Environmental scanning is a process of conducting a research (Primary or secondary research) and gathering external environment information or industry analysis. External environment includes competitor analysis, customer analysis, supplier analysis, industry analysis, government analysis and other external factors and entities.
The external information is used to formulate strategies to capitalize on external opportunities and reduce the impact of external threats.This is the main reason for identifying, evaluating and monitoring external opportunities and threats. Majority of organizations spending millions of dollars to obtain external information. Indeed, this information helps to get to know about external factors which are important for success.