Maps have progressed from being just a visual depiction of geospatial information to a full-fledged Visualization + Analytics + Data Management platform. The ability to query large and complex geospatial datasets and obtain meaningful insights in quick time platform can be greatly attributed to the advances in computing. With advances in wireless communication (5G and others) expected to trigger an industrial revolution of sorts, it would not be far-fetched to imagine that the capability of Mapping Technology could assume Minority Report proportions.
Mapping technology is quite powerful in its present form as well - one can optimize an entire Supply Chain Network with it. Here's a video presentation on how General Motors (GM) goes about doing so. With help from training material, I aim to highlight some of the basic, yet useful capabilities of Mapping Technology for Logistics Planning in this post.
For Upstream Planning: Consider any organization which is into the manufacturing of packaged food products - Cornflakes, for example. The manufacturer can procure the raw material (maize) from any of the multiple farmers located near its factory and the Logistics cost is likely to be directly proportional to the distance the material has to travel. Let me demonstrate how mapping technology which aids in such decisions-
Geospatial Tool used - Multiple Ring Buffer
Initially, I plotted the farmlands from where the organization can procure its raw material from as well as the location of its four Manufacturing units on the online mapping software. Subsequently, I created distance intervals from the factories at 15, 30 and 50 kilometers respectively using the Ring Buffer tool - as represented by the circular rings in Figure 2 above. This simple visual analytics helps an organization to determine which group of farmlands can be prioritized for raw material procurement based on its proximity to the nearest factory.
Geospatial Tool used - Create Drive-Time Areas
While Ring Buffer tool calculated distance based on Euclidean principle i.e. straight-line distance between two points, you know that in reality, the time taken to travel between two locations depends on parameters such as road connectivity, terrain and traffic. The Create Drive-Time Areas tool helps address this aspect - from the four factories, I have generated the maximum area coverage possible, within 45 minutes, driving a transportation truck in any direction.
As you would observe, the Drive-Time output from the four factories are not similar, unlike the Ring Buffer output. Essentially, where there is good connectivity, more distance can be covered within the stipulated time, and vice versa. The distinction and importance in logistics planning lies in the fact that while two Farmlands may be located within a 15 kilometer Ring Buffer from two different factories, but 45 minutes would not be sufficient to reach one of them whereas the other one can be accessed in that time-frame due to better road connectivity.
For Midstream Planning: Let's say, the manufacturer is facing a disruption. Under normal circumstances, processed packages of corn flakes are transported from the factory to the organization's two warehouses. However, due to heavy rainfall and ensuing floods, one warehouse has become inaccessible and therefore, a temporary storage location needs to be shortlisted and set up urgently.
The larger wagon wheel in the figure above represents the location of the only functioning warehouse whereas the two smaller ones represent the temporary sites that the manufacturer has to evaluate and choose one from. When one uploads geospatial information (site coordinates) onto the mapping software, one can attach non-geospatial information to each feature - also known as Attributes. For example, if you refer to the Attribute table of the temporary site's wagon wheel at the bottom of Figure 5, you can see that the capacity and cost (of hiring) the warehouse is embedded. This information wasn't there at the outset - it was sourced separately into the software and attached to the site location using the Summarize tool.
The Sum Output column, on the other hand, was computed using the Combine tool - it represents how many packets of corn flakes can be transported to the temporary warehousing site (based on which factories are located within the Ring Buffer displayed and their respective production capacities, taking into account the warehouse's own capacity as well).
As you would concur, the visual output of a map stimulates a new perspective of looking at the location decision in a balanced and a holistic manner. This aspect is a major advantage over analyzing only spreadsheet-based output.
Using the Summarize and Combine tools, the corn flakes manufacturer can accommodate several other Attributes to address important questions such as-
How much capacity should the temporary warehouse have?
What are the tradeoffs involved for cost v/s capacity of the temporary warehouse?
How much Safety stock to be kept at the temporary warehouse to account for potential disruptions in the future?
Should the organization choose to set up a new permanent warehouse instead considering the risk profile of the now-inaccessible warehouse and/or because of the company's growth plans?
Refer my detailed demonstration on this topic - Supply Chain Modelling - here.
For Downstream Planning: Now the manufacturer wishes to optimize the Logistics flows from its two warehouses to its seven wholesalers. He owns two trucks for transporting the finished goods - one stationed at each Warehouse respectively. These trucks need to make all the deliveries scheduled for the day and return to the factory at the end. Also, it is known that layover at each wholesaler location lasts twenty minutes.
Geospatial Tool used - Routing ServicesÂ
Routing is a mathematical technique for network optimization problem statements - you may have done this manually during high school. I will deploy the same methodology, albeit from the comforts of the online mapping software, to derive an optimal Logistics Schedule for the Wholesaler deliveries from the two Warehouses. Having fed the constraints/criteria listed previously onto the Routing tool, the final output is generated as depicted in Figure 7 above. The red rhombuses are the Wholesaler locations and the green and purple lines signify the Transportation routes for Truck 1 and Truck 2 respectively, from Warehouse 1 and Warehouse 2 respectively, to the designated Wholesalers derived optimally, and back.
The Routing tool minimizes the overall Transportation time (which is directly proportional to the Transportation Cost) in order to identify the optimal logistics schedule through which each Wholesaler order can be fulfilled using the available resources (2 Trucks). Alongside the visual depiction, new Attributes are available which form the Route Plan details.
For example, the Attribute Table/Route plan of Truck 1 (the purple route) is generated as below-
It is possible to add several other constraints to the Routing model - for example, Type of Freight, Vehicle Dimensions, Carbon Footprint, Demand Seasonality, Reverse Logistics, and so on. One can even factor in real-time data such as Live Traffic, New Customer Orders and Disruptions to the model as well. The capabilities of modern geospatial platforms to visualize, manage, analyze, and optimize Supply Chain Operations are truly immense - here is a repository of the available geoprocessing toolboxes which aid users in drawing meaningful insights from Location Datasets.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India announced the massive Financial Package in his address to the nation on May 12th this year (2020), he stressed on the importance of Supply Chain eight times during his speech! This reflects the importance he places on Supply Chain efficiency for a successful India in the post-Covid world order. Mapping Technology, in my view, represents a scientific way of accomplishing this objective. Happy to be of service👇.
ABOUT US
Intelloc Mapping Services, Kolkata | Mapmyops.com offers Mapping services that can be integrated with Operations Planning, Design and Audit workflows. These include but are not limited to Drone Services, Subsurface Mapping Services, Location Analytics & App Development, Supply Chain Services, Remote Sensing Services and Wastewater Treatment. The services can be rendered pan-India and will aid your organization to meet its stated objectives pertaining to Operational Excellence, Sustainability and Growth.
Broadly, the firm's area of expertise can be split into two categories - Geographic Mapping and Operations Mapping. The Infographic below highlights our capabilities-
Our Mapping for Operations-themed workflow demonstrations can be accessed from the firm's Website / YouTube Channel and an overview can be obtained from this brochure. Happy to address queries and respond to documented requirements. Custom Demonstration, Training & Trials are facilitated only on a paid-basis. Looking forward to being of service.
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