MS - Supply Chain Management: Company information

Need Help?

About company information

When researching a company, there are several variables that determine:

– How much information you'll likely find
– Where you can look for information

The Getting Started links below discuss that.

Below that are starting points for finding two types of company information: financials and analyst reports, and SWOT reports.

Getting started

If you're new to company research, below are three quick questions to ask about your company. The answers will help determine where to look for more information, and how much information you can expect to find.

–   Is it public or private?
–   Is it a parent or subsidiary company (company headquarters vs. division or unit)?
–   Is it a US or foreign company?

Use a directory database to find the answers!

Finding financial and analyst information

Two major resources ... Notes about how and why they're useful below.

Refinitiv Workspace: this database contains the largest collection of sell-side analyst reports -- the After Market Research module (aka AMR or Investext). It also contains market research reports from publishers such as MarketLine and more. Good international coverage. Beware the download limitations!
➤ Instructions on searching in AMR and how to make the most of your download allowance.

Mergent Online: this database is aimed at the academic world. But it has one feature that is unique (unless you have access to FactSet!): the Supply Chain reports. Available now for US and international companies, these provide a 360º view of a company: culling information from SEC/disclosure filings, trade literature and other sources, it provides a view of a company's competitors, suppliers, customers, its place within its industry, and more.

Mergent Online from Mergent This link opens in a new window
Provides information and data on U.S. and international companies, including annual reports and SEC filings, institutional holdings, FactSheets, Supply Chain reports, etc.
Supply Chain reports cover US public companies primarily in the tech, biotech, and financial sectors. They include information on competitors (by product), customers, market structure, and more. The information is drawn from SEC filings, trade articles, and more. Formerly called Horizon Reports.
Workspace from LSEG (formerly Refinitiv Workspace) This link opens in a new window
Individual account registration required. More information on linked page.
Chrome and Safari are the recommended browsers. Intro training videos available here.
For public companies provides: financial data; annual & other reports/filings; analyst & market research reports; M&A, new issues & syndicated loans data. Coverage: ~12,000 US companies & ~41,000 non-US companies.
Download limit of 150 pages / 24-hour period for After Market Research module (aka AMR or Investext).
Formerly called Thomson ONE.

Finding SWOT reports

SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Easy: SWOT reports are easily available in two databases:
– Business Insights - Essentials has reports from Global Data.
– Business Source Premier has reports from MarketLine.

Harder: Refinitiv Workspace also has SWOT reports in its After Market Research collection (aka AMR or Investext), but they can be harder to get to.

SWOT analysis comes from the literature and discipline of strategic management, and is concerned with planning for the future of the firm. So while investment analyst reports almost always cover public companies only, SWOT reports will sometimes also cover large private companies. For more about strategic analysis and planning (for which SWOT is but one tool), read this entry on strategic planning tools in The Encyclopedia of Management.

Gale Business Insights from Gale This link opens in a new window
Has company SWOT reports from Global Data for larger public companies. Start with a company search, and if a SWOT report is available for your company, you'll see a link to it from the Company Profile.
Formerly: Business Company Resource Center.
Business Source Premier from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Searches business publications; includes company, country, and industry reports. Good coverage of scholarly business publications. Mostly 1984 - present.
In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for nearly 1,570 journals. This database contains popular business publications such as Business Week, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review, and hundreds of scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. Also included is Wall Street Words, a dictionary of financial terms, linked directly to words within the citations and full text. Full text backfiles go as far back as January of 1990, while indexing and abstract backfiles go as far back as January of 1984.

Canadean Company Reports in ABI-Inform Trade & Industry
- This link opens in a new window
The company profiles contain SWOT analyses. Current only through February 2017. Covers selected industries only.
more...less...
A sister company to MarketLine. Industries covered:
• Advertising Agencies
• Consultancies and Financials
• Consumer Goods
• Foodservice
• Ingredients
• Packaging and Processing Machinery
• Retailing
MarketLine company reports (in Bus. Source Premier)
Includes profiles of company products, management and SWOT analyses.
Recommendation: select "Match any words" under search textbox for better, more comprehensive results.

Workspace from LSEG (formerly Refinitiv Workspace) This link opens in a new window
Individual account registration required. More information on linked page.
Chrome and Safari are the recommended browsers. Intro training videos available here.
For public companies provides: financial data; annual & other reports/filings; analyst & market research reports; M&A, new issues & syndicated loans data. Coverage: ~12,000 US companies & ~41,000 non-US companies.
Download limit of 150 pages / 24-hour period for After Market Research module (aka AMR or Investext).
Formerly called Thomson ONE.

Timetric reports in ProQuest's ABI-Inform Collection
This London-based publisher provides SWOT reports for larger companies and 'capsules' for smaller companies. Good coverage for non-US companies; current through July 2018 only.