Geospatial Information & Intelligence

"Time-Space” factor in Supply Chain Management

Geospatial term is used to define the collective data and associated technology having a geographical and location intelligence component. The merge of technology, Artificial Intelligence AI with geographical or geospatial data is what we call as Geospatial Intelligence.

This is the process of using computer vision and enhanced technology (AI, ML) to derive impactful insights of the earth, using imagery and geospatial information from sources like remote sensing, IoT connected devices, social media applications, GIS, GPS , satellite imagery, mapping technologies and linking them to the events and activities on the earth. The real-time insights that are derived from this geospatial information and analysis has a key role to play in delivering sustainable social and economic development across the globe.

Business community in general can benefit enormously that geospatial intelligence and technology can offer, however the objectives and benefits need to be defined clearly to be able to harness the unlimited potential of this technology. Geospatial data and location intelligence are used for mapping and having real-time visibility on the flow of goods within the supply chain, manufacturing and supplier locations, warehouse & distribution networks, transportation routes for logistics planning, understand local demographics to identify potential, resource and workforce for facility and operational management. The geospatial analytical insights provide efficiency and the application of algorithms towards a vast range of scenarios in many sectors like Agriculture to improve the food supply chains, soil and crop transformation know-how, monitoring global commodity inventories like oil, for environmental rejuvenation, connecting Smart cities, finance, disaster management and national security (for example: In the Maritime sector for navigation and to track and report vessel activity from busy maritime ports to open ocean transport routes global fleet visualization and other strategic business goals using big data geospatial data platforms).

Anomaly detection

Applications related to technologies like blockchain and big data have a major role in real-time monitoring of supply chains, where rapid data capture and analysis through artificial intelligence could help identify where the supply chain disruptions. These disruptions are caused due to risks including outages at ports, facilities, refineries, mines, natural disasters, trade disputes, fluctuations in foreign exchange, energy prices and geo-political situations within the global supply chains.

Forecasting analytical tools that can use this real-time geospatial data, to track at different distribution points of the supply will be key in identifying where disruptions could be most severe and help make better and timely decisions. The combination of business data and spatial data will enable achieve business related objectives, to enhance operational efficiency, asset health management and for overall risk mitigation management goals. When the distribution and flow of commercial commodities along with the origination are interconnected, it minimizes the susceptibility and leads to a smooth transition, as it can track and identify the risks and opportunities in regards with the products and materials real time and find solutions in the supply chain process. (like transactional costs associated with alternatives, risk monitoring, physical and financial options within a contingency plan and interactions depending on the nature of the business). Geospatial technologies have changed the entire perception on how we view and examine the flow of goods, services, and resources for personnel to better understand the sustainability implications within the supply chain. Along with real time tracking and situational awareness, it improves decision making skills immensely. The valuable insights derived from this technology allows us to identify market threats and opportunities in a timely manner.

At the core, this is helping the business leaders to take appropriate timely decisions and precautionary measures as required to mitigate any potential risks which can lead to disruption of the supply chains and having a direct impact on the business sales and bottom line revenue.

Geospatial infrastructure framework

 Picture 1: Geospatial infrastructure data flow

The foundation of Geospatial infrastructure will depend on how the geospatial data will be managed for the future. Collecting and managing data is often associated with high costs, however much can be achieved from the combined efforts through close collaboration between public and private sector players, universities, international and national level research institutions and programs to create valuable insights for decision-making. In general, most the geospatial information is collected by public sectors, with growth of digitalization, cloud services, user platforms the private sector will play a major role in the acquisition of the data from various sources. So, it becomes even more crucial for collaboration between private and public sectors on a national and global level to organize and provide electronic access to standardized geospatial information, connecting links between the infrastructures and platforms that can be used in different applications. The full potential of the geospatial data can be unlocked when reliable links are made between multiple datasets and their relationships.

    Picture 2: Data Infrastructure and Knowledge courtesy: World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC)

Need for Skill development and Global Technology adoption

This unprecedented growth in the Geospatial Information and Technology domain will expose the demand and supply gap of the skilled workforce and needs to be addressed quickly. Educational institutions should work closely to restructure the curriculum from higher school up till university levels with a parallel focus on skill development of existing workforce, through various training and development programs and leaders provide guidance to the next generation of supply chain enthusiasts. The mapping of the globe is one aspect, however getting the required insights for the chosen purpose in a chosen geography for implementing a timely decision. For example, getting analytical insights on geography, environmental constraints, existing available infrastructure, workforce capacity, movement of goods, the science of soil and water, logistics routing optimizations, vicinity analysis and various other factors that can be visualized using geospatial technology to plan for a unified town or a smart city. It is important that all the nations develop a collaboration and partnership model to enable co-creation of the geospatial knowledge platform both via inter and intra private and government links.

Picture 3 courtesy: The GEOBIM Readiness Index-2020 (AEC industry, policy makers and industry) 

United States, United Kingdom and Germany rank first, second and third respectively in the GEOBIM Readiness Index followed by China, Sweden, and Norway.

Nations with a well-defined geospatial policy and strategy area able to support various stakeholders and exploit these opportunities using geospatial technology. Need for close collaboration and involvements with International research and scientific communities for the latest developments and towards a common and aligned approach on information security and achieve more innovation from open data.

Recent announcements by the United States Department of Commerce to streamline commercial remote sensing satellites, will benefit the global geospatial ecosystem dependent on the U.S. private remote sensing space systems, similarly Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has eased the way to allow private entities use the infrastructure and facilities along with formalizing a national geospatial policy to allow local entrepreneurs to use remote sensing data of the country's satellites a positive leap in the direction of collaboration with the public sector. In lieu of the Covid pandemic, in many nations a large percentage of the city workforce had to migrate back to their villages, the phenomenon that happened over decades has exponentially reversed in these unfortunate times, the analytical insights derived from the geospatial technology could be the ultimate enabler for nations to strategize, plan, re-structure and support the development of rural areas with required speed and scale towards sustainable development and employment creation. 

Picture 4 courtesy: Application Areas of Geospatial Information by Geospatial World

The present health crisis has posed an economic threat globally, spatial intelligence and technology will be the key driver in planning towards stable supply chains, secured global economies and cater to the humanitarian needs in almost every sphere by monitoring the trends over the geography in real time. The integration of the digitalization process with spatial technology along with the speed and connectivity of 5G networks for flawless data capturing and integration will only open more opportunities and innovation to blossom in the field of geospatial intelligence and technology in the future.

The purpose of this article is to provide an Industry wide awareness about the benefits within the broad domain of geospatial technology and those interested in early adoption.