CASE STUDY: Shell Gas Limited

Client Shell Gas Limited
Sector Utilities
Job function Operations
Task Site Analysis

THE CLIENT...
Shell Gas Limited markets and distributes LPG bulk and cylinder products across the UK along with a range of technical services and Motorgas for vehicles. Formed over 10 years ago, the company has over 350 employees.

THE PROBLEM...
Shell Gas recently faced a drastic restructuring of its business and was moving from an existing Regional/National structure to 'Local Business Units' (LBUs). This not only required an understanding of the existing structure and customer locations, but also the definition of the trading territories for each new LBU, along with the reallocation of customers to the new LBUs. Shell Gas felt that a mapping analysis tool would prove useful in undertaking the exercise.

THE SOLUTION...
Using Geoplan GeoAnalyser, Shell Gas was able to import its entire customer database, and create counts of customers per Postcode Sector. These sectors were then clustered to create new LBUs.

Geoplan GeoAnalyser allowed constant monitoring and appraisal of the effects of each proposed change to the LBU network. Alongside this process, Shell Gas was able to print maps of the resulting LBUs for logistical crosschecks.

The summary analysis resulting from the territories could also be quickly exported into software packages such as Excel for
inclusion into other reports.

THE BENEFITS...
"We have found Geoplan GeoAnalyser to be a great mapping tool. It makes the assigning of customers to Local Business Units easy, and the various types of information visible become easy to understand geographically, particularly segmentation of our customer base.

The structure created using Geoplan GeoAnalyser has now been implemented and is fully operational."