The past few years have spurred the rise of industries such as e-commerce and food delivery, exhibiting market growth in unprecedented ways. Along with its rise, we have also witnessed the growing importance of accurate mapping technology, particularly for last-mile deliveries that are reliant on correct and updated information. Thanks largely to advances in technology such as satellite imagery combined with crowd-sourced data, the overall accuracy of mapping has improved significantly, providing a visual representation of the world, which can be used for various purposes. 

Nonetheless, when maps fail to represent the real world accurately, it can lead to costly mistakes or even dangerous situations. “Maps, which are supposed to offer a reliable source of information, often misrepresent the world due to distortions or outdated data. Traditional mapping providers face challenges with unmapped regions, missing or inaccurate addressing, inadequate or incorrect points of interest (POI) data, and keeping up with changes in real-time”, shared Xander van der Heijden, CEO of UNL.

Because of these challenges, industries that require accurate mapping for efficient last-mile deliveries have been deeply affected. Hence, it is essential to find solutions to enhance mapping technologies and their applications.

How Bringing Your Own Data (BYOD) can enrich business mapping

Bringing Your Own Data (BYOD) is a powerful approach for companies looking to gain a competitive edge in the current landscape. By leveraging their unique datasets, businesses can unlock valuable insights and create customised solutions tailored to their customers’ specific needs. In this regard, location-based service companies are particularly well positioned to benefit from BYOD as they possess large amounts of location data that could be used more effectively than it currently is. This data includes address information, points of interest (POI) with associated metadata, and details about drivers and workforce insights which can be infused into the business map and provide an additional level of precision and hyperlocal location intelligence, which traditional solutions lack.

There is a plethora of valuable information that can be harnessed and maximised from driver knowledge. For example, companies that use e-vehicles for their last-mile operations can incorporate data on the vehicles’ battery capacity and the location of nearby charging stations. This data can be integrated into the routing optimization to plan the most efficient delivery routes, ensuring that the e-vehicles recharge at the most optimal stations and complete their deliveries on time. This enables businesses to increase the efficiency of their delivery fleet, reduce range anxiety and delivery delays, and improve their overall delivery performance. Particularly with last-mile deliveries, customer insights can help drivers locate their entry points for efficient drop-off.

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When incorporating their data into maps and powering location services with it, location-based businesses can greatly improve business performance by optimising delivery times/ETAs or providing better customer experiences through improved navigation capabilities. Additionally, having access to private business context allows organisations an unprecedented level of control over how they manage and maintain the quality of the data, giving them an advantage over competitors.

“BYOD, including workforce knowledge and user contributions, brings a unique, competitive advantage and is often not available via traditional mapping providers and data providers. Businesses usually have the richest and most up-to-date data. The capability to embed this intelligence to optimise services like search, geocoding, route planning, and turn-by-turn navigation, can greatly bolster performance and operations”, explained Xander van der Heijden, CEO of UNL.

How UNL empowers businesses to harness the power of their location data

Recognising the gaps in the market, UNL developed a revolutionary solution called Virtual Private Maps (VPMs) to address the limitations and challenges of traditional mapping services. The solution can be leveraged to power location services such as route planning, distance matrix, geofencing, routing, search, geocoding, etc, which are crucial features of location-based services such as food/parcel delivery, mobility, and ride-hailing, among others.

VPMs enable businesses of any size to bring, manage, and leverage their business data to power better location services. This provides businesses with greater control over their data as it remains 100% in ownership and control of the business itself. 

In addition, UNL’s VPM system allows companies to leverage third-party geospatial data sources which further enhances the accuracy of location information available for use. This creates an accurate source of location data that can be used by all types of businesses regardless of sizes, origins, or sectors. 

How UNL uses BYOD capabilities to power their unique Living Geocoder Solution

Geocoding is a critical component of many applications, as it provides the ability to accurately locate and identify a given address or point of interest (POI). UNL Geocoding API offers powerful features which allow users to take advantage of sophisticated algorithms to identify the geo-coordinates and assigns a unique UNL geoID (unique digital and verifiable address) to a given address, POI, landmark, locality or administrative area.

UNL leverages unique VPM and BYOD capabilities to power an advanced Living Geocoder solution, which continuously learns from available VPM data – including customer private business data, and third-party data sources, and leverages real-time feedback loops.

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Elaborating further, Xander van der Heijden expressed, “Accurate geocodes translate to fewer failed deliveries, fewer miles per delivery, less time needed to locate addresses, lower operational costs, and improved route optimisation. Leveraging our proprietary technology, we are building a hyperlocal “living geocoder” designed for continuous improvement, which can train itself with address and location data to derive higher coverage and accuracy on an ongoing basis. With our VPM approach and close collaboration with the customer, we are creating a unique feedback loop mechanism to consistently improve geocoding accuracy across regions.”

This ensures that the results are always up to date even when queries are incomplete, partly incorrect, or descriptive — making it ideal for markets with varying and inconsistent addressing standards. Furthermore, this approach also eliminates manual maintenance costs associated with traditional geolocation databases which need regular updates due to changes in addressing systems over time.

Xander van der Heijden added, “Companies across Southeast Asia are already using our technology and training their Living Geocoders with their own business data, leading to improvements in the accuracy of geocoding by 15-20%.”

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Photo by Norma Mortenson via Pexels

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by UNL

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