Żabka Group awarded for best use of Esri technology

Żabka Group awarded for best use of Esri technology

Żabka Group was among the winners of Special Achievement in GIS Awards 2023 (SAG). The award is given for increasing the dynamics of store opening and maintaining it at 1,000 sites per year thanks to the GIS software. The competition is part of the Esri Software Users Conference, which gathers thousands of participants from all over the world each year.

The GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology, which collects, analyzes, and visualizes data, is an extremely important tool in trade today, especially when it comes to supporting expansion in the selection of physical chain facilities. It allows the data about the project to be combined with other information about its location, e.g. demographics describing the community in the selected area, the closest competition, traffic analyses, etc. By visualizing them, companies can identify areas with high sales potential and know-how to reach their target group. Thus, GIS enables companies to understand spatial dependency and ultimately make better business decisions.

The managers of the nationwide chain of Żabka stores are well aware of this, and consequently, to ensure the right level of expansion, they have decided on solutions based on GIS. To this end, in 2018 the Group started cooperation with Esri Polska, a company providing the necessary tools. The result of the collaboration was the implementation of the ArcGIS system, which became the basis for the operation of many applications in the company. It is used by managers, analysts, and field workers.

GIS for Optimization and Expansion

Selecting the location of a given retail outlet requires a series of geographical analyzes. Many factors are involved – from the number of passers-by on the street to the wealth and age of the population living in the area.

“The GIS technology allows the retail industry to quickly and efficiently analyze large data sets to know the specifics of the selected location” – notes Agnieszka Nosal, Managing Director of Esri Polska. ‘Visualizations presented in clear, interactive maps provide answers to key questions. Unlike other compilations and analyses – everyone can understand it, without special preparation. This greatly facilitates the work of the teams and reduces the risk of errors in the decision-making process.”

The streamlining of the analysis process has made it easier for Żabka to identify the potential of individual locations – which significantly responds to the needs of the chain and at the same time contributes to increasing its competitiveness. The data in the ArcGIS system are presented clearly and present the summaries from several perspectives, making the decision-making process faster and more comprehensive.

“Expansion is an extremely important part of the activities of Żabka, a company that wants to develop constantly” – says Waldemar Lisiewicz, Expansion Director at Żabka Polska. “The challenges we face include analyzing and assessing the potential of new locations. This is why the support offered by GIS is extremely helpful. It gives us a sure and reliable tool for multi-faceted analysis of different locations and thus enables us to make accurate decisions, both at the managerial and operational levels. Mapping visualization, spatial analysis, and the processing and collection of large amounts of data are factors that not only allow us to work comfortably and quickly access information but also to plan for further development.”

Appreciable Effects

As a result of the implementation, Żabka can now better manage its range and locations of stores, which contributes to the increase of business efficiency and the development of the company. A measurable result of cooperation with Esri Polska is an increase in the dynamics of opening new stores in the company. After the decision to digitize the process of expansion and implement solutions based on GIS, it reached the level of over 1 thousand new store openings per year and this result has been maintained for 4 years.

Such dynamic development, achieved through the implementation of solutions based on GIS, could not escape the attention of the jury of this year’s SAG competition. The award presented at the biggest conference gathering all users of solutions based on GIS, which has traditionally been held in San Diego, California, was received by Waldemar Lisiewicz, Expansion Director at Żabka Polska. In this way, Żabka Group joined the group of Polish laureates of this award, among which are: RCB, GUS, Warsaw University of Technology, Frontex, National Geological Institute, Office of Forest Management and Geodesy, Police, Customs Service, Central Office of Geodesy and Cartography or GOPR.