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Prime time for GIS

India Inc is tapping into the power of demographics aided by GIS says Abhinav Singh

What do SUMUL dairy in Gujarat, Godrej Industries Ltd or Tata Kisan Kendras in Uttar Pradesh have in common? The answer is Geographical Information Systems or GIS, a classic example of how technology can transform businesses. SUMUL (Surat District co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd) dairy in Surat, Gujarat has operations spread across 180 kilometres. In this area there are a 1,000 village societies from where milk is collected. Nearly 1,000 litres of milk is collected every day by SUMUL. Using a GIS system the dairy gets information pertaining to cattle feed, income being generated by milk collection centres, diseases spread amongst cattle and other demographic information related to the region. The GIS system also helps SUMUL dairy define the most efficient routes for its milk collection trucks. Collecting this information manually would have been very tedious and time consuming and it would have been difficult to maintain accuracy. All this information is uploaded to the central office in Surat. This is just one example of the wonders a GIS system can perform for an organisation.

Added productivity

Indian organisations have gone in for GIS solutions keeping in view the productivity that accrues from its deployment. Take the case of Godrej Industries Ltd, which went in for a GIS system six months ago and has successfully piloted it in a few of its sales territory. It plans to gradually roll out GIS across its Indian sales territories. Mani Mulki, general manager, information systems, Godrej Industries, explains, “We went in for a GIS system as we had aimed to enter untapped territories using the demographic information generated from the system. Through this system we can get information on the population, various age groups, the average income of households in a region etc. Using it we can test fire different products keeping in view the requirements of various regions. It has streamlined the operations of our sales force.”

Precise information

GIS helps organisations get accurate data, which directly translates into better decision making. SUMUL has been able to accurately track the routes of its milk collection vehicles and plot more efficient routes for timely delivery of milk to its central office. Satyen Naik, assistant manager (Information Systems) Surat District CO-Operative Milk Producers Union Ltd, says, “GIS has helped us in animal health monitoring and disease control. GIS can provide advanced information with regard to the impending livestock morality and spread of infectious diseases. Since GIS displays the data on a map, an epidemic can be understood and analysed by our department with ease. Using this information we can successfully mark the dangerous areas and provide the results to village supervisors.”

In a similar fashion, Godrej Industries is able to get information about a remote territory—-how far is it from the national highway and are there any distributors catering to that area who can be tapped by Godrej? All this information helps the company decide whether it should concentrate on a particular area and whether said area has potential for Godrej’s products. Farmers in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, take the help of Tata Kisan Kendras (TKK) set up by Tata Chemicals before deciding on which crop to grow on their land. Tata Chemicals uses GIS to power this system. A farmer has to merely mention his name and the computer at the centre generates an image of his field and tells him the type of crops that he should sow and how much fertiliser is optimal. The TKK uses GIS to track parameters that are crucial for farmers, such as soil, ground water and weather, on a real-time basis. This technology can even help predict pest attacks since it combines remotely sensed data, ground verification data, meteorological information, and crop growth and soil moisture models to provide a visual representation of current conditions.

Bringing it all home

GIS helps display graphical data that relates to a particular geographical location. By employing GIS technology, integrated with its Information Systems, an organisation is able to readily bring together pieces of graphical information and data. In addition to the integration of these different types of data, GIS gives organisations the ability to turn a tremendous amount of data into usable information. It can facilitate decision making and spatial analysis.

After deriving immense benefits from GIS, Indian organisations are ready to move one step ahead and leverage this technology to the fullest. Godrej Industries wants to integrate GIS with its Business Intelligence system to combine the data generated by the GIS with that of the BI solution. The two systems in tandem are expected to provide superior forecasts. SUMUL also wants to eventually spread the reach of GIS from the villages to Surat city to keep a track of its dealers and consumers.

abhinav@expresscomputeronline.com