Chain stores using mapping software to pick locations

[WASHINGTON] At the Wendy's corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, real estate director John Crouse is swimming in data about the company's almost 6,000 fast food restaurants nationwide.

Mr Crouse and one other colleague are responsible for building and analysing maps of Wendy's locations and the surrounding areas. They rely on a geography-based data program to quickly comb through large volumes of information - decades of sales records, demographic descriptions of nearby residents, and other data points - to predict how much a restaurant might take in annually at sites in the United States.

Once Mr Crouse researches a potential site, he submits it to an internal committee; if the location is approved, engineering and construction can proceed.