AFD Current News

Happy New Year and welcome to the first 2012 edition of Postcode News.

The reputation of your organisation and the quality of its customer relationships are probably two of its most important assets.

Our business at AFD Software is to help you protect those assets by providing quality name, address and bank data validation software. Our software now equips staff in over 7,500 organisations with the tools they need to effectively deliver service excellence.

In Postcode News we pay another visit to leading regional law firm Pannone LLP. This time we learn how they have applied the latest innovations from AFD, enabling them to be even more accurate, productive and professional.

How does your organisation stay ahead in its field? Perhaps the words Expertise, Energy and Excellence hold at least part of the answer. Maybe it's also the ability to respond quickly and positively to new opportunities. This is the case for Manchester-based Pannone where leveraging Information Technology is a must.

No compromise

David Griffiths is Director of IT at Pannone: "When it comes to data entry, people are looking for the fastest way to enter it, but without compromising on accuracy. Pannone offer a full range of legal services so the contact data relating to clients and cases is entered onto our systems in a wide variety of places.

We work on the principle that prevention is better than cure so wherever contact data is entered, we have integrated AFD Postcode Plus or AFD Names & Numbers to validate that data as a natural part of the process."

Evolution is Everywhere

Pannone now use the AFD Postcode Evolution® Service as a server-side solution which enables access to AFD products from a server application, website or network clients. Luigi Salzano is the Senior Manager in Systems Development at Pannone: "From a development perspective, what we like is that Evolution is flexible, easily implemented, returns data faster and is more easily consumed by the applications that use it.

We use Evolution with internally developed applications and third party applications and we still have the option of using an AFD interface when we need it. With AFD Evolution we can add data validation to diverse and complex systems with ease."

Finding Fast

David Griffiths adds: "The productivity of high value staff is very important to the business. By using Names & Numbers and Postcode Plus we save up to 90% of the time it would normally take to enter contact details – just by using the postcode. Sometimes the address we are working from is wrong, it may have missing lines or poor spelling. With Names & Numbers we can still find the right record even from very poor source information.

Building confidence

We regard it as essential to minimise the risk of non-delivery or wrong delivery of time-critical and confidential documents. Inaccuracies in address data send the wrong message and can have serious consequences. Accurate address data builds confidence and protects and enhances our professional reputation and image."

Many organisations clean-up address data with AFD Refiner, and Pannone use it regularly to cleanse data from other systems and to ensure the accuracy of address data prior to marketing use.

Fuzzy logic is fuzzy!

Refiner is built on a "quality first" principle, it does not offer "fuzzy logic" which can compromise address integrity. Instead it operates by a strict set of rules that have been built into the product over the past 15 years.

Refiner comes complete with Censation – the most widely distributed geodemographic classification system in the UK. Pannone use it to gain insight into their business. The principle behind Censation is that 'birds of a feather flock together'.

What are they like?

Every residential UK postcode is classified with one of 52 Censation codes giving a good indication of the relative affluence, life-stage and life-style of the residents. Luigi Salzano explains "At the same time as cleansing address data, Refiner will append Censation codes and grid references.

Learning from Censation

Using the Censation codes helps us to confirm or deny our instincts about the types of customer we deal with in different parts of the business. With Censation we can learn and build new insight which we then apply to our marketing planning. With grid references appended to each address we can use this to visualise the location and clustering of our customers. Refiner delivers exceptional value to our business."

A lot of money flows through law firms in transactions relating to property, wills, personal injury..... the list is a long one and the amounts can be small… or very large!

Faster payments

Pannone has developed 'Chits', a web based transaction system designed to enable money to flow smoothly. Chits is designed to maximise automation, speed-up authorisation and minimise delays. The system utilises AFD BankFinder to mitigate the risk of errors in bank data which can occur at the point of data entry.

Towards certainty

Heather Sanders, Pannone Financial Controller, is clear: "There is potential for error in any human typing of bank account details. Client bank data has to find its way onto our systems and we need to be sure that it is accurate before processes of authorisation, entry to accounting systems and fund transfers take place."

Handling human error

Heather identifies two key risks: "The customer can make a mistake in the details provided and mistakes can be made at the point data is keyed to our system. Both these risks boil down to the risks of human error associated with transcription. It's these risks that AFD BankFinder mitigates by automatically checking the data at the time it is being input and before it enters the work flow system and accounts system. If BankFinder spots an error the user is alerted and invited to check and rekey the data."

Weekly updates

Pannone regard validation of bank, account and sort code details with BankFinder as a basic and essential risk mitigation tool. They have even scheduled an upgrade to the system to take advantage of the new automated weekly bank data updates from AFD Software which carries no extra cost.

Why just plan a wedding when you can design your whole marriage? That's the question posed by 'Marriage by Design' - a major new initiative from Care for the Family.

The initiative is sponsored by the AFD Group as part of its annual charity event which saw over £250,000 given in December 2011 to around 50 charities nominated by AFD staff.

The course is set against the background of broken marriages now costing the UK tax payer £42 billion per annum. "92% of engaged couples receive no marriage preparation and it's often the simple things that make the difference" says Care for the Family National Representative Maddie Porter.

Alison Dorricott, AFD Group Director explained why AFD decided to sponsor the development and roll out of Marriage by Design: "Strong marriages are the foundation for strong families which are building blocks for a strong community and nation. The fallout from a failed marriage is huge – we wanted to be part of the solution."

Each year around 250,000 couples tie the knot, and the program, endorsed by Relate, was well received at its launch in last Autumn's Wedding Fairs in London and Birmingham. Care for the Family have a two year plan to recruit and train volunteers, enabling 10% of all engaged couples to get space on the Marriage by Design day at a local venue. For those who prefer it, the complete sessions are on DVD.

"It's all practical stuff that can make or break a marriage - which most of us just don't talk about. Marriage by Design creates dedicated space for a couple to explore the issues – communication, resolving conflict, friendship, finance, sex."

The personal cost to children clearly concerns Maddie: "Research shows that broken marriage is so often the precursor to poor child attainment, younger sexually active children, increased housing requirements, unpaid debt and increased health care demands. Children so affected are significantly more likely to self-harm, abuse drugs and engage in crime."

"We don't get many opportunities to speak about our difficulties pre-crisis. Marriage by Design is like a fence at the top of the cliff rather than an ambulance at the bottom." A reason for optimism that the initiative can have a positive impact is a long term study showing that couples who take part in even the most basic pre-marriage course are still likely to be married in 5 years."

"I had a difficult family experience, my husband a happy one. So we came to marriage with very different expectations and perceptions, different assumed rules and ways to manage everyday decisions. Sorting this out was most traumatic! We were lucky to have trusted and wise friends who helped us make our marriage work."

"Planning a wedding day is fun – you have to get stuck into the detail if you want a successful day. Marriage is pretty similar – getting stuck into the detail and planning can make all the difference. That's what Marriage by Design is about".

Originally from Edinburgh, Jon moved to the Isle of Man to work at an outdoor centre. His love for the outdoors developed through childhood as he racked up thousands of miles mountain biking – and has plenty of injuries to prove his commitment. Growing up just two hours from Aviemore meant easy access to skiing - and Snowboarding is Jon's favourite sport. He spent two seasons in the French Alps at Chamonix and Vaujany. Back on the Isle of Man Jon enjoys sea kayaking off the Calf of Man, getting as close as one metre from basking sharks.

Jon also enjoys building work – and has knocked down an old house and built a new one in its place. Now with the AFD Group for over two years, he has a varied role, being responsible for estate management and distribution management, including safety checks, security, maintenance, stock, despatch, hospitality, meeting / greeting and event management.

It's when Jon talks about young people that you feel the passion:

"Most young people love being outside. Those I worked with were mainly from broken homes – they often just need a little understanding – a role model – someone who can get alongside them. It's very rewarding to see a young lad turn himself around from hopeless and aimless to positive and growing."

"Best thing in my life? "Easy. My three year old son Josh. He's already master of the skate park – we enjoy comparing injuries and I've already introduced him to my favourite food – bacon butties!"

Over the past three months there have been significant updates to data on the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF). These include 14 new localities, 7,095 new postcodes, and 103,503 new delivery points. There have also been 37,065 changes to existing addresses. These are all included in our latest Q.1/12 update.

From now on, BankFinder updates are a requirement for all AFD BankFinder customers. All new purchases and renewals will include the provision of weekly updates as standard.

If you are a BankFinder customer you will already have received full details of how the changes affect you and what to do.

Address, Postcode and Bank solutions