In conjunction with a special "AutoMap" tool, the company TENTE-ROLLEN uses DISTRICT to automatically generate 85 different weekly updated HTML-maps with the mere click of a button.

Since 1923, the company TENTE-ROLLEN has been working hard at its headquarters in Bergischen Land (located in the German federal state of North Rhein-Westfalia) to perfect an invention that has been in existence for millennia: the wheel. What began as a small business producing ball bearings and furniture rollers is now a global enterprise with more than 10,000 product types for sale in over 100 countries. The company's continually growing network of suppliers, subsidiaries and business partners in all major markets requires an ever-increasing amount of maintenance in order to ensure a continued stream of production.

In order to simplify and optimize its sales operations, the company implemented usage of both the sales territory planning geomarketing software solution, DISTRICT, and a customer relationship management (CRM) system. The data contained in the CRM (e.g., potential, visits to customers, turnover, etc.) was then visualized via DISTRICT and transmitted to the sales team in the form of weekly updated HTML maps. This approach had numerous advantages, one of which was to quickly reveal any gaps in the customer zones serviced by individual members of the sales force.

The challenge of this approach was the weekly production of 85 different HTML maps, each structured according to a unique combination of data, geographic areas and sales force assignments. Naturally, the manual production of these many maps was very time-consuming.

TENTE therefore sought out a way to automate this process. They turned to Zim-Tec, a longstanding business partner of GfK GeoMarketing that specializes in providing client-centered solutions for the optimizationg of business practices through the use of RegioGraph and DISTRICT. Zim-Tec had the ideal solution for TENTE's problem in the form of an "AutoMap" add-on for RegioGraph and DISTRICT that automated the map-production process.

The solution was realized in three steps:

• The required parameters (such as size, resolution, theme, layout and legend) for each of the 85 maps were noted.
• A DISTRICT project containing the required data and maps was created.
• The AutoMap add-on was implemented in order to automate the data updating procedure and the production of the HTML maps.

Because TENTE had already been using DISTRICT for its sales territory planning, its staff were quickly able to carry out the first two steps. After the introduction of the AutoMap feature, TENTE was able to assume full control of the automatization procedure with the help of this efficient, easy-to-use and elegant solution.

The AutoMap add-on offers the following features:

• Automatic updating of data from standard data sources (SQL, Access, Excel, etc.)
• User-defined variables for each individual worksheet, ranging from the map dimensions to the Tooltip labels
• Ability to selectively display or hide layers within each individual worksheet
• Automatic production of user-defined labels, such as the date on which the file in question was saved, or company-relevant statistics
• Output of maps in HTML, PDF or graphic formats
• User-definable time settings for generating automated calculations and maps.

Bela Wantschura, director of customer services in TENTE's international sales division, is enthusiastic about the results of the implemented DISTRICT/AutoMap solution.

"The creation of maps using AutoMap is very easy and straightforward. We're currently generating 85 different maps, each of which is updated every Friday. We are already planning to expand our usage of this tool," he explains. "Prior to the introduction of the AutoMap feature, we had to create each of these maps manually. We're now saving a tremendous amount of time."

It's no problem to automatically save new worksheets as HTML maps. This and other user-defined preferences can easily be accommodated using the dialog windows integrated into AutoMap.

The AutoMap add-on is available for all interested DISTRICT and RegioGraph users. More information can be found here.