Geographic information systems

Geographic Information Systems

Making decisions based on geography is inherent to human thinking. During the past three decades, a powerful technology based on something we thought was plain andsimple, has quietly changed the way people live in their neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Geography is present in a daily basis in our lives. Unconsciously, we look at the weather, traffic, schools,stores, economy, and other things to have an informed idea of how, where, and what we are going to face on a given day and time. Furthermore, geography is often overlooked because we see itconstantly, but by understanding geography and people’s relationship with location, it is possible to link this decision making process into an advantage for businesses and the community.
In the businessfield, and in many other areas such as banking, real estate, and law enforcement, geographic information systems (GIS) are revolutionizing the way decisions are made. GIS allows us to “view, understand,question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts” . Also, a GIS makes it easier for the end usersto find the answers for their questions and to solve problems by looking at data in a way that is rapidly understood and simply shared.
In this research assignment, I am going to explain howgeographic information systems (GIS) are being used by retailing industries, and how they play a strategically important role in a company.
I picked the use of GIS in retailing industries, because I think itprovides store managers in the retailing industry with the necessary technological resources and tools to make excellent location decisions.
Retailing companies are using geographic informationsystems (GIS) software to delineate and analyze trading areas . It is very important to know that more than 90% of retail sales are made at stores. Thus, the selection of a store location is one of...