What I Learned Today

Esri uses data analysis and demographics to
create maps for their companies.

      Today, I decided to research about what big companies do to decide where they will put their next store and what their requirements are. Companies have many things to think about before opening a new store, and many of these things differ depending on what the store sells. One main thing companies have to worry about is not only where the population of consumers is now, but where they will be 15-20 years from now. These companies are not trying to build stores that are going to thrive at first, but in 10 years fail. They want to build stores in places where they can thrive for a lifetime. What I learned was that many companies use a software called "Esri" that takes all of these factors into account and creates a technological platform to visualize this data in the form of a map. They then provide this map to the executives of the companies and they decide where to place a store. This map makes the process much simpler for the company becuase there is not only data specific to the companies needs, but it is in an easy to understand, helpful platform. Using this data, companies are able to determine where they can place a store to exapand the company and boost revenue and sales. Some examples of companies that use this software are Petco, Wendy's, and Starbucks. Petco, for example, has made great use out of this software. When deciding where to place a store, Petco must find a location where much of the population owns pets, and where there is not a competing pet store nearby. Esri takes these requirements and finds the best locations for Petco to place their next store.