales, Bank operations and financial flows);
- business information (terms and conditions of contracts and contracts, organizational issues, information about contractors, commercial correspondence).
What can't be a trade secret
The following business information cannot be classified as confidential:
- documents relating to constituent, as well as registration and permit certificates;
- financial statements that are submitted to the tax and other regulatory authorities, as well as data showing solvency;
- information on the number, structure and composition of personnel, as well as the level of remuneration and compliance with its safety standards;
- data on the sale of potentially hazardous products to humans, as well as documents confirming compliance with antitrust laws;
- data on whether officials are involved in entrepreneurial activities.
Protection of commercial information
In order to prevent the spread of confidential data, enterprises use certain means. The following protection may be provided to commercial information:
- development of specific instructions that explain to employees the features and rules of working with data;
- appointment of persons responsible for maintaining trade secrets;
- the creation of a control system in accordance with which workers will be allowed access to certain data;
- a mandatory moment is the signing of documents on non-disclosure of trade secrets with each employee;
- introduction of a system of additional incentives for employees who deal with classified data;
- automation of information security system;
- continuous control by management.
Unscrupulous methods of obtaining commercial information
The set of data on the internal and external environment of the enterprise is commercial information. A number of enterprises may try to obtain it by dishonest methods:
- dissemination of data by employees themselves (knowingly or unintentionally);
- blackmail of management or employees with access to relevant data;
- provocative or leading questions during conferences or presentations;
- identity theft;
- covert surveillance (independent, with the help of employees or through special equipment);
- recruiting employees from a competing firm;
- bribery of employees;
- wiretapping or intercepting messages.
findings
The use of commercial information largely determines the effective functioning of the company. This is a complete set of information about the activities of the enterprise, which is used by the head to make managerial decisions, as well as external users in order to get acquainted with the organization.
It is worth noting that commercial information can be both open (accessible to everyone, without exception), and closed (which can only be used by a certain circle of persons).At the same time, the legislation clearly regulates the list of data that cannot be classified. As for the concealment of certain facts, it should not harm society.
In order to protect commercial information, the organization takes certain measures. So, the circle of persons who have access to it is limited, and an agreement is signed with employees on the inadmissibility of disclosure. Responsibility is disclosed for disclosure of confidential data. Automation of the information security system using modern computer technology is a priority. However, management must also personally monitor this issue.
