DHL Parcel UK has expanded its partnership with what3words, a company that operates a geocode system that assigns a unique three-word combination to every 3m² of the world, allowing individuals and organisations to specify locations with extreme precision. DHL customers will now be able to offer deliveries to a specific location using what3words geocodes.
Retail partners of DHL Parcel UK can accept a what3words address as a delivery destination, which enables shoppers to better pinpoint the exact location they want an item delivered to. It can also clear up ambiguity for couriers, potentially making it easier for them to navigate to destinations and eliminating the risk of leaving an item in an unwanted or dangerous location.
The logistics company hopes that this will combat the complications caused by factors such as inaccurate addresses, duplicate street names, broad postcodes, and difficult-to-find entrances – all of which disrupt deliveries and can lead to recipients not getting their items on time. The company also notes that for new builds, it can take up to six months for an address to be registered, which is a problem in itself that can be rectified through use of the what3words system.
Furthermore, it claims that ‘a quarter of people in the UK find that their full postal address doesn’t direct people, deliveries, or services exactly to their front door’. It is confusion like this that DHL seeks to avoid through its partnership with what3words.
Peter Fuller, Chief Executive of DHL Parcel UK, said: “The latest stage of our partnership with what3words really extends the benefits to more customers and consumers. It gives shoppers the convenience of being able to specify their exact delivery location at the point of checkout and gives retailers even more confidence that their goods will be received on time, without complication. It’s a smart, innovative solution that allows us to improve the quality of the service we offer even further.”
