Open-Access Teaching and Learning Modules for Business Educators and Students
In the modern business landscape, the capacity to transform raw data into actionable intelligence depends on understanding the multidimensional nature of information. While traditional business analytics is proficient at identifying what is occurring and when, it often underutilizes the spatial dimension of where. From consumer behavior to global trade networks, location is the common thread in business data; by embracing location intelligence, organizations can move beyond static spreadsheets to reveal hidden patterns and mitigate risks.
By integrating GIS into the business curriculum, we provide students with more than just technical software skills; we cultivate spatial reasoning. This perspective allows students to visualize complex relationships and evaluate business problems with a level of precision that tabular data alone cannot provide.
To support this integration, we are pleased to share The Guide to the Geographic Approach (The Guide). While The Guide is a growing collection of open-access, cross-disciplinary resources built by a network of universities in partnership with Esri, we are specifically expanding its reach into business education. We are excited to highlight two new modules designed to help business students solve practical industry problems while critically examining the ethical implications of geospatial analysis.
Figure 1. Overview of the modules. Published modules are shown as solid, while pending modules are semi-transparent; business-specific modules are highlighted with yellow frames
Below are two featured modules developed in collaboration with the University of Redlands to support modern business education.
Expand a business using location analytics
Figure 2. Drive-time buffers and overlapping trade areas from the problem-based lab
If you want to teach students how GIS supports high-stakes decision-making, this is the place to start. In this module, students step into an applied scenario for Living in the Green Lane, a green home-improvement showroom looking to plant its next flag in Minneapolis.
Students will move beyond simple mapping to build a full spatial workflow for market and site analysis. By the end of the lab, they will understand how to integrate geodemographic and consumer data to identify target customers and evaluate competitor patterns with precision.
- Technical requirements: This module uses Business Analyst and requires the student to have an ArcGIS Professional license, Business Analysis Web App Advanced and Mobile, and an enabled Business Analyst extension.
- Learning objectives:
- Building a spatial workflow for market and site analysis.
- Using geodemographic and consumer data to identify target customers.
- Evaluating competitor patterns and potential retail sites with GIS tools.
Manage supply chains with a location-centric approach
Figure 3. Supply chain link chart from the problem-based lab
Global supply chains are complex and often opaque. This module challenges students to use location analytics to design, analyze, and critically evaluate these networks using a real-world dataset: the Vans Skate Old Skool sneaker supply chain.
By visualizing facilities across seven countries and five tier levels, students will discover patterns of concentration and vulnerability that are invisible in a spreadsheet. This module goes deep into "Link Analysis," teaching students to identify structurally critical nodes and reflect on the ethics of corporate transparency and supplier disclosure.
- Technical requirements: This module uses ArcGIS Pro and requires the student to have an ArcGIS Pro license and Link Analysis.
- Learning objectives:
- Map and interpret a multi-tier global supply chain, reading geographic patterns to identify concentration risk and dependency.
- Critically evaluate supplier disclosure data, distinguishing what has been self-reported from what has been independently verified.
- Build and analyze a link chart in ArcGIS Pro to identify structurally critical and chronically exposed nodes using filtering, highlighting, and centrality analysis.
- Reflect on the ethics of supply chain transparency—what a map reveals, what it obscures, and what that means for corporate accountability.
Why integrate these modules into your curriculum?
For faculty and teaching assistants, The Guide offers a streamlined way to modernize your syllabus:
- Ready-to-use: Save hours of prep time with project-based courseware—complete with data—that mirrors professional practice.
- Academic rigor: Developed by trusted academics to cover contemporary concepts like GeoAI and geospatial big data.
- Flexible design: Materials are fully customizable using provided templates to fit your specific course goals.
Ethics-first: Every module embeds ethical reasoning, ensuring students understand the responsibility that comes with spatial data.
Get involved
Whether you need a demo or want to discuss how to tailor these materials for your classroom, we are here to help. Reach out to the team at spatial-geographicapproach@ucsb.edu to start the conversation.