As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, staying home has become the new normal. Travel, entertainment, and social gatherings have all been put on hold as residents quarantine themselves in hopes of slowing the expansion of the virus.
But what about venturing out to buy necessities, like groceries? Increased demand has led to dwindling supplies of staples like milk, bread, and toilet paper, and wandering from store to store to find what you need counteracts some of the benefits created by self-isolation.
Almada, a Portuguese municipality with a population of more than 100,000 people, partnered with Hexagon in an initiative to keep its residents safe. In just a week, a team developed a platform called Commercial Establishments that takes some of the guesswork out of shopping for groceries and other essential items.
Where to Go and When
Citizens can use the platform to check the operational and supply statuses of essential businesses like gas stations, pharmacies, bakeries, pet stores, and of course supermarkets. The businesses register with their names, addresses, and phone numbers, then share information to keep citizens informed of what they offer and whether they’re open or closed, down to days and hours of operation.
Built on M.App Enterprise, the Commercial Establishments dashboard is dynamic and customizable. Almada citizens can narrow down what they see by type of business, location, and open/closed status, making it easier to know where and when they should shop.
Almada has promoted the platform on its website and Facebook page, with the hope of reducing the amount of uncertainty citizens must face amid the ongoing disruptions caused by COVID-19.
The Commercial Establishments platform is just one example of how location intelligence can improve everyday life, in big ways and small. From preventing minor inconveniences to tracking the global spread of the virus, check out Hexagon’s dedicated COVID-19 page to learn more about how we’re responding to the pandemic and ways that our technologies are being leveraged for good.
