Logistics

ESRI, a leading provider of GIS logistics solutions, offers a variety of solutions for planning, scheduling, dispatching, and tracking vehicles.

GIS solutions for: Routing and scheduling Vehicle tracking and dispatch Emergency vehicle tracking Facilities management and warehouse operations Routing and scheduling Transportation professionals use GIS to integrate mapping analysis into decision support. GIS provides a complete solution for complex routing and scheduling problems. It enables users to determine which vehicle should serve each customer location in the best stop sequence; accommodate time windows while minimizing travel times; and optimize resources by accounting for individual vehicle attributes (storage capacity, restrictions, and special equipment). Using GIS for routing and scheduling, fleet managers have improved their timely response, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Vehicle tracking and dispatch GIS technology helps users manage business processes by knowing when, where, and how quickly tasks are completed. Users can also build location-based applications for sales force, field service, and field force automation which allows them to route workers correctly; meet customers appointments; know where their staff is at all times; integrate mobile location into short messaging alert notifications and e-mail; communicate more effectively; measure and audit mobile workforce productivity; manage their time more efficiently. GIS enables users to monitor the location and movement of vehicles in real time. Vehicles that can transmit their geographic location via global positioning systems (GPS) or similar technologies can be dynamically tracked on a GIS based map.

Emergency vehicle tracking

GIS is a powerful tool in the development and implementation of an emergency medical services ( EMS) response system. It gives users the ability to display and analyze where workloads are and where they need to be concentrated; what type of incidents are occurring and what demographic information is related to the incidents.

With advanced vehicle location (AVL) tracking, dispatchers can see in real-time where the response units are located in relation to an incident. Dispatch managers can track the location of apparatus on a GIS map at the dispatch center in real time using GPS transponders attached to vehicles. Likewise, responders can visualize their current location in reference to an incident location and manage their response accordingly.

Facilities management and warehouse operations

GIS by ESRI supports fleet and logistics management with a wide array of software and applications, ranging from planning facility investments and sophisticated location-allocation capabilities to solving various gravity modeling problems. GIS is used to create a database of the warehouse aisles and assign location to shelves, parts bins, and other storage locations. By using GIS to analyze spatial patterns and seasonal variations, users can improve space utilization and save time and resources. GIS can also be used to tie order systems to scheduling databases.

GIS plays a critical role in fleet management for several industries:
For school bus routes - Buses, stops, shelters, routes, runs, walk zones, and related factors are the components of school transportation planning. Designing, locating, deploying, displaying, and making these transportation components efficient and cost-effective is where GIS can help.

For patrol cars - GIS provides the opportunity for officers, supervisors, and managers to understand where each vehicle and person is in relation to the crime scene, perimeter, or other potential hazards. Also, providing officers with GIS on mobile data computers in their vehicles allows them to have access to local maps, school or business floor plans, locations of high-risk areas, and many other types of critical information.

For emergency response vehicles - Successful fire operations depend on obtaining information about the location of the fire quickly, establishing priorities, and implementing a response plan. GIS technology vastly improves the efficiency of fire operations, including response, planning, and ground command, through a comprehensive understanding of the location of the fire.