The inspiration for Merqator came from Gerardus Mercator, a 16th-century cartographer from Belgium. He is most renowned for creating in 1569 the first world map based on a new projection which represents any course of constant bearing as a straight line, a major innovation still used today.
This Mercator projection became the standard for marine navigation because ships can sail in a constant compass direction for long stretches, reducing the difficult, error-prone course corrections that otherwise would be needed.
Even in the modern era of digital mapping, Mercator's work remains as important as ever, with most online street mapping services using the Web Mercator projection.
In Supply Chain Management, we often need ‘maps’ as well, for example a ‘geographical map’ to show the material flow, or a ‘road map’ to show the next steps forward for the organization.
Merqator’s mission is not only to provide you with a straightforward map of what to do next, but also to support you with the implementation itself, on your journey to supply chain excellence.
On a personal note, I’ve always had a fascination for old maps and the incredible journeys around the world on wooden ships they enabled. When you then find out that the most famous cartographer has the same last name as you (Gerardus Mercator was originally born as ‘Gerard Kremer’, Mercator being the Latin translation of Kremer(s), which means ‘merchant’), a connection is made.