The parent company of retail giant Ikea put nearly $16.5 million into location technology from What3words to improve urban deliveries in cities. The What3words solution is also expected to provide accuracy for new delivery by drones and autonomous vehicles.
The system enables specifying a precise location such as a side door or utility entrance, which is valuable for deliveries. With reliable and highly accurate location information, more first-time deliveries are successful, reducing CO2 emissions and vehicles on the road. Pilot tests show what3words addresses for city deliveries can reduce the time spent on the road in the last mile by up to 30%. In addition, the system is designed for voice entry for further ease of use.
What3words created the addressing solution by dividing the world into a grid of 3-meter squares and giving each square a combination of three words: a what3words address.
Around the world, billions of people live without an address or an address that is not fit for purpose. What3words has created an innovative solution to the problem of poor and inaccurate addressing which is a problem in both developing and developed countries alike. For example, ///filled.count.soap will take you to the exact front door to what3words’ London office.
Ingka owns and operates 389 Ikea stores and e-commerce activities in 32 countries. Krister Mattsson, managing director of Ingka, says: “We see value in helping to support the build-up of a universal addressing system that can lead to better customer experience, while the precise locations will allow for a reduction in overall miles travelled, reducing the carbon footprint of home deliveries.”
