AFD Latest News

Are You Losing Orders?

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Charity Event 2019

Happy New Year from all the team at AFD Software - we hope you enjoyed the Christmas break.

Did you know that the percentage of online orders that do not proceed to checkout is almost 70%? In this January edition of Postcode News, we look at the reasons that cause this and the simple changes that can be made to streamline the customer’s journey and convert more sales.

We also highlight our experienced team’s ability to integrate our range of data validation solutions into any application - including popular e-commerce platforms.

In November, AFD Software enjoyed an evening of celebration at our annual charity event. We look at some of the charities that received donations and the vital work they will continue with the carefully channelled funds.

Eircode – Ireland's Postcode...Four Years On

Friday, Oct 4, 2019

In July 2015, Eire's (southern Ireland's) new postcode system "Eircode" was launched - which gave every single one of the 2.2 million letterbox addresses in Ireland its own unique Eircode. Prior to the introduction of Eircode, over 35% of addresses were not uniquely identifiable, making deliveries and identificationof individual properties difficult.

Tuesday, Oct 1, 2019

Data quality is always important, but it can be literally of life or death importance in the Health Sector. Patient care, confidentiality, performance monitoring and correct funding are all impacted by data accuracy. To ensure correct care and confidentiality, patient data needs to be accurate, complete and valid. Any staff member inputting data will need the tools in place to achieve this.

University of Bolton, University of Dundee

Friday, Jul 5, 2019

Many people know of the expression "Red-brick universities", but did you know there are "Plateglass universities" too? At the time of year when many "A" level students await results to see if they can get into the Higher Education (HE) institution of their choice, (whether Red-brick, Plateglass or any other kind!), we look at the challenges which face the HE sector around capturing student data, reporting on graduate outcomes and widening participation to groups less likely to matriculate.

Thursday, Jul 4, 2019

Diamond Jubilee - the Postcode 2019 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Postcode in the UK. We enter our Postcode almost daily for online shopping, confirming identity, checking the traffic home, planning journeys for the following day etc. In fact, a recent survey by the Royal Mail showed some people are more likely to know their Postcode than remember birthdays and key anniversaries! But how well do we know the history of the Postcode?

Wednesday, Apr 3, 2019

House plants have recently seen huge growth in popularity as people have switched on to the benefits they bring.

Monday, Apr 1, 2019

As the largest conservation charity in the country, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is instrumental in ensuring the protection of wildlife and the countryside. Numerous examples of safeguarding species at risk of extinction by the RSPB include Ospreys, Red Kites and the Whitetailed Eagle.

Saturday, Jan 5, 2019

AFD’s new suppression service gives organisations even more accuracy in their data by removing or updating out-of-date contact data. Records are suppressed if the contact has deceased, or moved and not provided a forward address. If a forwarding address has been supplied by the contact, the record is updated with the most recent address available.

Friday, Jan 4, 2019

Do you trust the accuracy of your data? For over 35 years, AFD Software has helped organisations get their data right and ensure the answer to this question is “yes”! AFD’s solutions can help clean up data already held within your databases – then ensure data accuracy continues to be achieved at the point of entry.

Wednesday, Jan 2, 2019

In early December AFD Software hosted its 2018 charity evening at Babbage's, the events venue located at Mountain View Innovation Centre in the Isle of Man.

Tuesday, Jan 1, 2019

Thirty Five years in business is quite a journey – from a loft in a 2-bed semi to a business that now employs over a hundred people in several countries. As we reflect on that journey, perhaps the most exciting thing is that the business has been able to make a real and substantial difference to many people in many places.

Tuesday, Oct 9, 2018

AFD Software’s new phone-validation feature can greatly reduce the number of errors (or invalid phone numbers) entered into your organisation’s records. You will have much more confidence in your data and customers will receive the communications you intended!

Monday, Oct 8, 2018

A new, upgraded version of AFD’s Postcode Evolution service (the server solution for accessing AFD’s datasets) has been completed by our Technical teams and is now ready for all AFD customers to benefit from.

Sunday, Oct 7, 2018

This summer has seen recording-breaking temperatures across the UK and climate change has been more visible than ever.

AFD Software is leading the field amongst technology companies in the British Isles to reduce its carbon footprint as it actively seeks ways to become greener as an organisation.

AFD Group Donated Aircraft Responds to Sulawesi Disaster

Wednesday, Oct 3, 2018

AFD Software donation providing emergency assistance to Indonesia.

In 2008 the AFD Group, announced the donation of a brand new Kodiak Bush Aircraft for use by Christian charity Mission Aviation Fellowship in Borneo.

The new Kodiak aircraft visited the Isle of Man in October 2009 on its journey from the manufacturers in the USA to Asia. A major open day was held at the Andreas Airfield – and many of AFD’s staff, as well as members of the Manx Community were able to view and fly in the aircraft – then registered as N97 10M.

Thursday, Jul 5, 2018

Managing the world’s largest online Football, Tennis, Rugby and Cricket stores comes with its own set of unique challenges. We caught up with Nick Marlow - Project Manager of Platform Operations at Pro:Direct Sport - to find out more.

Wednesday, Jul 4, 2018

Just over a month has passed since the General Data Protection Regulation became law around Europe. I’m sure you have received enough emails containing the subjects; “GDPR” “opt-in” and “subscribe” to last a lifetime! Many of these coming from organisations you had never previously heard of or remember giving any details to.

Tuesday, Apr 3, 2018

2018 marks the 35th anniversary of AFD’s humble beginnings in a small Scottish village. In this edition of Postcode News, we take a look at the AFD story – growing from a home-based business into the leading data validation solution provider in the UK.

Thursday, Jan 4, 2018

After four years of preparation and debate, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was finally approved by the EU Parliament on 14th April 2016.

Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018

Imagine being able to revolutionise education with relational-based, project-based learning that arouses and sustains a child’s curiosity.

Monday, Oct 16, 2017

The Historical Association brings together people who love history, study history and teach history. Its members and subscribers want access to an unparalleled depth of history-related learning resources and to engage with a like-minded community. The Association has delivered this as a charity since it was founded in 1906.

Friday, Sep 15, 2017

AFD Software – trusted experts in name, address and bank data validation solutions recently sponsored My Home Move’s Head of Legal Practice Rob Gurney to cycle the length of the country!

Wednesday, Jul 5, 2017

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has an important role in English football. It protects, improves and negotiates the conditions, rights and status of thousands of professional players – and has done so for over a century. Today, it is the longest-established professional sports union in the world, enabling its members to thrive.

Tuesday, Jul 4, 2017

In your customer, prospect, supporter or member data is hidden valuable insight and understanding waiting to be discovered. Imagine being able to better understand the patterns of success in your organisation and use this knowledge to increase the effectiveness of your marketing, communications and planning. With Censation® you can.

Saturday, Apr 8, 2017

Have you implemented email address checking from AFD Software?

Friday, Apr 7, 2017

If you could choose between getting one in ten railway journeys free or, having the money for the tenth journey invested to improve the rail network - which would you choose?

Sunday, Jan 8, 2017

With nearly 50,000 customers across 107 branches, Safestore is the largest UK self-storage group.

Saturday, Jan 7, 2017

Imagine being able to choose a charity and have a donation made on your behalf by the company you work for. That is what happens each year at AFD Software and our colleagues love it

Saturday, Oct 1, 2016

If you have visited Ireland, you will know that finding a specific Irish address can be difficult. Why? Mainly because one third of Irish addresses are not unique – and they have no property name or number.

Saturday, Oct 1, 2016

What will drive your organisation to new levels of excellence in data stewardship and accuracy? In our search for extra insight to help you achieve more, we met with Skipton Building Society. Why? We reckoned we ought to be able to learn from an organisation driven to excellence not only by regulation and duty of care but also by its culture. We were not disappointed!

Friday, Jul 1, 2016

Unique Fundraising had some unique issues with address and bank data validation. It started with a conversation with us about connectivity and losing customers. It progressed to not only solving this problem but uncovering savings of over £40,000 through extracting untapped wealth from existing data. How? Through our free consultancy.

Friday, Apr 1, 2016

Colleges and Further Education organisations rely on accurate contact data for a number of reasons, including communications and engagement with students, parents and employers, accurate data returns, and geodemographic profiling of students allowing a better understanding of their background.

Saturday, Jan 30, 2016

Towards the end of last year, AFD software held its annual charity event which celebrated staff-nominated donations to well over seventy charities, with donations totalling over £750,000.

Friday, Jan 1, 2016

During an upgrade to a new Enterprise Resource Planning System, Corney & Barrow implemented tight address data controls to maximise customer relationships in both the UK and Asia.

Sunday, Nov 1, 2015

After analysing their address data using our Free Healthcheck Service, MTA were disappointed with the poor state of their address book until AFD was implemented.

Thursday, Oct 1, 2015

In 2015, AFD Software relocated to the Mountain View Innovation Centre (MVIC). The £3 million investment delivers spacious office accommodation, recreational and social facilities.

Wednesday, Apr 1, 2015

StepChange Debt Charity added automatic data updates, transparent licensing and resilience when they made the upgrade to AFD.

Wednesday, Apr 1, 2015

Wincanton saved customers time and money by optimising order of deliveries and minimising failed deliveries.

Thursday, Jan 1, 2015

Multi-channel mail order company Damart minimise duplicate UK and US customer details in mail order data entry, their contact centre and website.

AFD Mobile Product Range for Android, iOS and Windows Mobile Devices

Tuesday, Apr 1, 2014

AFD Mobile Products are proven in the field to speed up data entry on the move by up to 90% and minimise errors.

Wednesday, Jan 1, 2014

Each year AFD Group staff are invited to nominate a charity which the company can support by making a donation on their behalf. In November last year more than 50 charities received donations including the National Autistic Society (NAS) and Hope for Justice.

Wednesday, Jan 1, 2014

Imagine a rapid, accurate address entry solution that needs no integration to work with any Windows application – yet it works seamlessly. Just type the postcode or partial address into the program and the address appears.

Wednesday, Jan 1, 2014

Johnston Press have saved staff time, become more responsive and minimised operational errors with AFD.

Saturday, Oct 1, 2011

Yorkshire Water use Names & Numbers to find customer contact name and address details faster – with as many phone numbers as possible.

Tuesday, Sep 1, 2009

Reverse searching for customers by using either telephone number or postcode helps minimise abandoned calls and speed up data entry by up to 90%.

Fast, Accurate Address Entry

Case Study

StepChange

Name and Address Validation

Case Study

Yorkshire Water

Cleanse Address Databases

Case Study

Pro:Direct Sport

Corney and Barrow

Check Bank & Card Details

Case Study

Unique Fundraising

Validate Global Addresses

Case Study

Damart

Tailored Solutions

Case Study

Johnston Press

Developer Free Integrations

Software Development Kits

AFD Robot®

Instant Web Integration

SalesForce Integration

Magento Integration

Shopify Integration

.NET SDK

Java SDK

Angular Module

jQuery Plugin

iOS SDK

Android SDK

XML - Postcode Evolution

JSON/JSONP

UNIX/LINUX

C / C++

Oracle

Perl

PHP

Software Development

Banking and Finance

Case Study

Skipton Building Society

Charities and NFP

Case Study

Unique Fundraising

Logistics & Distribution

Case Study

Wincanton Home Delivery

Multi-Channel Retail

Case Study

Pro:Direct Sport

Corney and Barrow

Insurance

Education

Case Study

Preston's College

Legal

Case Study

MTA Solicitors

Health

Case Study

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