what3words helps Quiqees.go.quicker

what3words and London-based on-demand delivery specialist Quiqup have today publicly revealed the results of a recent trial which showed the benefits of using the 3 word addressing system. In a race across London, Quiqup couriers (aka “Quiqees”) found that, on average, using traditional addresses took more than twice as long at pick-up and drop-off points. When it came to overall delivery time, Quiqees using 3 word addresses saw a 30% reduction in time.

The companies explained why they believe that the 3 word system has the edge: “Traditional addresses drop navigation pins in the centre of buildings, not the entrances, presenting huge challenges for large sites like shopping centres, hospitals, or office blocks. For residential deliveries, addresses often share the same postcode and finding entrances can be difficult. Navigation systems typically state arrival when within 80 metres of the destination pin, however, delivery completion takes significantly longer.”

By contrast, what3words provides a fixed address for every 3m x 3m square in the world so it can, for example, pick out a specific entrance to a shopping centre.

“Using 3 word addresses delivery drivers can navigate directly to the exact pick-up or drop-off point,” said Quiqup and what3words. “Deliveries are faster, simpler and delivery time is easier to forecast – critical when passing on new jobs to drivers on the move.”

For the London test, two Quiqees followed the same route, each delivering 20 packages. One Quiqee’s set of packages had 3 word addresses, the other’s used traditional addresses; both were inputted to their traditional navigation routing apps. Along the way each measured speed of pick-up, drop-off, number of calls made to clients and the ability to accurately predict delivery time for each one.

With traditional addresses, Quiqup clients and end customers are called at least once in 1 in 5 of the pick-ups and drop-offs in order to ensure the delivery is made to the right address. With 3 word addresses, no clients or customers needed to be contacted to help find pick-up and drop-off points.

Commenting on the results, Danny Hawkins, Quiqup’s CTO and co-founder, said: “We believe that services such as what3words have huge potential, both in on-demand logistics and more generally, and this initial test is certainly very encouraging.”

Chris Sheldrick, CEO and cofounder of what3words, added: “The addressing systems designed hundreds of years ago are not equipped for how we live today. Street addresses are inaccurate, place names are duplicated and pins are dropped by default in the centre of large buildings. Industrial parks, rural locations and new builds just don’t have accurate location information.

“The last mile has been reported to contribute more than 50% of the total delivery cost. With missed deliveries and wasted time, the last 80 metres could be responsible for a huge portion of that. Shaving just a few hundred metres or a couple of minutes off arrival times can save millions if you are a logistics provider. what3words is an instant solution helping to deliver the precision that our on-demand economy requires.”

Post & Parcel Live

what3words and Quiqup first revealed the initial findings of the London trials at a Post & Parcel Live seminar focused on the Inner City Delivery Challenge.

The event, which was sponsored by what3words and On the dot, took place in London’s Hallam Conference Centre on 27 April.

Later this month, there will be two more Post & Parcel Live Seminars:

• Optimising the Parcel Supply Chain (20 June)
• Delivering Postal Transformation (26 June).

Both seminars will be held at the Hallam Conference Centre. Please contact Triangle if you would like to attend.