{"id":19832,"date":"2016-11-18T17:16:06","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T22:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/you-have-mail-wherever-you-are\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T17:17:24","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T22:17:24","slug":"you-have-mail-wherever-you-are","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/you-have-mail-wherever-you-are\/","title":{"rendered":"You.Have.Mail Wherever.You.Are"},"content":{"rendered":"

The printed copy of the Google Maps satellite view of the area I had managed to download bore little resemblance to the reality on the ground. The dust-covered, pothole-filled street on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar housed an eclectic agglomeration of summarily built shanties, small shops, and traditional Mongolian felt tents (called gers<\/em>), some of them erected just a few months before. Because houses lacked numbered addresses, the only way to find the family I was looking for was to reference the printed map and attempt to identify the house with the right shape and roof color within the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

That is why geo-location and postal delivery within the Mongolian capital city of 1.5 million inhabitants is a formidable logistical challenge. More than 60% of the population[1]<\/sup><\/a> lives in ger districts<\/em> like the one I was visiting, which are sprawling residential areas without access to basic public services like water, sewage systems, and central heating. There are few named streets, so people usually describe locations using the nearest landmark or provide a cellphone number on envelopes to ensure delivery.<\/p>\n

Outside the capital, the problem of delivery is compounded by Mongolia\u2019s vast size and low population density: some 1.3 million people inhabit its more than 600,000 square miles. Moreover, about a quarter of the population is nomadic and lacks permanent addresses.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

In response to this challenge, Mongol Post, the country\u2019s largest mail provider, licensed in June 2016 a new geo-referencing system from the British technology company what3words. The startup devised a method to divide the surface of the earth into a grid of 57 trillion 3mx3m squares. Each square has a unique three-word address that can be communicated quickly, easily, and with no ambiguity. The company uses a geocoder to turn geographic coordinates into these three-word addresses and vice-versa. For example, the approximate location of Professor Toffel\u2019s lectern in our Aldrich classroom is hero.chemistry.popped.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

The business model of what3words currently revolves around licensing the three-word addresses to companies that require precise geographic information systems. While Mongol Post is the first to use the system for government mail delivery, organizations such as the United Nations, courier companies, and mapping firms like Esri already use the system.[4]<\/a> The goal of the founders is to revolutionize the worldwide geolocating and postal delivery service, which has remained unchained since the 18th<\/sup> century.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Operationally, what3words has adopted a two-tiered approach to facilitate expansion through a \u201cfreemium\u201d basic package and a paid subscription. Combined, these two options can lead to growth through networks effects: the more customers sign on to the platform, the more valuable the w3w service becomes. To achieve this synergy-inducing scale, the company has prioritized expanding its free mapping product to more than 170 countries.[6]<\/a> The number of paying customers are expected to increase as the mapping system becomes more efficient and allows businesses to use it as platform that is seamlessly integrated with the client companies\u2019 existing systems. Moreover, the service is available in multiple languages to ensure adoption across multiple geographies.<\/p>\n

My recommendation for the company is to consider targeting more specific uses for its geo-location services. For the 75% of the earth\u2019s population (approximately 4 billion people) that have no address for mailing purposes, the lack of a physical address also translates into enormous difficulties to open a bank account, register for municipal services, or be reached in an emergency.[7]<\/a> With minimal incremental costs, what3words can develop paid partnerships with companies targeting other such services, including\u00a0firms seeking to increase financial inclusion for the unbanked, municipal utility providers, or emergency response and crisis management organizations. The market size is enormous and so are the opportunities to diversify income\u00a0streams. Aiming to radically change the lives of billions of people would precipitate a true digital transformation of an antiquated postal system that has so far been unable to match the needs of a growing world population.<\/p>\n

End.of.Essay<\/p>\n

(Word count: 744)<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Carlos Barria, Inside Mongolia\u2019s Ger District<\/em>, Reuters, August 2013. Available at http:\/\/blogs.reuters.com\/photographers-blog\/2013\/08\/07\/inside-mongolias-ger-district\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Joon Ian Wong, Mongolia is Changing All Its Addresses to Three-Word Phrases<\/em>, Quartz, June 2016. Available at http:\/\/qz.com\/705273\/mongolia-is-changing-all-its-addresses-to-three-word-phrases\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> For more geographic adventures, you can use the website https:\/\/map.what3words.com\/<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Natasha Lomas, What3words Gets $3.5M Led by Intel Capital To Simplify Location Sharing<\/em>, TechCrunch, November 2015. Available at https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2015\/11\/03\/what3words-series-a\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> National Postal Museum. Available at http:\/\/postalmuseum.si.edu\/exhibits\/current\/binding-the-nation\/starting-the-system\/colonies-and-the-mail.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Natasha Lomas, What3words Gets $3.5M Led by Intel Capital To Simplify Location Sharing<\/em>, TechCrunch, November 2015. Available at https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2015\/11\/03\/what3words-series-a\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Joon Ian Wong, Mongolia is Changing All Its Addresses to Three-Word Phrases<\/em>, Quartz, June 2016. Available at http:\/\/qz.com\/705273\/mongolia-is-changing-all-its-addresses-to-three-word-phrases\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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