Business ApplicationsBusiness Applications of of GGeographic eographic IInformation nformation

SSystemsystems((GISGIS))Richard G. Born

Operations Management & Information SystemsCollege of Business

Northern Illinois UniversityDeKalb, Illinois USA

October, 2008

Outline

Introduction to Business Geographics Business Geographies and Censuses Case Study: Walgreens Drug Stores GIS Software: Microsoft MapPoint Business GIS Projects at the Northern

Illinois University College of Business

Why Study Business GIS Systems?

It is estimated that 80% of all corporate data has content that is geographic.

GeographicGeographic

What is “geographic content”?

Postal CodePostal Code

Telephone NumberTelephone Number

CityCity

State/Region/District/ProvinceState/Region/District/Province

CountryCountry

Street AddressStreet Address

… any data that has location information and could be plotted on a map.

Why 80% geographic content? Manufacturers Suppliers Shippers Customers Stores Warehouses/distribution centers Financial institutions Stockholders Competitors

… any entity that is of interest to a company has address information that can be mapped.

The time has come to …

…treat geographic data as an organizational assetasset

…realize the value of geo-information as a key business driverbusiness driver

…easily spot trends, patterns, and trends, patterns, and opportunitiesopportunities that are difficult with traditional techniques

…provide an excitingexciting way to view and analyze business information

Which is more enlightening?

… this table of data

Which is more enlightening?… or this map

…

Why are businesses slow at adopting GIS solutions? Many executives are unaware of

the existence of business GIS Benefits of GIS are largely

intangible GIS cost vs. perceived value is

not obvious GIS vendors do not educate

mainstream business on how to demonstrate the power of GIS

BusinessRules

Customer Database

Census Information

Customer Profile

Report

Direct M

ail Campaigns

SHARP RISEIN SALES!!!

…why slow at adopting GIS? GIS tends to be implemented at the bottom

layers of a company – by the worker bees Relatively few universities have business

schools with courses in business GIS

Notable exception…NIU’s College of Business

Business GIS Courses at NIU

OMIS 679. BUSINESS GEOGRAPHICS (3)OMIS 679. BUSINESS GEOGRAPHICS (3)Examination of geographic information systems development and use from the perspective of contemporary business. Extensive computer laboratory work designing specific geographic systems using commercially available software. CRQ: OMIS 652 or consent of department.

OMIS 379. BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF OMIS 379. BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (3)GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (3) Examination of leveraging an organization’s spatial data to analyze and solve business problems. Extensive computer laboratory work designing business geographic services using commercially available software. PRQ: GEOG 256 or OMIS 351, or consent of department.

In what department within a typical company does GIS belong?

Marketing – customer penetration study

BusinessRules

Customer DatabaseArea demographics

Postal Codes for nextDirect Mail Campaign

IT DepartmentServer requirementsDatabase developmentPlanning and networking

Finance Department

BusinessRules

Customer Database

Dissemination of MAPS showing

Sales, Revenue, andProfitability Information

…which department? Planning Department

Growing new marketsGrowing the customer baseAdding locations for:

○ Stores○ Warehouses○ Distribution Centers

Operations Department

Supply Chain GISIdentify areas

needing optimization

GIS can greatly benefit virtually every department within a company!!!

Business Value By Layering

Business Value By Layering

Business Value By Layering

Business Value By Layering

Patterns, Opportunities, New questions?

Business Geographies (United States)

Business Geography

Total Number

Typical # of Households

States 51 1,862,745

MSAs 303 250,000

Counties 3141 30,245

ZIP Codes 41,940 3,167

Census Tracts 61,257 1,551

Block Groups 226,399 420

Carrier Routes 556,821 171

Blocks 6,500,000 22

ZIP + 4s 28,000,000 10

Government Census Every 10 Years

Business Geographics (Austria)

State (Bundesland)

District (Bezirk)

Municipality (Gemeinde)

Advantages of Census Taking Age Population Education Employment Ethnicity Expenditures Households Housing Income Levels

Industry Marital Status Occupation Transportation

Travel timeCommute time

Vehicles Ownership Crime Weather …..

Political Structuring in Bosnia and Herzegovina

2 Major Entitiesand the Brcko District

10 Cantons 137 Municipalities

*Maps from Wikipedia

Significant Fact: Last official census in 1991

Case Study: Walgreens A major U.S.

pharmacy chain 7,000 stores

planned by 2010

5 million customers/day

583 million prescriptions in fiscal 2007

Typical store:14,500 sq. ft. (1300 sq. m.)

Staff of 25 – 30 peopleAnnual sales $8.5 million

Pharmacy, photo lab, cosmetics, general merchandise

Walgreens New Location Targeting

Determine 10 potential locations for a new Walgreens store in Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA)

Walgreens New Location Targeting

New sites cannot be less than 1 mile from an existing Walgreen store

Proposed locations must satisfy the following criteria:Prescription potential within a mile must

exceed 250 prescriptions/day Total daily intersection traffic must

exceed 20,000 carsThe fewer the competitors the better,

based upon supply and demand

Most important

Least important

Business Rules -- New Store Criteria

Walgreens New Location Targeting

1 Mi Rx/Day

Total Intersection Traffic

Competitors

337

279450

288

41K

32K

56K

23K

12

20

1

23

4

12

34

2

2 3

4

Potential4=High, 1=Low

12

3

3

9

12

2

68

2

2

4

After Weighting

X 3 =

X 1 =

X 2 =

6

4

3

20

1313

15

OverlayUsing ADD

HIGHEST VALUES

HAVE HIGHEST

POTENTIAL

Walgreens New Location Targeting

Walgreens New Location Targeting

One mile buffers are constructed around existing stores.

Walgreens New Location Targeting

Daily Block GroupPrescription Potential

Daily IntersectionTraffic

What factors affect the daily prescription potential?

Walgreens New Location Targeting

A Look at GIS Software Pricing

Microsoft Has Changed the Competition Has the know-how to price its desktop product

MapPoint affordably. Has made MapPoint easy to learn and use. Targets decision makers, not those who

create/maintain complex GIS data. Developed MapPoint Web Service (for

corporate internet mapping applications) Affordably bundles demographic data with

their software.USA Geographies include states, Metropolitan

Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, ZIP codes, and census tracts

MapPoint’s Two VersionsMapPoint North America MapPoint Europe

United States Demographic Data

Streets and Roads for: Canada Mexico United States

Demographics for: Austria France Germany Great Britain Italy Netherlands Switzerland

Streets and Roads for many countries in Europe (but not Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Location-Enabled(understand location and how to process it)

Location-Aware (Real-Time)(application is also aware of its own location)

Disconnected(location information

and processingframework are all

on the hostcomputer’s hard disk)

Connected(network connectivity

is essential—location information

and processing framework are on a

remotely locatedhost service)

MapPoint 2009•Thematic mapping of corporate data

•Corporate territory management•Demographic mapping of census data

•Determining shortest/fastest routes

MapPoint 2009 Interfacedwith a GPS Device

•Real-time navigation•Real-time location-based information logging

MapPoint Web Service•Hosted by Microsoft

•Global location-based applicationsthat work for multiple countries

•Store finder•Best route to store•Find competitors

•Maintain custom points of interest

MapPoint Location Server•Hosted within your enterprise

•Enables real-time location scenariosusing locatable devices

•No GPS hardware/software needed•Finding nearby ATMs, restaurants,

motels, gas stations•Calculating driving directions

based on current locationand real-time traffic conditions

Disconnected, Location-enabled Projects ESRI ArcGIS Projects

Rockford MidTown DistrictBridges of RiverMistFamily Shelter ServicesSubaru Chicagoland District Sales

MapPoint ProjectsPlanned Parenthood AdvocacyAffordability of Homes in Kane and McHenry

Counties in Illinois

Rockford MidTown District Agency to make this area of

Rockford, IL a safe and enjoyable place to live and operate a business

Develop a GIS that would aid in trending, forecasting, and justifying its marketing and development plans

Crime maps help assess the effect of social programs to reduce crime rates.

Major lesson learned – the most difficult part of developing a business GIS is obtaining the data from the constituent parties. City government Police department Other agencies

RockfordMidTownDistrict Adding

features to a map: Streets Block

groups ZIP codes

Labeling features

Inserting Titles Legend Scale bar

Creating pie chart to show demographics

Bridges of Rivermist New subdivision in

DeKalb, IL (home of NIU) Goal was to produce maps

that could be used to market lots on the Web

Learning activities GPS collection of

control point data Heads-up digitization of

lots, streets, and ponds Joining corporate data

to geographic parcels Students had the feeling of

accomplishment in being the first to create a map of a new subdivision.

DuPage County Family Shelter Services An organization in

Illinois that provides shelters for immediate safety for domestic violence victims and their children

Goal was to determine the best location for a new shelter

Students learned: Joining corporate

data to spatial data Clipping features Creating map layers Creation of

graduated symbols Preprocessing of

data in Excel pivot tables

Subaru of America Automobile Sales

Subaru wanted a map that could be used to analyze sales in its Chicagoland districts

Students learned: How to create

Subaru defined territories by dissolving ZIP codes

Joining Subaru sales data to ZIP codes

Planned Parenthood Advocacy (PPA) An advocate of

reproductive rights and health issues wherever public policy is discussed

To better focus marketing efforts, requested maps to show clients by U.S. Congressional Districts

Students learned:How to geocode addresses to

the street levelHow to import ESRI shape

files (e.g., U.S. 108th Congressional districts) into MapPoint via COM add-ins

108th Congressional Districts and PPA Clients

Affordability of Homes in Kaneand McHenry Counties in Illinois

Affordable—any home selling for less than or equal to the median selling price

Major finding—clusters of affordability

Students learned: Importing an Access

database into MapPoint

Aggregating data by using shaded area maps

Geocoding addresses

Connected, Location-enabled Projects A result of rapid increase in the use of

smart phones and pocket PCs Aided by advances in Visual Studio

2005 and 2008, including mobile application development on a pocket PC emulator.

MapPoint Web Service applications:Walgreens Store LocatorPocket PC Mapper

Walgreens Store Locator

Visual Basic Windows or ASP.NET project

Makes use of the MapPoint Web Service

Pocket PC Mapper

Built using Visual Basic 2005/2008

A pocket PC Device Application

Makes use of the MapPoint Web Service

Can find places as well as addresses

GIS methods are ideal for solving many business problems.

GIS allows you to analyze and visualize business problems in unique, effective new ways.

Biggest challenge in Bosnia and Herzegovina – obtaining current demographic data normally available through periodic censuses