Business Geomatics & the Power of Location Economics

How you ever wondered how Canadian Businesses decide where to locate?

Many of us do not realize but a number of factors are involved when businesses establish new locations, quite often it is dependent on what product or services they offer or produce, however these days more and more are taking advantage of the ‘Power of Location Economics’. Location economics, unlike product differentiation strategies (where products or services are created different in order to attract more customers), addresses economic activities such as where people are located in order to produce or sell similar products in an existing market while maximizing their accessibility and profits.

Over the past decade or so the GIS and Geomatics industry has been rapidly evolving and has crossed over into virtually almost every other industry and market, to the point where most people quite often do not even realize that they are using some aspect of geomatics. A common trend happening everywhere these days is ‘data mining’ where more and more information is being requested by users. When you stop and think about it … almost every time you apply or signup for something, you are always asked to provide some personal information, which almost always includes your address ( … the key to connecting any information spatially).

The majority of the time, the amount of data collected is not really required for the actual task but needed to take advantage of the ‘Address’ component, not a new concept but one that is certainly monopolized more these days. Over the past few years address data, has become the basis of almost all data sets and many organizations collect this data but never know how to utilize its full potential. Think about it for a second, almost every time you fill out a form, you are asked to include your address information, but have you ever wondered why?

We live in an increasingly society where everyone has a smart phone and location is key. Knowing where your customers, clients, prospects, vendors, infrastructure and assets are located can help you make better business decisions while being more competitive. To stay ahead you need to be sure your location information is accurate and precise.

Over the next few weeks Canadian GIS & Geomatics will be looking more into the ‘Power of Location Economics’ with several featured stories related to how enterprise leverages geographic data for the purpose of obtaining customers, managing assets, evaluating competitors, and identifying new opportunities. We will be examining some location based geospatial products, talking with some Industry Leaders, recommending some related education programs and identifying ways that you can benefit more from something that you probably already have.

Check back to this page over the next few weeks as new features will be linked below or subscribe to our updating service and you will get an email reminder every time a new post is added.