Data at Work

Point-of-Interest (POI) data is critical for executing operations in a host of industries. Even companies that do not directly rely on POI data utilise it for deriving actionable intelligence to improve performance.

The challenge most of these businesses have is that off-the-shelf and web-scraped POI datasets are riddled with outdated and inaccurate information. Most POI data providers offer one-size-fits all datasets and fail to provide data that is relevant to different types of use cases and applications.

We've put together a solution brief discussing these challenges and solving them using Geolancer, Quadrant's very own POI Data-as-a-Service platform.

Pandemic-fueled lockdowns and disruptions in transportation systems hit the supply chain and logistics industry hard. From empty shelves to skyrocketing prices, disrupted supply chains have brought on inflation all over the globe. According to the Labor Department’s consumer-price index, inflation in the U.S. alone rose above 8.5 % after averaging about 1.7% for the past decade.

In July 2021, Google announced that it would update the data safety section applicable to apps on their Play Store. The company stated that these policies would come into effect in late April 2022, and it followed through on that declaration. Last month, numerous apps were removed from the Play Store for breaching Google’s updated data privacy and data processing policies.  

Point-of-Interest (POI) data is instrumental in facilitating the operations of businesses such as food and last-mile delivery companies, those that develop mapping and navigation software, ridesharing companies, and many others. In other industries, such data is harnessed to derive insights to inform decision-making around site selection and supply chain optimisation.  

However, procuring good quality POI data is a significant challenge.  

Point-of-Interest (POI) data is the digital representation of physical spaces that are of interest to individuals, businesses, and governments – such as malls, restaurants, train stations, residential complexes, hospitals, and schools. In other words, a POI can be anything that someone wants to find on a map. POI data acts as the lynchpin of operations in several industries, including ridesharing, last-mile delivery, logistics, real-estate, retail, marketing and the public sector. Even companies whose business model is not primarily built on POI data can still harness it to glean insights that offer a tangible, competitive advantage. Data scientists generate meaningful insights on the distinct characteristics of neighbourhoods, people’s movement patterns, and an area’s vulnerability to natural disasters by analysing POI data alongside mobile location data, demographics, purchase data, and environmental records.