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GIS-Based Distribution Network Management for Agricultural Businesses
An underlying principle of successful business is acquiring knowledge related to the whereabouts of assets and demands, analyzing this information, and using it to provide an optimized strategy to deliver where existing and future business opportunities are located.
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Crop input manufacturers use market demand models based on existing sales information and factors of influence to routinely predict future production requirements. Such companies provide primary inputs, such as fertilizer, seed, pesticides, and equipment, but can also offer services, for example, agronomic consulting, human resources for specific seasons (i.e., harvest times), and others.
The term "supply chain" describes the final outcome of the above outlined steps. If a business were to implement a GIS, benefits would include maximizing replenishment efficiencies. What this means is that by calculating current and future demand for a product that requires delivery to a specific location, losses incurred by material being stored for too long at the wrong location could be minimized. A more efficient distribution network would also affect the life cycle of products, reducing them, and thus releasing asset investments and returning profits faster, improving resource accountability, and introducing an enhanced ability to match assets to specific delivery requirements on a time and location basis.
Depending on the size of the agricultural business involved, a scaled enterprise GIS solution can deliver an improved distribution network.