|
|
|
GIS in retail marketing & distribution
Rakesh Verma
ComputerEyes Infosystem Pvt. Ltd.
Even as technology advances and business needs propel corporate India towards a new era of interdependency, CE Info Systems Computer Eyes- has its mission clearly drawn out : we create software products which are used to build business solutions that vastly enhance the competitiveness of our customers. Computer Eyes' core competence lies in enabling operational business solutions using advanced spatial technologies. Computer Eyes has developed the software tools, development methodologies and the business knowledge to conceptualise, develop. Deploy and support such applications.
Our flagship product, Mappls, is a platform that integrates a GIS engine with traditional RDBMS capabilities, enabling high-performance, high-availability, enterprise-wide solutions with full spatial capability. Major applications based on Mappls include such business-critical systems as major multinational companies' distribution and other operational systems. The development of the Mappls product has proven that we are one of the very few software companies in India with the ability to implement a successful software product development process and develop a mature and dependable product.
The success of Mappls has underlined the critical role that GIS-based systems can play in the competitive conduct of modern business. Let's examine why GIS capabilities are so crucial to business. A system that understands that the real world in which a company goes out into the market to distribute and sell a product makes the companies much closer to the real world than is otherwise possible.
Consider the following self-evident, axiomatic statements: Customers buy from shops that are near their homes. Shops serve a certain area around their location. Distribution is cost effective when trucks follow logical routes. The operative words in these statements are 'near', 'area', and 'routes'. Each of these words has a spatial meaning, that is, they refer to a geographical relationship. Isn't it obvious that the business software that is used to manage sales and distribution should be able to deal with such concepts? And, if it can do that, it will be of great competitive advantage? But obviously, conventional business software cannot. All it can do is answer textual and numerical questions like which shop has the highest sales or which sales territory has the highest growth. GIS software like Mappls, in contrast, can solve real world problems like which areas of the city are more than 2 km from any shop selling my products? How many households does a particular shop serve? What is average household income in the areas that this shop serves? What route should my distribution trucks take to minimise delivery cost and time?
Maools, is a platform that integrates a GIS engine with traditional RDBMS capabilities, enabling high-performance, high-availability, enterprise - wide solutions with full spatial capability
Spatial software like Mappls combines a conventional database with a spatial database that can store and understand maps as well. Mappls-based applications can thus that an address is location in a city, and has the capability of figuring out whether a given address is in one area or another. It also incorporate other map concepts like roads; the capability to calculate distances and areas as well as figure out routes optimised according to any criteria.
|
|
|