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Geospatial data is key to logistics, including for the huge increase in e-commerce we are experiencing following the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown.

The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works. — Jeff Bezos

This past year has been a boon for the e-commerce industry. It increased from 4% of retail sales a decade ago and pushed past 20% in 2020, reaching nearly $800 billion — a 32% jump in 10 years.

Online businesses climbed to all-time highs. A few examples stand out. Amazon’s stock increased in value 83% over the course of last year. That type of growth happens with startups and small-cap companies but is usually unheard of with large blue-chip stocks.

Along with Amazon’s growth last year, FedEx had $69 billion in annual sales. DoorDash, an e-commerce food delivery company, has a market valuation of $45 billion, making it larger than Domino’s Pizza, Texas Roadhouse and Yum! Brands combined; and Yum! Brands owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

The e-commerce global trend in online sales is expected to reach $4.9 trillion in four years based on only 2.14 billion online shoppers. That is less than one-third of the world’s population. There is a lot more room to grow. This past year moved the trend several years forward.

Where are all those goods stored?

Photo: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jasen Moreno-Garcia/U.S. Navy

Each consumer requires an average logistics space of 35 square feet. In the United States alone, there are more than nine billion square feet of warehouse space, and when online sales increase another 10% it will require 3 to 4 billion square feet more of space to keep up with demand.

The increase in freight driven by this trend is captured in the chart below published by the Federal Reserve, with data provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The blue line is increasing freight transportation services, while the red line indicates on-hand inventories.

As transportation increases and becomes more reliable — a reflection of the overall health of the logistics supply chain — the amount of on-hand inventory decreases, allowing sellers to free up space and save money, or offer greater variety knowing that stocks can readily be backfilled.

However, when inventories get too low, the system is subject to severe supply shocks, making prices more sensitive to the law of supply and demand. The grey-shaded areas on the chart are economic downturns officially recognized as recessions.

 If delivery took six-to-eight weeks these days, it would signal a crisis somewhere in the world.

21st-century logistics

Goods from global corporations now arrive at each customer’s doorstep. This is 21st-century logistics. Home delivery in two days or less is the expectation. The compression of time in this industry is astounding when compared to “the way things used to be.” The way things are compared to the way things used to be reminds me of hearing my grandparents talk about life before automobiles.

Back in my day, ordering from a catalog required calling the company and speaking to a representative. The call had to be made from a corded landline, and long-distance charges might apply. If ordering a gift for someone in the household, it was difficult to be clandestine with everyone nearby. The other option was to mail in an order form. Either way, delivery took a minimum of six to eight weeks, and sometimes more. If delivery took that long these days, it would signal a crisis somewhere in the world.

Screenshot: VesselFinder

Fighting an epidemic with GIS

Knowing where to pre-position supplies ahead of anticipated demand is a geospatial problem. Most think of this in terms of sales to customers and deliveries ahead of seasonal demands, but many countries in the world are facing this dilemma right now figuring out the best way to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. That challenge is taking place in your own community and has been a long-standing public health challenge.

Beginning in the mid-2000s, geospatial information systems (GIS) were brought in to help control outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus. In 2014, I took a Penn State geospatial intelligence course. The final exam addressed the geospatial challenges of fighting an epidemic. Theoretically, it was difficult to get the required goods to the right place at the right time. But now, it’s not an exercise, and getting it right is not an option.

If you have received the COVID-19 vaccine, you can appreciate the pharmaceutical industry for developing vaccines in record time. However, getting the vaccines to everyone is a logistics challenge, and GIS is the unsung hero. Logistics is the life blood of empires — it is the game of kings and generals. With it, wars are won and commonwealths prosper; without it, empires crumble to dust.

How Geospatial Data Guides the Goods

Back to the traditional understanding of supply chains from seller to buyer. The needs of the buyer are simple: faster, better, cheaper. For the seller, it is much more complex, and considerations deal heavily with location.

• Where is the best place to have a distribution center?
• Is it more important to be close to a multi-modal transfer station, or to population centers, or are land prices more important?
• What about access to highways?
• What are the trade-offs in delivery times being further away from the population?
• Is the trade-off worth it for the cost of land and lower taxes?

Geospatial data can answer all of these questions, even going so far as to run “what-if” scenarios.

At the local level, transportation logistics schedules the most efficient routing to deliver more packages along the shortest path. This saves time and fuel, as shown in the image below using Maptitude software. Radiuses can also be calculated based on drive times instead of distances.

Caliper truck routing software can be used for planning deliveries that account for vehicle capacities, time windows, multiple depots and more. (Image: Caliper)

Navigation routing applications are dynamic, and pick-ups are automatically routed to drivers while out on delivery runs. Dynamic routing avoids delays such as accidents and road closures.

This same type of technology is used for emergency services to respond to a call. Ambulances, police and fire trucks all use dynamic routing to get to distress calls as soon as possible.

Global transportation logistics also need to account for international laws and regulations as cargo passes through each country. These regulations can be onerous, but the logistics industry has worked out the legalities to ensure a seamless, uninterrupted flow from ship to train to airplane to truck and to final delivery. It is symbolized by the universal 40-foot international shipping container standardized throughout the world.

At each facility, inventories are tracked. Each item passing through receives a time and location stamp. Estimated delivery times are sent via text message to your mobile device or email. When the item is out for delivery, it is possible to watch it on a map as the delivery truck makes its way towards your location. When the item is delivered to your doorstep, a picture of it is sent to your phone with an alert that the package was delivered.

Only a few days earlier, the manufacturer — perhaps on the other side of the world — placed the item in a box and taped it shut; even though you ordered it in your language, the order received by the manufacturer was in their language. The package started its journey to you at the next scheduled pickup, maybe within an hour of you placing the order. Shortly afterward, your order was on a ship or an airplane. As you went about your usual business, the incredibly efficient system of e-commerce sped your package around the world to deliver it to your doorstep.

Logistics has undergone a revolution built upon the most advanced technological innovations: robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, mobile devices, cloud computing, electronic payment processing, and a vast geospatial framework.

In fact, it is a continuously operating, seamless, geospatial mesh running on a global scale across all time zones that allows the industry to function. Every aspect of the logistics supply chain relies upon GIS in some way, from land, air and sea navigation from global location-based systems down to inside a warehouse for storage and retrieval of merchandise. Modern-day logistics is a geospatial industry connecting goods and services to consumers, putting the GIS in lo-gis-tics.

Image: U.S. DOT

Can GIS predict the future?

Regarding whether GIS can predict a market correction… I’ll not make a prediction, but the Transportation Services Index (TSI) for March is due to be released today, May 12. If it is down from February, it would mean two months of back-to-back decline. April’s numbers won’t come out until June. However, here is an indicator of where things currently stand. The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, CA, the largest shipping ports in the United States is five days behind schedule, which is down from over 10 days in January.

The TSI is a leading indicator of the economy. When 20% of sales are online in a consumer-based economy, the wellbeing of the commonwealth is measured one delivery at a time.

“Trade isn’t about goods. Trade is about information. Goods sit in the warehouse until information moves them.” — C. J. Cherr

William Tewelow

William Tewelow works for the Federal Aviation Administration. He is a graduate of the FAA management fellowship program. He served on special assignment to the U.S. Department of Transportation leading a national strategic geospatial initiative for the White House Open Data Partnership. He is a Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) and a speaker for the Maryland STEMnet Scholar program.

He was among the first in the nation to earn a Geospatial Specialist Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor while working at NASA Stennis Space Center. He has degrees in Geographic Information Technology, Intelligence Studies, and is completing a masters degree in Organizational Management.

William is a 23 year veteran for the U.S. Navy serving as a Geospatial Specialist, Imagery Intelligence Specialist, a Naval Aviator, a Meteorologist, and a Tactical Oceanographer. He is married, enjoys writing and traveling.

His favorite quote is, “A man’s mind changed by a new idea can never go back to its original dimension.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

<p>The post Can GIS predict an economic recovery? first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Mobile GIS Services (MGISS) has been awarded a place on the United Kingdom government’s procurement platform G-Cloud.

Designed to ease the procurement of cloud services by the public sector, the G-Cloud 12 framework makes it easier for customers to find, review and contract MGISS’s advanced geospatial software services through an online digital marketplace. Managed by Crown Commercial Services, it is forecast that successful suppliers, such as MGISS, will receive up to £2 billion in business.

In a parallel achievement, MGISS has also been accredited as a supplier of software, hardware and support services to the utility sector by the supplier assurance company Achilles.

A specialist in mapping and geographic information technology, MGISS also is working alongside organizations such as United Utilities and Northumbrian Water Group and it is hoped that successful qualification under the Achilles UVDB pre-qualification system will help MGISS gain further traction within this sector.

MGISS has also attained the Workplace Wellbeing Charter. Recognizing a commitment to improving the lives of its team members, MGISS received accreditation across a number of facets including leadership, health and safety, mental health and absence management.

“Although recognizing completely different aspects of the business these awards are all significant milestones and accomplishments in their own right and the entire team should be proud of the hard work and commitment they have expended to achieve them,” said MGISS Managing Director and Founder Mike Darracott. “The G-Cloud and Achilles accreditation will put MGISS front and center for the leading players within the public and utility sectors and this will help us capitalise on our work to date with organizations such as Surrey County Council and Wales and West Utilities.

“The Workplace Wellbeing Charter not only recognizes our existing commitment to the health and wellbeing of our team it also gives a benchmark to work from and a toolset to work with to continuously improve,” he continued, “and a happier and healthier workforce will, we hope, make the business even better and stronger.”

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Image: nadla/E+/Getty Images

By Akshita Pacholi
Allied Market Research

With advantages provided by geographic information systems (GIS), the demand for GIS in the telecom industry has increased in recent years. According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global telecom market is anticipated to garner $3.27 million by 2023.

GIS has fortified the telecom industry by reducing costs and augmenting capital planning. GIS mapping can improve outage prediction, resource management and infrastructure determination.

GIS also can help the emerging economies for independent energy, efficient infrastructure, and enhanced communication systems. GIS provides imagery, geocoding, modeling, routing and the required data for these applications.

GIS is rising in popularity as it eases access to critical sources of business intelligence.

Impacts in the telecom industry

GIS mapping supports telecom companies with factors such as enhanced customer service with location data and imagery, efficient resource dispatch, and prompt sharing of location data. This enables telecom industries to track locations and have a better understanding of service layout.

GIS mapping lets companies know the geospatial relationships of their facilities, resources and ground features, and provide faster and more effective customer service.

GIS also helps identify faulty circuits. It can help model the solution online and offer best-case scenarios, resulting in improved operations and enhanced customer service.

GIS mapping also helps the sales and service team understand their targets by tracking multiple layers of geospatial data and providing insight into the customer base.

Information on network structure

Almost every telecom company focuses on offering effective, functioning networks, along with network monitoring, testing of network elements, maintenance and customer services. The real-time network structure offered by GIS solutions enhances these monitoring and service activities.

With GIS, networks get instant access to information such as customers’ history and rank, current network structure, signal quality in precise demography, and any need for maintenance or restoration of services. Moreover, GIS makes the services more reliable and fast.

GIS solutions are also beneficial for determining market demand for future estimations. GIS offers a better understanding of the relationship between customers’ topographical presence and companies’ marketing operations. It helps companies identify networking issues and easily reach customers, along with offering information on other issues.

With its precise geography, GIS helps telecom companies meet service demand and develop budgets for promotional activities and marketing campaigns.

Enhancing telecom services

With computers and mobile devices a necessity for most of us, many telecoms want to expand to provide services in rural areas — a major reason for their adoption of GIS.

Another motivator is the surge in demand for augmented reality and virtual reality, part of the increase in the adoption of GIS for mobile and broadband services.

Smart Cities. GIS provides a platform that works with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, networks, databases, fault management system and wireless location. The demand for growth also depends on the rise in demand for satellite images by companies that provide maps and an increase in government spending to develop and build smart cities.

Moreover, the rising use of technology, the internet, and other digital platforms in rural areas has sparked companies to expand their services.

With companies focusing on broad network coverage, greater connectivity and emerging innovations such as 5G, the field of mobile telecommunications technology is anticipating opportunities to expand market growth.

Akshita Pacholi has a master’s degree in English literature and is working as a content writer with Allied Market Research. 

<p>The post GIS helps telecom industry meet new demands first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: Blue Marble Geographics

Blue Marble Geographics has released version 2.1 of its mobile mapping application Global Mapper Mobile, with updates to both the free and Pro versions.

Global Mapper Mobile is an iOS and Android application for viewing and collecting GIS data. It utilizes the GPS capabilities of mobile devices to provide situational awareness and locational intelligence for remote mapping projects.

A complement to the desktop version of Global Mapper, the mobile edition can display all of the supported vector, raster, and elevation data formats and offers a powerful and efficient data collection tool. The latest release includes improvements to its vector feature styling, terrain layer support, and layer transparency setting.

For advanced field mapping functionality, the latest release of the optional Pro version (available for purchase) introduces advanced GPS support. This allows users to connect to external, high-accuracy Bluetooth GPS devices from vendors such as Bad Elf and EOS, among others, directly from Global Mapper Mobile, allowing users to access detailed information including the current satellite constellation, precise location information and the raw NMEA stream.

“Global Mapper Mobile v2.1 brings exciting new functionality to the application, much of which was highly driven by user requests and feedback,” said Jeffrey Hatzel, senior application specialist at Blue Marble Geographics.

Blue Marble’s GIS software is used by hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers throughout the world who need affordable, user-friendly, yet powerful GIS solutions. Users come from a wide range of industries including software, oil and gas, mining, civil engineering, surveying, and technology companies, as well as government departments and academic institutions.

Visit the website to learn more and download Global Mapper Mobile v.2.1.

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Screenshot: FoodFinder

The non-profit 211 LA County and Slingshot Aerospace have unveiled an online mapping tool that allows users to quickly identify and locate more than 2,000 food resources within the county during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

211 LA County is a non-profit organization providing the official information and referral source for health and human services in LA County. Slingshot Aerospace is a situational intelligence platform company,

The customized tool, called 211 LA FoodFinder, is powered by Slingshot Earth and is the biggest and only food map that allows LA residents to search for resources by location and view services specific to seniors, children and others, enabling individuals to find aid near them faster. Resources within the FoodFinder are free, with the exception of those with suggested donations or delivery service fees.

LA County residents will be able to identify different types of available food resources, such as child nutrition, meal services, groceries/food pantries, senior food needs and government food benefits programs.

The platform also provides location details, hours of operation and contact information for each of the services. 211 LA County is currently experiencing a tenfold increase in website traffic related to food resources compared to pre-COVID timeframes.

The organization anticipates the robust application to service nearly 30,000 LA County constituents over the next quarter, many of which may not have prior experience with food assistance.

“Food resources are the biggest need people are contacting us about since the COVID-19 pandemic hit LA County,” said Maribel Marin, executive director, 211 LA County. “With so many people out of work, the need for food is going to get progressively more intense, but people shouldn’t worry because there are lots of resources and ways to access them. Our custom Slingshot Earth food locator provides our community with a one-stop-shop for food resource information, helping to provide peace of mind to those who need food assistance during this unprecedented time.”

211 LA County’s customized Slingshot Earth mapping tool aggregates food resources and service data from multiple public and private sources so that individuals have the right information, at the right time, all in one place. The data is verified and updated regularly to ensure that Los Angeles County residents have the most up to date information as guidelines and offerings continue to evolve.

“This work to help 211 LA County provide critical food service information in our community is so meaningful to us because we are driven by a vision to create a safer, more sustainable world,” said Mel Stricklan, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Slingshot Aerospace. “Our business was founded on the idea that information is power, especially in complex situations. The COVID-19 pandemic is uncharted territory for all of us, and we are happy to do our small part in navigating these tough times by providing essential information to those who need it most.”

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The new digital clinometer and attitude attribute type available in Touch GIS. (Image: Touch GIS)

Touch GIS has introduced a digital clinometer tool to assist field geologists in recording strike and dip readings.

Version 1.3 of the app also features a new “attitude” attribute type, which makes it easy to record and display these readings on the map.

“We’ve been testing these new features with a number of field geologists, and we’re excited to finally be launching it broadly,” said Joe Wilson, head of products at Touch GIS. “While Touch GIS is valuable for a wide variety of field data collection, we’ve found that it’s especially popular with geologists.”

As more and more field work is being done on mobile devices, it’s important to integrate them onto a single platform for collecting and sharing field data. Touch GIS has a mission to provide the most robust data collection featureset for mobile field mapping.

Touch GIS also features powerful file support for industry-standard types, offline mapping capabilities, and accurate drawing tools for points, lines and polygons.

Touch GIS has a free tier that allows users to explore a majority of its features. Premium subscribers can cache maps for offline use and export collected data.

The app is available free for download on the Apple Store.

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Image: Shomiz / DigitalVision Vectors /Getty Images

Sand Studio, a mobile device management (MDM) solution provider, is offering AirDroid Business Geofencing, a location-based solution for businesses to monitor and track device location, automate tasks and receive notification alerts in one place.

With geofencing, organizations that have vehicles, personnel or valuable assets in the field can use tracking data and workflows to enhance security and optimize operational efficiency.

Geofencing integrates seamlessly with AirDroid Business’ easy-to-use yet powerful device management solution, enabling IT managers to apply different configurations to existing or newly created device groups at any time.

Adding to the existing location tracking feature, AirDroid Business Geofencing brings new capabilities like geofencing, path tracking, automated workflow, logs, and notification management.

Geofencing: Location-based technology where a customizable virtual fencing zone can be created for devices that are coming in and out of a predefined area on a map. Single devices or groups of devices can be added to multiple profile zones for different scenarios, which provides flexibility and more control over deployed devices.

Path Tracking: Admins can track a device and see its extensive path history. This allows for an in-depth analysis by combining time and location. For instance, admins can track a delivery truck and see if it has deviated from the assigned route, analyze the data, and improve operational efficiency.

Workflow, Logs and Notifications: Workflows work together with geofences. Triggered by a device entering or exiting a geofence, workflow will activate automated tasks such as device locking and factory reset. Working side-by-side with workflow is log management, where point of time, device activity, device status and events can be filtered to spot abnormal activities or insights for improvements.

“With mobile transformation continuing to take place in every industry, more businesses and organizations are deploying mobile devices in the field. However, they are also faced with the challenge of managing these devices,” said Anson Shiong, CEO of Sand Studio. “To help with this transition, AirDroid Business’ focus on remote device management and the new geofencing solution will help businesses maintain security and operational efficiency. These new features are designed to monitor and track remote devices with precision from anywhere in the world.”

Geofencing is beneficial to a range of industries such as medical and health institutions, public agencies who need to track people at risk in situations like the coronavirus outbreak, transportation and logistics companies that need specific details on fleet activity, corporations that disseminate company devices with confidential information, food delivery services and more.

The new tracking capabilities ensure consistent employee productivity levels as well as enhance security by knowing where the employees and devices are while also enabling confidential materials to be remotely wiped from a device when outside of the safety zone.

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Photo: Trimble

The Trimble TDC150 handheld is a new field computer designed for GIS data collection, inspection and management activities.

The TDC150 provides users with a rugged device that has the flexibility of a handheld, a modern interface with open Android operating system, and scalable high-accuracy positioning for professional field workflows.

The TDC150 provides advanced GNSS capabilities in a durable, ergonomic and lightweight form factor. With a built-in GNSS antenna, the TDC150 is a scalable solution that allows customers to choose their desired accuracy. Easy-to-use and carry in the field, it features a bright 5.3-inch sunlight-readable touch screen and an all-day battery for continuous work on the jobsite, the company said.

The handheld comes with Google Mobile Services certification to run Google core applications and access thousands of apps on the Google Play Store. Professional GIS field applications, including Trimble TerraFlex software — a cloud-based solution that enables users to easily collect, manage and edit their geospatial feature data — are supported, as well as Trimble Penmap for Android software and Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS mobile app.

A new innovative TerraFlex workflow uses the TDC150’s onboard rear-facing camera to capture features. This visual aid shows users when the camera and receiver are aligned over features, enabling horizontal centimeter accuracy when holding the device.

“The mapping and GIS industry, including utility companies, local government, and environmental management agencies, look to Trimble for continued innovation,” said Rachel Blair-Winkler, business area manager for Trimble Mapping & GIS solutions. “Adding the ability to get the level of horizontal accuracy required in a handheld configuration without the need for an external pole and antenna, and the new camera-based data logging workflow, gives our customers the flexibility to accomplish more while out in the field.”

Photo: Trimble

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