Great Harvest Bread Company Creates a Recipe for Success with Esri Location Analytics

REDLANDS, Calif., May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Esri announces that Great Harvest Bread Company, headquartered in Dillon, Montana, and known for its whole-grain breads and baked goods, is using Esri Location Analytics to help grow the successful franchise even further. A combination of Esri Business Analyst software and Tapestry Segmentation data allows the company and franchisees to quickly perform detailed market analysis that identifies market gaps and profitable potential locations to open new bakeries.

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"The timeliness of the information we gather is of great help," said Mike Ferretti, Great Harvest. "We can now very easily pull data together, perform the analysis we need, prepare a visual story map, and share that with decision makers in minutes. This lets us focus on the process of making the business successful rather than compiling and managing data."

More than 220 bakeries in 43 states are run by franchisees dedicated to the company's mission of providing delicious and nutrient-rich food products to communities. To ensure franchisees are both happy and successful, Great Harvest takes special care to find locations with viable territories that support long-term business success. The Esri platform is an important part of this process at every step. 

In addition, Tapestry Segmentation data is used to profile and rank populations that would be supportive of new franchises based on existing customer profiles and behavioral data. Subscriptions to ArcGIS Online and Business Analyst Online, two cloud-based solutions Esri hosts, are used to find and bring the most current data into desktop analyses or even on-site at prospective locations.

"Great Harvest is a remarkable example of how a small, locally run franchise can adopt and rely on location analytics and GIS to run its business smartly. Not only does it help build enduring relationships with franchisees and customers, it delivers on the mission to give back to the community," said Simon Thompson, director of commercial industry at Esri.

For more information on how Esri Location Analytics can help retailers, visit esri.com/retail.

Great Harvest

Originally founded in 1976 in Great Falls, Mont., Great Harvest has more than 220 bakeries located throughout the nation including Alaska and Hawaii. All bakeries are individually owned and operated, and no two are alike. Great Harvest is known for hand-crafted breads made with freshly ground whole wheat purchased from family-owned farms. The neighborhood bakeries create an array of legendary fresh-baked breads and sweets, as well as specialty items during the holidays. Great Harvest mills its whole wheat daily. The fresh flour is used within two days to guarantee the best taste and nutritional value.

About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.

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SOURCE Esri