Matthew Furneaux, global commercial director of Loqate, will give a presentation entitled Fixing failed deliveries: a win-win for business and consumers at the upcoming Parcel+Post Expo Conference.
Please describe your presentation.
In this session I will discuss how aggregating multiple data sources and addressing types using a unique Persistent Data Hierarchy delivers an incredible experience to users of addressing systems. I will describe how Loqate has innovated to achieve this, and introduce some compelling customer stories that support this approach. As part of this session, I will also explore how recently developed addressing systems (PlusCodes, What3Words, etc) can work effectively with physical addressing structures to provide greater delivery success globally.
What is Persistent Data Hierarchy? How does it help addressing systems?
When working on a global basis it rapidly becomes clear that no single data provider has the best quality of information. Invariably there are inconsistencies between different data sources: missing items, discrepancies about terminology or spelling, or differences of hierarchical structure. A good example of this is English counties – people answer with the name of the historical ‘shire’, or the local council or postal region, or even the police authority. All are different but valid entities; it’s the term ‘county’ that’s somewhat ambiguous.
To overcome this, Loqate has built the first ‘golden record’ for location data, known as Persistent Data Hierarchy.
Persistent Data Hierarchy is the process of curating and enhancing multiple global data sources to create a consistent and single view of a location. This decreases the processing time and increases the consistency as well as the match rate of validated addresses.
How can aggregating multiple data sources and addressing types help posts?
One of the most important aspects of creating great global location data solutions is the ability to effectively aggregate multiple reference data sources into a consistent and reliable single view of a location. Yet across the globe, address and geocode reference data sources are often incomplete and misaligned, contributing to subpar data quality outputs. Our proprietary Persistent Data Hierarchy allows us to curate and enhance global address and geocode data from a multitude of sources, creating one best record.
How can newer addressing systems work with physical addressing structures? How does it make delivery easier?
We now live in an age where convenience is king. We can book a taxi, order food, pay for parking and book a holiday at any given whim. But our appetite for convenience is ever-changing. We want things quicker than ever, and we expect the experience to be friction-free. In the world of same-day delivery, consumers expect their deliveries to arrive in the shortest possible time. Reliable track-and-trace and hassle-free handling of complaints and returns are taken for granted. As a result, companies need to embrace the latest technologies if they are to keep up.
One of the issues with the current postcode system is that it’s not precise enough. Street addresses can identify a building, but they can’t pinpoint a specific delivery entrance. As a result, delivery drivers often struggle to find the exact location themselves. In fact, Loqate recently conducted a study into the extent of failed deliveries and found that 62% of online shoppers have experienced a late or failed delivery in the last year. Inaccurate addresses cost businesses a shocking amount of money and perhaps more importantly, damage customer relationships.
New entrants to the world of address systems, like What3Words and Locpin are trying to tackle this with a more granular, alternative georeferencing system. These divide the world into a meshed grid of coordinates with a completely unique marking.
Of course, for this to take off it relies on the ability of supply chain software adopting these new methods, which is why Loqate will be one of the first address management software companies to offer this as an alternative to capturing an address. Over the next few years, I’d expect to see more and more companies incorporating this method of address in their online checkouts and back-end systems as location becomes even more critical to serving the evolving demands of the modern consumer.
See Matthew Furneaux, global commercial director of Loqate, at 3:50pm on Wednesday, October 2 in room 1. He will also give another presentation, titled Addressing – it’s all about the blend at 2:00pm on Wednesday in room 2. The full conference program can be found here.
Read the Fixing failed deliveries report here: https://www.loqate.com/resources/ebooks-and-reports/improving-data-quality-report/