Multi-channel and multi-carrier shipping platform ShipEngine has announced a new partnership with location technology firm what3words, which aims to bolster delivery accuracy across the UK and strengthen the online customer experience.
The new partnership sees what3words added to ShipEngine’s API, making it available to retailers, platforms and 3PLs in the UK.
About what3words
What3words provides a simple way to communicate precise locations. Every three metre square in the world has been given a unique address made of three random words: a what3words address.
For example, the what3words address for the company’s London headquarters is “filled.count.soap”. What3words makes it simple for delivery drivers to know exactly where to drop off parcels.
According to the firm, accepting what3words addresses at checkout helps improve last-mile delivery efficiencies and improves the e-commerce experience.
The ShipEngine API
ShipEngine’s API, meanwhile, simplifies and streamlines shipping for businesses by offering integration with more than 100 carriers, including Evri, USPS, DPD, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and many more.
Designed to integrate easily with existing systems, businesses can reduce delivery costs, improve, optimise shipping operations and increase customer satisfaction, the firm noted.
Adding what3words location technology to its platform enables efficient, consistent and highly accurate deliveries to be made, ultimately elevating the consumer delivery experience.
“An innovative solution”
“In today’s increasingly competitive market, the importance of getting delivery right has never been greater,” said Rafael De La Vega, SVP of Global Carriers and Partnerships at Auctane, ShipEngine’s parent company.
“Our latest research found that 45% of UK consumers would be less likely to shop with a brand in future if their package was lost. Not only does our integration with what3words enable more accurate deliveries, but it also enhances the experience for consumers and provides them with an incentive to become repeat customers,” De La Vega added.
According to Chris Sheldrick, Co-founder and CEO of what3words, “what3words is fast becoming a standard in the e-commerce and logistics space, reducing delivery times and ensuring parcels arrive exactly where they need to go”.
He added: “This integration will go a long way in supporting ShipEngine’s mission to support scaling businesses, providing them with logistics solutions that allow them to focus their time, energy, and resources on what matters most.”
Trotters contract
One firm that could benefit from the what3words integration into the ShipEngine API is Trotters Childrenswear, which last month announced that it had chosen ShipEngine to automate shipping across the UK.
Having initially used ShipEngine’s more small and medium focused sister brand, ShipStation, for shipping in the UK, as Trotters Childrenswear scaled and grew its e-commerce businesses, it required a more complex automated solution that could be directly built into its technology stack.
Leveraging ShipEngine’s API, Trotters Childrenswear can now process 30% more orders per day without any additional overheads, reduce administration associated with processing online orders and increase efficiency.
