You've heard of IBISWorld for industry research, but have you heard of ProcurementIQ?
ProcurementIQ is a division of IBISWorld that helps purchasing professionals and supply chain researchers gain valuable insight into almost any product or service category.
Procurement research reports provide essential data on topics like pricing dynamics, product characteristics, supplier benchmarking, supply chain risks, and negotiation questions and tactics.
Similar to other Gast Business Library resources, ProcurementIQ also provides independent data and analysis from trusted...
Continue reading "ProcurementIQ for Supply Chain"...
This map depicts Michigan oddly with no thumb and with a range of mountains extending down to Florida. It carefully marks waterway portages that link the Great Lakes with the Mississippi river system and points out several mines including one of copper at present day Chicago. Everything west of the Mississippi is a complete blank.
The map is based an interesting amalgam of source material. Dutch mapmaker Corneille Mortier closely modeled it on English bookseller Robert Morden’s 1695 map of the American colonies. The English colonies, therefore have good detail, and it includes an...
Continue reading "Michigan With No Thumb"...
Formatting citations in a style like APA is a standardized means of giving credit to the person or company who created the content you use. If you've written an academic paper, or even a case study, you've probably been asked to cite your sources.
The citation style usually depends on the academic discipline involved. For example:
MLA style (Modern Language Association) is typically used by the Humanities
APA style (American Psychological Association) is commonly used by Education, Psychology, and Business
Chicago (University of Chicago) is generally used by History and some... Continue reading "Citing Business Information"...
From 1622 to the middle 1700s European mapmakers were drawing California as an island separate from North America. In 1701 Jesuit missionary Father Eusebio Francisco Kino walked around Baja California and proved that California was not an island. It took some time, however, for this knowledge to seep into the cartographic record.
On our exhibited 1700 map of the World, the Great Lakes appear in an early ambiguous form. Other maps from this time had more accurate shapes for the lakes and documented their proximity (and lack of connection) to the Mississippi River system. ...
Continue reading "California as an Island"...
If you're an entrepreneur, you've probably heard of PrivCo.
PrivCo is often considered the authority on private company financial data. The database provides coverage on more than 940,000 privately held firms, 19,000 investors, and 154,000 funding rounds, and it's one of over 100 databases that the Gast Business Library subscribes to.
Recently, PrivCo added an additional 100,000 executive contacts! They've also improved export functionality within the database, and they're continuing to add and iterate private market content for researchers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who may...
Continue reading "The Bloomberg of Private Companies"...
According to Forrester Research, Business Intelligence is "A set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information…”
One resource which transforms raw data into meaningful information is called Passport GMID.
Passport GMID provides information on countries, companies, markets and consumers. It provides comparable statistics for more than 200 countries, including economic indicators, health, consumer spending, lifestyles, and more.
This MSU Libraries database also provides valuable brand share...
Continue reading "Brands in the World"...
Michigan was swarming with settlers in the 1850s. As the rural population rose, counties were organized, split, and reshaped at a fast pace. Settlers were eager to buy maps that reflected the newest information and relied on mapmakers to pay attention to such developments.
This map contains numerous errors in county boundaries. The Tuscola, Huron, and Lapeer County boundaries date from 1845. Charlevoix County is shown, but had been eliminated 4 years prior in 1853 (it would be resurrected in 1869). Leelanau and Manitou Counties had been created, but don’t appear (for some...
Continue reading "An Error-ridden Map of Michigan"...
Home to just over 10 million people, Michigan’s 14 metropolitan regions are supported by a host of industries, including construction in Kalamazoo, information technologies in Ann Arbor, and financial services in Detroit.
How good is Michigan for business though?
According to a 2018 study from CNBC, Michigan ranks 11th out of all 50 states for business, and 3rd for technology and innovation. The fastest growing careers in the Great Lakes State include: Health Specialties Teachers (+25.4%), Physician’s Assistants (+30%), Software App Developers (+31%), and Nurse Practitioners...
Continue reading "Michigan for Business"...
This map depicts a very accurate rendering of the Great Lakes for its time. Illustrations sprinkled throughout the map show Native Americans engaged in various activities including drying fish and being eaten by an alligator. Explorer reports from the Gulf of Mexico must have been consulted and mixed in with more northerly reports as we see depictions of palm trees and alligators dotted throughout the Great Lakes and into Canada.
The region, and the map, is called ‘La Louisiana’ to strengthen the claims of King Louis the 14th of France.
Vincenzo Coronelli was an Italian...
Continue reading "Here There be 'Gators!"...
Been on a plane lately?
Last month, Mintel Academic released it's 2018 - Airlines in the US Report.
According to Mintel, "The surging price of [airline] fuel is impacting profit margins and encouraging airlines to raise fares."
Although there are currently over 5000 airlines with ICAO codes, there are just four domestic airlines which control roughly 72% of the U.S. market for air travel. American Airlines, now the world's largest airline, says that its fuel is "about 25% more expensive compared with the prior year, an increase that has added $412 million to its costs...
Continue reading "New Mintel Reports"...