DB revolutionizes precise deliveries with What3words

DB

Logistics companies around the world face a global challenge: imprecise addressing. Large sites such as factories, warehouses or events spaces often have several access points, making specific drop-off locations or delivery entrances extremely hard to identify and navigate to. To overcome this and to improve the organization’s operational efficiencies by supporting precise deliveries, DB Schenker has announced the integration of What3words location technology into the eSchenker portal.

The company What3words has divided the world into 3×3-metre squares, each with a unique three-word address. For example, the address ///smiling.always.seating references the exact location of the entrance to the DB Schenker head office in Essen, Germany. Markus Sontheimer, CIO/CDO of DB Schenker, stated: “Our cooperation with What3words is another new service of DB Schenker’s connect strategy towards a fully digital ecosystem. Especially with regard to trade shows or exhibitions, it provides our drivers with exact delivery points and thus allows us to serve our customers even faster and better.”

Clare Jones, CCO of What3words, added: “In a recent study conducted in Germany, we found that 73% deliveries struggle to find a home or business address. And, in more than a quarter of cases, delivery drivers have to seek additional information in order to locate an exact drop-off point. What3words solves this problem for both sides – improving efficiencies and improving the customer experience.”

Three-word addresses

By adopting new technologies such as What3words, the DB eSchenker portal helps to ensure that shipments arrive at their destination securely and on time while maintaining the highest possible standard of customer service. The What3words integration will enable more than 110,000 DB Schenker clients – who make over 500,000 bookings a month in total – to optimize their supply chains by specifying pick-up and drop-off points based on these three-word addresses. Deutsche Bahn first invested in What3words in 2016 and the two companies have been working together on the future of logistics and transportation ever since.