Supply chain and manufacturing can greatly benefit from geofencing and foot traffic monitoring strategies. A big example of this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many hotspots were associated with major manufacturing and production facilities. Brands like Smithfield Foods, Nissan, and even Amazon made headlines as a result of on-site employee illness. Foot traffic data helps brands get ahead of impacts to supply chain and improve logistics throughout the manufacturing process.
Unacast’s location analytics uses geofences, geographic coordinates that surround places and areas of interest of all types across the U.S. and around the world. These virtual boundaries, when overlaid with location signals from opted-in consumer mobile devices, enable foot traffic to be accurately measured at virtually any place or location.
Improved Visibility into the Supply Chain
When production is disrupted at manufacturing and warehouse facilities, their supply chains can also be impacted. Given the scale of these companies’ operations, the impact can be outsized. Whether at auto manufacturing, oil refineries, or meatpacking facilities, plant shutdowns have the potential to affect both supply chain participants both upstream and downstream — from farmers and materials manufacturers to transportation providers and distributors.
To give improved visibility into plant shutdowns and these potential impacts, Unacast has advanced its geofencing strategy to include several new categories of place locations. Often, these properties are highly-complex, with campuses that cover large areas and multiple industrial buildings. Examples include:
- Major distribution centers, including Amazon warehouses
- Automotive assembly plants, for leading brands like Ford, Chrysler, and Honda
- Materials manufacturing facilities for companies, including 3M and Honeywell
- Oil refineries
- Food processing locations, such as Hormel and Tysons
Location Data with Relevance
By adjusting our geofencing strategy, we can not only measure workforce activity at any plant or warehouse location but improve the relevancy of our data to those clients who depend on location analytics for insight into their industry and its supply chain. Our data will continue to reflect, as accurately as possible, the economic activity of some of our nation’s most critical businesses – even in times of extraordinary disruption.
