This article proposes to address one of the information technologies that is increasingly within reach of small, medium and large Brazilian companies. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), or GIS, from the English Geographic Information Systems, have shown a large growth in the US, around 20% per year. In Brazil, although there are no specific statistics, some specialists estimate that there is a growth of around 30% per year.
The best way to understand the meaning and applicability of GIS is through a common example. Who has never seen a map fixed to the wall demarcating sales areas, or with customers represented by colored pins? Now, companies with this practice can improve the customer analysis process, as well as use a more suitable instrument in the formation of sales areas, not to mention the countless applications that can be executed by GIS.
The treatment of spatial information in the past was carried out basically through the use of paper maps. Nowadays, there are softwares that allow the use of such information to assist in decision making. Analyzes such as how many and which customers are served within a 150 km radius are easily performed by GIS technology. In addition, analysis and thematic maps can be generated using digitized maps containing highways, railways and information on georeferenced data, as can be seen in figure 1. factories. In vehicle routing it is fundamental, as it allows the user to visualize the routes that were generated from an algorithm.
DEFINITION
A very common definition of GIS found in the literature relates this technology to a tool that associates a database with digitized maps. Broader concepts than this one are presented nowadays. A complete GIS consists of at least five components: software, hardware, geographic data, personnel and organization. Assuming that the system is implemented in the company, it is not enough just to have software that works with a database and digitized maps, it is important that there are qualified personnel, an objective in its use and interaction with other areas within the organization. Therefore, GIS is a collection of software, hardware, geographic data and personnel to facilitate the decision-making process involving the use of georeferenced information in the organization.
HISTORIC
The initial idea of GIS was born in Sweden. However, the first GIS was developed in Canada in 1962, being called CGIS (Canada Geographic Information Systems). It aimed to carry out land inventories nationwide, involving different socio-economic and environmental aspects. It only became fully applicable in 1971.
Commercial GIS packages began to be developed in the 70's, mainly in the US and experienced rapid growth in the 80's. Initially, government companies were the main customers for these products. In Brazil it was no different, the main applications were in the energy and environmental sectors.
The market in the 90s was characterized by wide application in the private sector. In the US, the spread was quite intense, since the US government was already concerned with the development of the digital representation of road networks and census zones since 1972, which is fundamental for the growth of this technology. In Brazil, as we will see later, the difficulty with databases is the main factor that inhibits the wide use of the GIS tool.
GIS APPLICATION AREAS
GIS application areas go beyond use in marketing and logistics. These systems emerged in environmental and urban studies, and were then used in the areas of energy, water and sewage, health and population studies. Therefore, it is important to point out that within geoprocessing, the applications mentioned below are part of a specific group.
Due to the importance that spatial data occupy in logistic activity, GIS enable numerous applications. From the use of georeferenced data, several analyzes can be performed in the following areas:
- Marketing Support
In this area, the use of GIS helps to identify the sales potential of different regions. This provides information for possible promotions in less prime locations. In addition, market segmentation can be carried out, because if there is data available on customers with their respective needs (obtained through surveys), differentiated service standards can be established. Spatial vision helps a lot in this regard.
- Market geography – location of commercial points
Currently, GIS technology is widely used in market geography, which has the main aspect in the study of the location of commercial points. This approach has a different scope from the study of the location of factories and DCs. When locating factories and DCs, transport and storage costs have a huge impact. When defining the best commercial spot, issues such as the roadway, traffic signs and other more urban aspects are highlighted.
- Location of factories and CD's / Routing
In this type of study, GIS are used as an interface. The solution of these problems is obtained through algorithms based on mathematical programming. However, the importance that the visual representation has in terms of facilitating the understanding of non-specialists is very great, as can be seen in figure 2, which presents the result of a location study, which determines the number of factories of a manufacturing company. beverages, as well as allocate these factories to distributors. In addition, the GIS tool makes it possible to identify problems in the model response.
- Analyzes of logistic systems and the use of SDSS
It is important to have control in logistic systems already implemented. This can be obtained through GIS. For distributors, for example, several anomalies can be identified (see figure 3), such as: unbalanced delivery regions, inadequate flows, bad consolidation formation, among others.
The use of Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) has significantly increased in logistics. These systems can be defined as decision support using spatial data and are characterized by the conjunction of expert systems with GIS tools. Location and routing software fall within this class. In addition to these, allocation models, sales forecasting, fleet control, etc. can be included.
HOW TO IMPLEMENT A GIS ENVIRONMENT?
It is important to clearly define the use of GIS in solving a problem in the organization. We can basically identify two cases in the application of the GIS tool: when a specialized company is contracted to perform a specific service or when the organization chooses to buy software and databases, implementing the GIS with internal training or with support of consultancies.
The second alternative is being explored more, as organizations are discovering the scope of the tool, doing their own analysis in-house and making their own decisions. This choice depends mainly on the expertise that the company has in the area and on the ability to keep databases up to date. As the market develops, professionals with GIS experience start to appear.
If the option of implementing a GIS in the company is chosen, those responsible for the project must analyze which software and which databases are most suitable for the desired application.
One should also consider the interaction of the area that works with GIS with other areas of the organization. This is important since, in general, the maintenance of databases depends on several sectors. If communication doesn't work well, the entire project could be compromised.
SOFTWARE
In Brazil there is a wide availability of GIS software. They range from desktop mapping to software that has algorithms and is capable of performing tasks, such as: routing, location study, obtaining a distance matrix, among others. Desktop mappings are cheaper than others (they cost less than R$1000) and are mainly used by customer service, sales and marketing areas. They represent about 50% of GIS software sales in the Brazilian market.
The predominance of GIS software is American. On the other hand, Brazilian companies have been developing their products and gaining market share. The main American software have representatives in Brazil. These companies, in addition to representing, are service providers, providing consultancy, selling databases and providing training.
For those who want to know a little more about the main software, the websites of their manufacturers are shown in table 1.
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CURRENT DATA STRUCTURE
Once you have seen the wide availability of software in the market. It appears, on the other hand, that the more intensive use of GIS in Brazil is still limited, most of the time, by the scarcity of reliable and up-to-date databases, both in terms of spatial data (digitized maps) and data demographic and socio-economic.
The main responsible for the official digital cartography and generation of other official bases is the IBGE. Although this body has a plan in this regard, it has encountered difficulties and the speed with which it makes the bases available to the community is quite slow. There is currently a policy of associating with the private sector by providing raster images and receiving vectorized bases in exchange, with which it intends to standardize and facilitate access for all interested parties.
Due to the lack of databases, what has been observed in the Brazilian market is the development of databases by companies that use GIS technology, service providers, city halls, state governments and universities.
Private initiative companies develop a series of isolated projects, which sometimes have the same objective. There is a lack of coordination between them to create bases together.
Service providers, on the other hand, are obliged to carry out mapping and digitization work to meet customer needs. The same occurs with other types of databases, such as demographic and socio-economic profiles.
It is also noted that there is an incredible practice on the part of city halls to carry out projects using geoprocessing. These projects have, in general, as one of their pillars the preparation of a digitized base of the public areas, as well as the lots belonging to the blocks of the locality. This has occurred with great intensity in the interior of São Paulo.
The municipality of Rio de Janeiro has already made the digitized database of the city available on CD-ROM to the population. It contains georeferenced information about the city, such as municipal schools, fire departments, sights and other information related to the city's public places. In this product, the user can insert points, as well as create thematic maps. The negative fact is that the city hall does not provide the raw base so that the community can develop applications in a GIS environment with other software.
There are numerous other examples that demonstrate the isolated and poorly coordinated initiative in the development of databases. This undoubtedly brings duplication of efforts, resulting in higher project costs. The federal government lacks a policy that encourages, regulates and establishes rules and responsibilities with regard to the preparation of databases.
NEW TENDENCIES
What we can perceive as new trends in the use of GIS in logistics is related to the development of products that share GIS technology with specific databases, the use of the internet to convey maps and provide information to customers online and the intensification in the use of SDSS in companies.
The development of new products aims to facilitate the use of GIS resources in the solution of various problems. These products are cheap and easily accessible, and generally provide a desktop mapping along with a specific database. An example of this type of product was recently launched in São Paulo.
The use of the internet to publish maps is already quite common in the USA. This option is adopted because it has a low cost and makes it possible to serve the customer in a differentiated way.
Finally, a significant increase in the use of SDSS in companies is expected. This is justified by the increase in the number of variables, mainly geographic, considered in the analyses. As a result, decisions become increasingly complex and the need to use such a tool becomes fundamental for the company's competitiveness. Some organizations are already adopting the SDSS in formulating strategic planning.
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