Introduction
From seeing potential in linking Mapping with Operations Improvement in 2018 to operating Intelloc Mapping Services - the business entity behind Mapmyops.com full-time post the coronavirus pandemic, I feel excited when I receive responses to my email campaign from prospects seeking to know more about what my firm does, how it could benefit their organization, for addressing a query, or for quoting towards a current requirement. Often, I do get requests for demonstration from prospects - for a drone service trial, web map application, virtual presentation, site visit, and so on.
As there are a wide range of solutions that I offer and given that it is often not viable to provide a custom demonstration free of cost, I prefer to codify useful workflows into an article + video format, post it here on the website, and share the relevant ones which come close to addressing the query with the prospect. Naturally, I feel more inclined to be of service to someone who, by virtue of reviewing the content and knowing how I work, finds the idea of engaging with the firm and exploring a solution to be meaningful & potentially beneficial.
Another advantage of having the workflows (50+) published online is that it attracts student researchers from around the world, some of whom connect seeking to know more about a methodology or to access a particular dataset that I've used. It helps me build my network and I hope to collaborate with a few of them when a suitable opportunity arises, as I have done in the past.
In this post, I will cover these workflows (hyperlinked to their respective section within)-
You'd not be wrong to think that these topics are somewhat disparate. I had developed these workflow demos for different prospects and well-wishers over time. Besides the theme of my work - 'Mapping for Operations' and the headline of this article (which I spent more than an hour to arrive at) there is virtually nothing common linking them. In reality, I could have very well chosen to flesh them out and create an individual post for each as they are wholesome subject matter by themselves, however, instinctively I felt I had to close their loop in 2024 itself via this article - and start 2025 afresh!🤩
So let's jump in-
Modeling 'Green' in Supply Chain Network Design
Using a fictitious example involving the Supply Chain of Kissan, an established food brand in India, I’ll demonstrate how to apply Linear Programming using the Solver tool in Microsoft Excel to determine / design an optimal Supply Chain with the objective to achieve lower CO2 emissions from inbound and outbound transportation in a three-echelon network involving Agri-farms (Suppliers) → Kissan (Manufacturer) → Distributors (Customers).
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Reducing Greenhouse gas emissions help to progress towards United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #.13 on Climate Change which calls for urgent action to prevent the Earth to warm in excess of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (breached 1.1 degrees already).
The video demonstration enclosed below covers-
Optimizing Material Flows to arrive at the lowest Total Supply Chain Cost
Modeling in a 5% reduction in total GHG emissions (inbound + outbound CO2)
Explaining how the model adapts to the new constraint and re-optimizes Material Flows
For those unfamiliar with Supply Chain Network Design and how Linear Programming works, I'll recommend that you review my detailed post on it here. That being said, this demo was designed to be understood on a standalone-basis, so you can opt to view it straightaway as well.
Video 1: Modeling for lower GHG emissions (CO2) in Supply Chain Network Design
Slider 1:Â Comparing the Optimized and GHG-Optimized Supply Chain Network of Kissan
While the technology to perform Operations Mapping has become more advanced over the years - the capability to create dynamic web and mobile applications - one can never really understate the benefit of having a well-made printed Map as a handy reference.
Depicting a Supply Chain Network on a Map can not only serve as a visual point of reference for executives, it can even be used as training material to induct new joinees in the organization.
Route Planning for Monastics
Those with religious vows are duty bound to lead a self-disciplined and virtuous life. It so happens that in my culture, the ascetics cannot stay at one location for long periods of time, instead they journey barefoot from one location to another throughout the year, barring the monsoon season.
I've always had an inner wish that my mapping services can be utilized to preserve and benefit my culture and Indian culture in general, but I had never really thought about how to go about making it a reality. One fine day, a rare visit to pay homage to a group of monks and a chance discussion about what I do for a living with one of them prompted a query-
The ascetics do not own any material possessions and have considerable restrictions pertaining to using everyday objects too. So I snapped out my phone and upon querying Google Maps, relayed to the monk - 'there are three distinct routes to travel to Ayodhya, ranging from 550 kilometers to 660 kilometers, and only one viable route to travel to Bhopal subsequently which would be a further 680 kilometers. In order to complete the entire journey in the stipulated time frame of two months, you'll have to cover 20-25 kilometers on an average daily'.
'We are familiar with the onward route to Bhopal, however, we've never visited Ayodhya from Parasnath before. Can you elaborate the three options for this route?'
'Route 1 is the shortest and it goes via Azamgarh...
Route 2 is slightly longer via Varanasi...
Route 3 is much longer via Gorakhpur, but you'll encounter several pilgrimage sites on the way...'.
'Sounds interesting. You are into mapping, isn't it - can you chart these options on a map? I'll use it to consult the head monk and he will take the final decision about which route we should embark on.'
'Sure', I said sensing the opportunity present itself, 'I hope you are ok if I come back to you day after tomorrow'.
'That is fine. Do not waste a lot of paper on this activity.'
On my way back home, my mind had already begun racing-
- 'It is such an open-ended task! I should have asked the monk to specify what exactly did he want me to depict on the map'
- 'Should I use Google Maps, or Google Earth, or a GIS software for the mapping?'
- 'How can I best depict a 500+ kilometers-long walking route on a piece of paper?'
- 'Should I use English or do I opt for a more convenient native language to label the map?'
- 'How do I make a map that is of utility, something that the monks will carry with them and cherish?'.
The navigation instructions to travel to Ayodhya, both visual and written, were very highly detailed on Google Maps - the latter ran into more than half a dozen pages in standard font. I wondered to myself-
- 'Can I somehow condense this information?'
- 'Is there any other way to depict the route information on the map?'
Video 2: Navigation instructions on Google Maps
While I could toggle the language mode and download the instructions from Google Maps in Hindi as well as in Gujarati language, I decided against using the navigation instructions altogether - it dawned on me that I'd be better off using a professional map-making software to present all relevant information aesthetically on a single piece of paper instead of obtusely trying to fit in all of Google Maps' navigation instructions somehow. Hence, I turned to the highly reliable Esri ArcGIS Pro software. Because it is a creator platform (Geographic Information System) and not a navigation tool like Google Maps, I would have to first build by own Location dataset and subsequently geocode it onto a Map using the GIS software.
Given that the monks would need to travel ~20 kilometers daily on an average and halt at a rest house for the night subsequently, I felt the need to depict stopover locations at / below this distance interval on the map. And so, I began to scour Google Maps for urban, semi-urban and large rural settlements that lie directly adjacent or near the route which meet the desired distance interval criteria.
Video 3: Finding Settlements for Night Stopovers using Google Maps
As the route to Ayodhya traverses through populous plains in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, I had little difficulty in finding reasonably large settlements 15-20 kilometers apart from each other. Fortunately, Google Maps even labels settlements based on its relative importance in the map's visible extent - notice how the village 'Aoura' is labelled in caps at 0:12 mark in Video 3 - this made it easier for me to spot and select the largest settlement from the options available.
Now having a list of shortlisted settlements which could be suitable for night halts, I proceeded to add their coordinates and other relevant attributes to the dataset, knowing fully well that it would be useful while working on the labelling and symbology aspects of the map later.
And with the help of Google Translate, I also created a Gujarati version of the Location Dataset-
I chose to do this as I had preempted that just having a Map-based visual output wouldn't suffice. This data table can be printed on the back of the map and would serve as a handy ready-reckoner. As it is, the text and labels on the map would all be in English as ArcGIS Pro doesn't seem to support regional Indian languages, and while the monks can read and understand simple English, having the information printed in their native language would be convenient. Besides, I had also anticipated that depicting all the information in the Location dataset on the map may not be necessary and would contribute to clutter and so, having a separate data table behind the map capturing all the attributes would be a better option.
The skeleton was forming and I was growing optimistic...
While I had shortlisted the settlements, I wondered if I could go a step ahead and find a resting spot within. When stationary during the monsoons, the ascetics typically reside at a rest house attached to / located near the cultural place of worship. The only thing they need is a covered shelter - no beds (they sleep on the floor), no kitchen (they seek food as alms everyday, typically from households that are from the same culture), no electricity or telephones (as a measure of austerity) and no security (as they do neither own any material possessions nor do they keep any valuables with them).
As the monks know that finding temple-managed rest houses everyday on their journey is not possible, they are even comfortable to seek shelter at schools, bus stations, or other public places - they gather the information about suitable spots to rest from the locals on a day-to-day basis.
I felt that if I could find and display one temple per settlement on the map, the monks can visit it straightaway and obtain directions to a suitable resting spot, thereby saving time and effort. And so, I began to search for this information online. However, as I had anticipated, there weren't many such temples to be found on two of the three routes to Ayodhya.
Video 4: Searching for a temple in each of the shortlisted settlements
That the location dataset was ready, all that was left to do was to visualize the information on a map -the outer skin of the creation.
However, it took me a lot of time to do so. Let me highlight the dilemmas that I faced-
Selecting an appropriate Basemap was a bit confusing to begin with - whether to show the terrain, or the topography, or satellite imagery, or to keep the background plain
There were roughly sixty settlement locations in a route to plot and label on the map and by virtue of it being a contiguous path, the data points were not scattered evenly across the map which would have lent a balanced look
Settling on a symbology was challenging too - what size of text to use, what colors to use in order to best represent the relativity between the attributes (villages vs towns vs cities), etc.
Basemaps are usually accompanied by Reference layers which display the location and labels of major topographic features such as cities, rivers and roads. To determine whether to display all of them, or any of them, or which ones from them was a difficult decision to make
Navigation and directionality were important aspects that needed to be taken care of too. Displaying the actual path to take, besides being technically arduous to do, wouldn't have added meaning to the map given there were hundreds of roads and streets strewn across the length of the journey and the visual rendition of it would either be unreadable, uninterpretable, cluttered or even invisible if I chose to set up preferential labeling based on some logic. I was not even sure whether the roads data would be completely reliable - as I would extract it from the open-source Open Street Maps. I was prepared to compromise on visual aesthetics in favor of displaying relevant data-points but limited workable space on the map was the primary obstacle
Certain less important decisions were of the nature - 'should I display Water bodies?'. There were several of them, big and small, alongside / intersecting the route - perhaps the monks would give weightage to a route which had fewer of them due to the risk of flooding?, I thought to myself
Video 5: The Map iterations which did not work out
Eventually, I was able to finalize this visualization-
I chose-
to keep label sizes relative based on the type of settlement
to use a single text color to maintain consistency
to use a different color for the geo-coded spots of each type of settlement
to highlight the total distance elapsed in the label - one can easily calculate the distance to the next stop, if needed, using this information. Besides, both data points were captured in the table
to use a terrain basemap without hillshade and reference layer in order to keep the map whitey-clean and devoid of unnecessary or rarely needed visual or textual information
to only depict the highways on the route without labels - just to give a visual indication to the monks where they would have the benefit of utilizing a prime path and where they would have to be prepared to venture into the complex interiors. Besides, the data table captured the name of the primary road that connects one settlement to the next which the ascetics can always refer to. While the navigation is not spelt out, the general directionality can still be gauged from the map i.e. whether the next destination is north or north-west, for example
to highlight the temple locations with an icon and only label them with serial numbers which could be cross-referenced to the table on the back where detailed information will be captured - such as name of the temple, its address, nearest landmark, and phone number if available
I printed the output - one map each for the three route options to Ayodhya and one map for the onward journey to Bhopal - on four sheets of A3 paper. I preferred size A3 to A4 as it preserved / positively impacted the visual aesthetics of both, the map as well as the data table - it would be comfortable to read and refer to, in my opinion...
...and in the monk's opinion as well - he appreciated the effort I had put in for this initiative and took me along to discuss it with the head monk. They decided to use Route 2 via Varanasi to travel to Ayodhya as it had more and reasonably better known urban and semi-urban settlements besides having better highway and major roads connectivity compared to Option 1 which was the shortest route but not by a sizeable margin (16 kilometers). Also, Varanasi was a major urban centre by itself and also had an important pilgrimage site within.
P.S. the head monk requested that I print just the data table for Route 2 to Ayodhya on A4 paper so that he can keep it handy with him during the journey.
Overall I felt good about the output as well as the outcome and I hope that the monks stand to benefit from it. The interpretation of a map's design is largely subjective in nature provided the basic objective needs are taken care of. I am grateful to have been exposed to aspects that go into effective map-making by practising tutorials on Esri Learn ArcGIS platform over time although I am sure professional cartographers and formally-trained GIS professionals would be able to do an even better job. Perhaps you have some opinions and suggestions for me too😊 - I'd be happy to hear them.
Terrain Monitoring for Physical Security Planning
The video demonstration enclosed below was prepared as part of a larger proposal to develop a 'Geo-Early Warning System' for a prospect - the head of Physical Security at a reputed Indian conglomerate - the larger proposal included other workflows such as Climate EWS and Line of Sight-based-Security Planning. The business group in consideration had 100+ manufacturing units and mining locations across India, several very large in size and some located in remote areas. To prevent incidents of theft , and for the safety of assets and manpower, physical security personnel are deployed in shifts at various locations around the site's perimeter 24 x 7 x 365.
Upon discussing the aspects which go into the planning for this activity with another Security Head I had worked with previously, I figured, among other aspects, that the terrain around a site's perimeter influences the security deployment considerably. For example, if there are marshy spots around, that zone is less susceptible to incursions compared to an area with dense foliage, which miscreants utilize to their advantage. Thus, assigning physical security personnel wisely to susceptible zones, by virtue of them being a limited resource, is fundamental.
As a result, I thought of developing this demo to show how Mapping technology can offer valuable insights pertaining to the surrounding terrain to the security decision makers of critical and sensitive business units-
Video 6: Terrain Monitoring using Remote Sensing for Physical Security Planning at a Sensitive Site
While I have used a Vegetation Index - NDVI - on Multispectral Satellite Imagery to monitor the Terrain and keeping a close eye for spots with dense vegetation and at which time of the year it occurs, I can very well use a Water Index to observe marshy spots and study its evolution pattern or even generate Urban Footprint utilizing Microwave Remote Sensing to spot and measure the built-up area in a particular region of interest.
Besides, as Satellites typically prefer temporal resolution (wide swath and low revisit time) over spatial resolution (pixel size), one is better off using a Drone equipped with a Multispectral payload - it will allow the user to map the area surrounding the site perimeter in high (spatial) resolution and with much higher frequency of data acquisitions - this will facilitate more accurate Terrain Change Detection.
Expanding Market Coverage for Consumer Goods Distribution
An organization's growth potential is usually determined by vertical growth (expansion of offerings) and/or horizontal growth (expansion of markets). I happen to read ~20 news articles every month which revolve around the latter - 'retail presence', 'distribution reach', 'market coverage', and so on.
I had prepared the video demonstration enclosed below for a former employer who wanted to see how Mapping technology can help to identify locations which have high business potential but are currently untapped by the field sales force.
The Location Analytics methodology used in the demo is straightforward and can be beneficial to several organizations, particularly those involved in the distribution of consumer goods. I have used Esri ArcGIS Pro, a leading geospatial analytics platform, to -
load the Pin code layer of India and clip it to the city of Mumbai
enrich the Pin codes with population data
load an open source Road Network layer and clip it to the city of Mumbai
filter the layer to keep just the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Residential roads
geocode existing General Store coverage - using a hypothetical scraped list from Google Maps
compare the Store coverage with the Population of that Pin code
derive 10-minute walk-time coverage for each Store, which serves to represent its customer reach
filter for the Roads which lie beyond walk-time coverage areas - provided the Population density of that Pin code is high, capturing and serving the General Stores that are situated besides these Roads would be beneficial in order to expand the distribution network for business growth
Video 7: Market Intelligence for Salesforce using Geospatial Tool
Hope you enjoyed viewing these Operations Mapping workflows. Wishing you a happy 2025!
ABOUT US
Intelloc Mapping Services | Mapmyops.com is based in Kolkata, India and engages in providing Mapping solutions 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, some even globally, and will aid an organization to meet its stated objectives especially pertaining to Operational Excellence, Cost Reduction, Sustainability and Growth.
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 flyer. 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.
Regards,