From Weeks to Days: How Sabasun Uses Location Intelligence to Make Faster, Smarter Expansion Decisions

Author:
Shabina Shah Mohd
TM One Marketing
Reading time: 4 minutes
Date posted: 24 September 2026
Date modified: 24 September 2026
Opening a new store is ultimately a bet on a location. And before a retailer commits capital, people and inventory to that bet, it needs confidence that the customers will be there.
For Sabasun HyperRuncit, TM One SmartMap is helping turn that decision from a lengthy manual process into a faster, more data-informed way to evaluate market potential.
Based in Terengganu, Sabasun HyperRuncit has grown over more than three decades into a trusted retail name, now operating six branches that serve communities across the state. As the business considers its next phase of expansion, the critical question is not only where to open next, but which location offers the strongest market potential.
For Abdul Basir Embong, Senior Manager, Business Development Team at Sabasun, answering that question once involved a lengthy research process. Before using SmartMap, Sabasun relied on traditional data gathering, including requests to district offices and the Department of Statistics Malaysia for demographic information. Assessing a potential location could take between three and six weeks before the team had enough information to compare sites meaningfully.

Faster insight for better location decisions

For business leaders, location intelligence goes beyond simply viewing information on a map. It provides a practical way to bring relevant location data together, strengthen site comparisons and support expansion decisions with clearer insights.
Sabasun now uses TM One SmartMap to support its expansion planning. SmartMap provides geographic and location intelligence, including demographic insights, mapping data and Points of Interest. These inputs help businesses understand the characteristics of a location, the surrounding catchment area and the factors that may influence customer demand. Beyond demographic and Point of Interest data, SmartMap brings together multiple layers of spatial information and analytical tools, helping organisations identify patterns, compare locations and uncover insights that may not be apparent from individual datasets alone.
"The real value of data isn't in how much of it we can put on a map. It's in whether it gives someone the confidence to make a better decision. For Sabasun, that means turning weeks of research into days of understanding where the next opportunity could be. That's what we want Smart Services to do—make intelligence practical enough to act on."
— Sofia Shamsuddin, Head of Smart Services, TM One.
For Sabasun, the impact has been most visible in the time required to study potential sites. With SmartMap supporting the process, much of Sabasun's location analysis can now be completed within approximately three to seven days, giving the team faster access to the evidence needed for site evaluation.
Time Efficiency Gain

3 to 6 Weeks reduced to 3 to 7 Days

~75% Faster
What once took three to six weeks can now be supported in approximately three to seven days. That efficiency gives the business development team more time to compare locations, challenge assumptions and prioritise the areas showing the strongest potential.
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Watch: How Sabasun uses TM One SmartMap to evaluate potential expansion locations

See a live walkthrough of spatial data analysis in action across Terengganu.

Putting the data to work in Dungun

The Dungun example shows how this works in practice, where location data helped Sabasun move beyond broad assumptions and assess a potential site with clearer market signals. One example came when Sabasun was assessing several potential locations in Dungun.
After analysing the areas in greater detail using SmartMap, one location emerged as particularly promising. Sabasun's study identified approximately 61,000 people within the area, together with four schools. These indicators gave the team stronger visibility into the potential customer base surrounding the site and helped them assess whether the location could support future retail demand.
The team also highlighted SmartMap's Point of Interest information as particularly useful. For Sabasun, understanding what exists around a potential location helps the team assess accessibility, surrounding activity, community characteristics and the overall suitability of the site compared with other potential locations.
SmartMap does not replace Sabasun's long-standing knowledge of Terengganu and its communities. It helps the team validate on-the-ground insights with comparable location data, providing additional evidence to support more informed site selection and expansion decisions.

Turning local knowledge into an advantage

For business organisations, better location intelligence can help leaders evaluate opportunities faster, reduce uncertainty and make decisions with greater confidence. Sabasun also acknowledged TM One's support throughout its use of the platform, describing the team as professional, responsive to feedback and open to requests for improvement.
No technology can make an expansion decision risk-free. But it can make the assumptions behind that decision more visible. For Sabasun, combining decades of local knowledge with location intelligence means the next store does not have to begin with a blank map, it can begin with evidence.
Explore how TM One SmartMap can help your organisation turn location intelligence into faster, clearer and more confident business decisions.
About TM One SmartMap:
SmartMap provides geospatial data and location intelligence capabilities, including digital mapping, demographic insights, property information and Points of Interest (POI). These data layers help organisations understand the characteristics of a location and its surrounding catchment area, supporting site selection and location planning.
Beyond individual datasets, SmartMap brings together multiple layers of geospatial information to help organisations identify spatial patterns, compare potential locations and derive insights to support more informed site selection decisions.
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Key Takeaways
Analysis reduced from 3-6 weeks to 3-7 days.
Dungun study validated ~61,000 residents and 4 schools.
Combines local community knowledge with GIS data.
Good decisions become more powerful when data turns uncertainty into evidence. Sabasun’s journey with location intelligence shows how combining local knowledge with geospatial insights can accelerate site evaluation, strengthen decision-making, and support more confident expansion planning.

- VANI, Versatile AI News Informer
Good decisions become more powerful when data turns uncertainty into evidence. Sabasun’s journey with location intelligence shows how combining local knowledge with geospatial insights can accelerate site evaluation, strengthen decision-making, and support more confident expansion planning.
- VANI, Versatile AI News Informer

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