Established nearly two centuries ago, the Evangelical Alliance (EA) serves tens of thousands of individuals, organisations, and churches across the UK. As a membership-charity, they advocate for the evangelical community to the government, media, and other areas of influence, as well as providing support, training, resources, and facilitating gatherings to help their members to act upon their faith.
Having relied on the Postcode People at AFD as their partners in address and bank data quality for over 20 years, when a system migration was required, they sought expert consultancy from AFD to discuss their four specific requirements:
Prior to the EA migrating to a new Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) CRM system, AFD completed a comprehensive evaluation of the address data held in the member database. Tim Coysh, Head of Digital & Membership at EA, explained: “We aimed to establish an accurate contact data foundation for future communications to our members. This involved cleansing, reformatting, and de-duplicating member addresses. Identifying members that had deceased or “gone-away” from the address we held so we could suppress them from future mailings and updating members’ new addresses where possible. We recognised the substantial value this would add to both the organisation and our supporters.”
Traditionally relying on quarterly magazine mailings, the EA wanted to strengthen its relationships with members and potential members by continuing with the tried and tested physical mailings, but also expanding through the channels of phone and email. AFD’s phone and email validation was implemented to help ensure these electronic communications are going to a live, valid email or phone number.
Tim continues, “In addition to the magazine, members can select from specialist interest emails they wish to receive. The last thing we want is our members to choose specific communications relevant to them, only to not receive any due to an error in their email address!”
As members of the EA pay via Direct Debit to help ensure that its vital work can continue, AFD’s Bank Validation has been confirming account numbers and sort codes for them for two decades. On the importance of the checks, Tim said: “Without AFD’s solution, even a minor bank account detail error would prevent us from collecting payments, leading to extra administrative costs, member frustration, and might even lose new members before they even start.”
Accurate location information for organisation members, primarily churches and charities, has become increasingly crucial for people wanting to find a church local to them and facilitating member networking. Tim observed: “Many church buildings are on large sites, often without a mailbox, with multiple entrances on multiple streets. We needed precise longitude and latitude coordinates, more specific than a postal address, to guide people to the correct entrance. AFD’s Address Lookup solution is able to return this exact detail when an address is searched and selected.”
Reflecting on the project’s results, Tim stated: “Having straightened up our contact data with AFD, we now maintain its quality by catching mistakes, flagging them to members and staff AND allowing corrections to be made – before they enter our database. The AFD D365 plug-in made this possible to add address, email, phone, and bank validation – with ease. The value of more effective communication, enhanced member experience and lower admin costs saves the organisation tens of thousands of pounds (and frustration) each year.
AFD proved to be a valuable source of expertise in all the areas we’ve discussed. The insight gained from having a specialist ask the right questions to uncover the true nature of problems and guide us toward solutions cannot be underestimated, and such expertise is rare.
It would be a disaster if we were unable to validate our members’ contact data and we would spend far too much time fixing errors introduced from manual data entry. If your organisation needs to communicate accurately with your members or customers, I recommend sharing your requirements with AFD”.
Taking second place in this year’s One World Charity Challenge – and also picking up the AFD Award for Advocacy – was the team from Castle Rushen High School representing Village Africa. This was the first time Village Africa had been represented in the Challenge and the team did an amazing job in explaining the work of the charity as well as raising awareness including being interviewed on Manx Radio and talking to their local MHK. The team is shown with David and Alison Dorricott of AFD who funded the advocacy prize and their link teacher Miss Metcalfe.
Learn more about the challenge here.
In the ever-evolving landscape of data management, accuracy is paramount.
One crucial aspect that demands meticulous attention is the handling of addresses. Whether it’s for e-commerce, logistics, or customer relationship management, accurate addresses are the cornerstone of seamless operations. Address lookup solutions are indispensable tools in ensuring that the data your organisation relies on is not just comprehensive but also error-free.
Address lookup is the initial step in the journey towards data accuracy. It involves using advanced algorithms and databases to translate fragments of information into a complete and standardised address. This process is particularly vital in scenarios where users manually input address details, potentially introducing errors. Through address lookup, the system cross-references the provided information against the best available data sources, correcting inaccuracies and ensuring that the final output is a properly formatted address.
For businesses relying on online transactions, address lookup is essential. It streamlines the checkout process, reducing instances of failed deliveries due to incorrect addresses. Additionally, address lookup enhances user experience, providing customers with autocomplete suggestions as they type, saving time and minimising errors during data entry.
As technology continues to advance, address management tools will likely evolve, becoming even more adept at handling complex data scenarios. Organisations that prioritise the accuracy of their address data today will undoubtedly reap the benefits of streamlined operations and enhanced customer trust tomorrow.
AFD Software has been helping organisations overcome their contact data challenges for 40 years. Asda, DPD, PayPoint, and The Royal Mail are amongst the thousands of organisations that continue to choose The Postcode People at AFD Software as their partners in address and data quality.
To find out more about our Address Lookup solution, click here.
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For a century and a half, Action for Children has been steadfast in its mission to protect and support vulnerable children and young people in the UK. Their charitable services provide practical and emotional care, amplify the voices of those in need, and advocate for lasting improvements in their lives.
Each festive season, the charity’s Secret Santa campaign aims to raise funds for some of the 4.2 million children living in poverty. The goal is to bring the magic of Christmas, ensuring they have warm clothes, a hot meal, and a special present. Last year alone, Action for Children assisted 766,000 children and their families across the UK.
Andrew Wilks, Supporter Operations Lead at the charity, emphasises the crucial role accurate data plays in communicating with supporters and raising funds for vulnerable children. With over 500,000 contacts in their database, Andrew turned to AFD’s address data experts to understand the current levels of data accuracy within the contact database.
“Initially, we requested a data audit to show how many of our supporter addresses matched to the Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF) and understand how many of our contacts had deceased or moved house (known as ‘Goneaways’).
The results instantly showed us the necessity of regularly cleansing address data, flagging records of deceased or gone-away individuals (to suppress from mailings), and obtaining available forwarding addresses.” Andrew adds; “For a charity focused on communication and fundraising through direct mailings, accuracy is paramount. Mailing supporters who are no longer at the address held, especially those who passed away can clearly be upsetting for family members who might be receiving that communication.
For contacts that have moved, it’s a waste of resource. Direct mailings are a vital connection that tells the stories of children we have helped and advertises current fundraising initiatives that need support. It’s essential that those communications go to the correct contacts at an accurate address. As a result of the data audit, all our supporter data now goes through the AFD process regularly”.
Action for Children recognises the challenges of managing a high volume of enquiries and donations. Andrew continues; “The AFD data cleansing process proved invaluable in reducing manual work, saving hundreds of hours, and improving data quality. The charity now operates with increased compliance, efficiency, and sensitivity, and with greater confidence in the quality of our supporter data.”
When asked what his recommendation would be to other organisations wanting to cleanse their contact database, Andrew
concludes; “If you want a positive impact on operations through an overall improvement in contact data quality – we recommend reaching out to The Postcode
People at AFD Software. All the team are very knowledgeable and extremely helpful in terms of delivering a quality service, both in terms of the accuracy of the data, but also the professionalism with which individual tasks are handled and dealt.” Another reason for celebration!
Do you have complete confidence in the accuracy of your contact database? Contact one of AFD’s Data Quality Consultants to discuss your specific requirements today on 01624 811711 or email postcode@afd.co.uk.
The Postcode People at AFD Software, the leading provider of contact data validation solutions, have partnered with Eureka Solutions, one of the UK’s leading cloud software experts, to boost its Sage 200 cloud accounting solution.
The new partnership allows Eureka Solutions customers to completely remove human error when typing in vital details, automatically validating bank details, addresses, phone and e-mail contact information at the point of entry.
The strategic partnership integrates AFD’s data verification into Sage 200, expanding its capabilities for customers during data input tasks like stock control, order processing and invoicing.
By leveraging AFD’s expertise in accurate data capture, the collaboration empowers Sage 200 users with new functionality, helping minimise manual errors, save time, reduce costs and protect company reputation.
Eureka Solutions Head of Product, Mike Hall, said: “The partnership with AFD will instantly bring Sage 200 users a new product that will save them time and improve data accuracy. By integrating AFD’s validation tools directly into Sage 200, we’ve created a seamless way for users to verify critical contact and payment information. We look forward to working with AFD to enhance this offering to Sage 200 customers.”
The partnership will allow Eureka Solutions to add AFD to its portfolio of business software solutions, which includes Sage 200, Oracle NetSuite, iplicit and its very own integration tool, Besyncly.
AFD’s Head of Sales & Marketing, Jonathan Stocks, said: “Partnering with Eureka Solutions is an important milestone for us. Their vast client base of Sage 200 users represents a clear opportunity for everyone involved.
Through collaboration, we’re confident we can put easy-to-use yet but powerful data analytics solution into the hands of thousands more businesses. By combining groundbreaking data capabilities with Sage expertise, companies can eliminate bottlenecks, save time and costs, while minimising risk.
More information about the partnership and how to get started can be found here.
To find out more about Eureka Solutions, visit www.eurekasolutions.co.uk
World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker joined AFD Software’s Annual Charity Event and 40th Anniversary Celebrations to deliver “An Ode to the Postcode”.
When not writing poems about The Postcode People at AFD, celebrating charitable donations and the importance of postcodes! Harry writes about a wide range of topics including hope, dinosaurs and German falafel-spoons. His work has been shared on TED.com and viewed millions of times worldwide, as well as being translated into over 20 different languages.
His latest collection ‘Unashamed’ was published with Burning Eye in 2022 and he has been sharing poems from it at every available opportunity ever since.
Harry’s work has been described as “Absolutely beautiful” by Zoe Ball, hailed as “a champion” by Ed Sheeran and “Epic” by Ice Cube.
Here is his poem in full.
Some heroes wear capes, some come dressed in Lycra
Some swing on webs once they’re bitten by spiders
Often the heroes are ones that we don’t know
Here’s an ode to the unsung hero: the postcode.
First trialled in Norwich, they mustered up history
Imparting knowledge with such specificity
No need for sonnets or colourful imagery
Just alphanumeric pure rugged efficiency
It starts with the area code:
You might pop to Preston for the good PR
Or choose to chuck Coventry on your CV
If you dwell in Darlington, keep it on the DL
Or head to Huddersfield for life in HD
If you wanna get online, take a trip to Ipswich
An IP address gives you all that you need
Of if you’re in Belfast and you need to bell fast
I can guarantee your phone line comes from BT
The next digits give you the district:
If central Newcastle is your fixed abode
You can always say yes to: “Is NE1 home?”
Or if school’s in South Peterborough and Gym’s not for you –
In all likelihood you’ll avoid PE2
Catch me walking round Hayes in a Daze for sure
Getting Deja Vu – I’ve seen UB4!
Or this happens all of the time:
Does a German reluctant
to solve workplace conflicts
in outer Herefordshire
go and see HR? Nein…
Finally you have the sector and unit:
If we find ourselves on the Isle of Man
And think King Edward Road is where we should meet
There’s no need for stress or contriving plans,
Just know that: IM3 2AT
Imagine if Frodo had known Mordor’s postcode
The eagles could have dropped him off and then flown home,
there’s no place like home for Dorothy and Toto
But it could have helped show where the yellow brick road goes
Way back when if I’d said I’m on the High Street
There were 5,410 I could mean.
Now the 3,811 Station Roads
Can all be separated by these basic codes.
It’s like we’re all Disney princesses, white as snow
How up to 7 small characters can guide us home
They may not see through walls or have super speed
They just help you get to where you need to be
Which brings us to AFD:
The first ones to use postcode data online
To help companies comfortably contact their clients
And just like anyone who’s made lots of bucks
They spent all their profits on planes, yachts and trucks!
Except:
The truck was for Beach Buddies cleaning our shores
The plane to deliver supplies to the poor
The yacht for disabled folk sailing on board
And they’ve donated so much to so many more.
Given their work it seems only apt,
The Postcode People put these on the map
They may not have super strength, or be angry and green
They’ve helped others get to where they need to be
All of this founded on strong Christian values
Enacted in every thing that they do
As they’ve given to hundreds of organisations
There’s power in people, and postcodes too
Jesus cleanses the sins of whoever confesses
They cleanse your database of duplicate addresses
Jesus fed thousands and walked onto water
They validate thousands of emails,
and that’s also important.
We know the Lord works in mysterious ways
And yet through him and through them there’s millions raised.
Long may his work continue through AFD
As he helps us all get to where we need to be.
Some heroes can fly, some are quick as a flash
Some become weirdly obsessive with bats
Often the heroes are ones that we don’t know
This goes out to the unsung hero: the postcode.
At the close of the Annual AFD Software Charity Event this evening, The Postcode People announced plans to celebrate their 40 years of successful business by purchasing a brand-new 9-seater humanitarian aircraft.
The announcement, to the gathering of Staff Team Members, Charity Leaders and community representatives – including the Lieutenant Governor Sir John and Lady Lorimer and the President of Tynwald – was at the Mountain View Innovation Centre – AFD Software’s iconic headquarters near Ramsey.
In addition to celebrating 40 successful years, AFD Software Ltd is also celebrating being named “Business of the Year 2023” at the Isle of Man Awards for Excellence earlier this month.
The state-of-the-art Cessna 208 Caravan worth over £2m will be a gift for Mission Aviation Fellowship [MAF], the world’s largest humanitarian air service. Known as a ‘workhorse of the skies’, the Cessna 208 Caravan has been described by Plane and Pilot magazine as “one of the most trusted and talented, purpose-built utility airplanes ever produced.”
Managing Director, David Dorricott said: “It has been a privilege to partner with MAF for decades – we know that this investment will save lives, and transform the quality of life for thousands in remote communities – what better way to celebrate such a waymark in our business?”
MAF’s CEO Donovan Palmer, who attended the 40th anniversary charity event, was deeply grateful for the generous gift. He presented AFD Software with a symbolic blueprint sketch of a Cessna 208 aircraft, saying: “It is overwhelming and humbling to be chosen by AFD Software as their main partner charity this year to celebrate their 40th anniversary. We admire them as innovators, collaborators and are so grateful to be considered friends. It is tragic that in 2023, millions of people still live cut off from the basics they need to survive. This gift of a new Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft will be a lifeline for thousands of people in PNG – where isolation kills every single day. What’s more, it will help propel MAF’s fleet into the next chapter of our mission enabling us to reach more isolated communities with lifesaving help long into the future. From everyone at MAF, we are deeply grateful for this life-changing gift.
Read the BBC News article covering the donations and 40 years in business here.
The gift of this new aircraft is in addition to over £1 million of donations from the Postcode People to over 80 staff-nominated charities celebrated during the charity evening. Two of which also gave presentations about the vital work they perform and how the funds will be used:
One by One CEO Becky Murray, showed how their international work supports children across the Pakistan brick kilns, tackles sexual abuse and trafficking of Ugandan girls, and is establishing prosecution pathways for child trafficking in Rwanda. www.onebyone.net
Isle Stand Up to Suicide Founder, Paula Dunlop explained how the charity aims to reduce death by suicide through its free phone line and short-term phone counselling sessions. AFD is funding training to help people spot signs of a person in a suicidal crisis – and how to help effectively. www.islestanduptosuicide.com
You can find out more about the other nominated charities here.
Read the BBC News article covering the donations and 40 years in business here.
Manx Radio’s At Your Service podcast featured The Postcode People at AFD Software’s three celebrations; 40 years in business, being named “Business of the Year 2023” at the Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence, and the charitable donations covered above. Listen here.
We are delighted to announce that AFD Software – The Postcode People – have won the award for Business of The Year at the 2023 Awards for Excellence!
We couldn’t have achieved this without the hard work and dedication of all our Team, Customers and Suppliers – so thank you all for the part you have played in this.
AFD was specifically recognised for the award as the leading postcode software house, investing in the local community, providing high quality employment to the 50 strong team of experienced staff, and delivering on the company motto of “making happy customers” by continuing to support the thousands of organisations that rely on AFD for their address and contact data quality requirements.
Speaking at the award ceremony, AFD’s Managing Director, David Dorricott said: “This is a win for the fifty wonderful Postcode People at Mountain View (AFD’s Head Office) and in the UK. Its a win for the loyal customers who have used our services for decades. Its a win for our suppliers who are reliable and help, and its a win for the wider community – not only on the Isle of Man but across the world as proceeds from our business help make such a difference”.
More information about AFD’s Business of The Year including an interview with David Dorricott can be seen here.
All the award winners from the 2023 Awards for Excellence can be seen here.
To find out more about AFD Software, our solutions and highly experienced team visit our About page here.
Did you know that some of the nation’s favourite retailers and largest logistics firms such as AO, Ikea, and DPD rely on AFD Software? Each day, millions of delivery addresses pass through our highly sophisticated routines for automated validation and correction.
The powerful AFD logic transforms sometimes poor delivery addresses into precise locations even as parcels make their way late at night in large container trucks to central distribution hubs. The processes are lightning fast, reliable, and accurate – resulting in precision scheduling, logical routing, and on-time delivery of goods.
It’s not unusual for customers to be out or for addresses to have obscure entrances. Delivery instructions such as “leave in shed” or “behind the garage” or “access to Daisy Lea Lane from the Halifax Road direction” all help – but can be confusing.
Now, AFD is offering an add-on option to its address validation solutions so that the shed, garage, or entrance location can be precisely geocoded. The add-on data is called what3words and enables any 3-metre grid, anywhere on earth to be identified with a unique combination of 3 words, for example; ///impose.title.pulse.
A customer wanting to select a specific delivery spot that is not their front door, or help the driver identify a hard-to-find property entrance, types in the what3words location and AFD lists the closest property level addresses– for the user to select the correct one. This enables AFD to take the driver to the right address with the additional benefit of the precise geographic co-ordinates for the obscure entrance, shed or garage.
The driver no longer has to hunt for the exact delivery location and the customer no longer has to hunt for the goods. With multi-drop deliveries, every efficiency makes a difference and for retailers, greater customer satisfaction builds reputation and repeat business.
“Working with AFD on our partnership has been
incredibly easy. The team had a clear understanding of the technical
requirements and were able to roll out the integration incredibly quickly –
always responding to our questions and acting on our feedback as soon as
possible. So now with what3words and AFD, you can be sure to get the most
precise and accurate address” – Phoebe Parry-Crooke, Partnerships
Lead
To purchase this add-on for your CRM system or website, contact the team at AFD Software today at 01624 811711 or email postcode@afd.co.uk.
Data On Demand builds accurate, compliant consumer data products and solutions that help organisations improve their understanding of their customers, enabling better consumer outcomes. Organisations from a range of sectors including Utilities, Telecoms, and Insurance rely on Data On Demand’s consumer database, the UK’s largest, to identify, verify, and contact their customers.
Stuart Murgatroyd, CEO of Data On Demand, and his team discovered that less than optimal address data matching was slowing growth in the reach of their database. The initial problem was that their existing address-matching solution was slow and would often stop working. During a thorough analysis of the solution, inaccuracies in the data were discovered, and further investigation uncovered areas where improvements could be made to ensure that the data they provide is best-in-class.
Stuart explains: “Our Chief Technical Officer and Chief Data Officer would set large files running on Friday night only to find on Monday that software problems had stopped the process. The hardest part was trying to get our software supplier to fix things in a timely manner. Often, the phone went unanswered, and responses took weeks. We need to move faster than that.”
It was time to find a new address-cleansing supplier. With decades of experience in the data industry, they knew who the major players were and shortlisted four alternatives – including AFD Software – which were then subject to intensive testing and evaluation.
Stuart continues: “We assessed each of the suppliers’ solutions on a wide range of criteria – we went further than most because address cleansing and matching is critical to our business and to our customers. At the end of the process, it was clear that AFD’s Refiner product was best-in-class across all evaluation criteria – including best value for money. AFD’s solution was the fastest, most accurate, simplest to integrate, and the results were much clearer to interpret than the other options.”
Stuart explains some important findings: “As we are encouraging our clients to work on a real-time basis, we need API-based solutions that can handle multiple requests and files simultaneously. Some solutions just couldn’t accommodate this – only offering legacy batch solutions requiring export, processing, and re-importing of data. Other solutions were complicated to integrate and automate and left us to interpret overly complicated results into action – rather than presenting us with a reliable decision.”
The evaluation process showed that AFD Refiner covered 95% of what was needed. The engagement and desire to look at the final 5% would reveal how committed AFD was to receive and action feedback for enhancements that would bring maximum alignment. Stuart says: “The responsiveness from the team at AFD was completely refreshing and delivered a solution bespoke to our exact requirements.”
Stuart concludes: “We are a highly technical, data specialist organisation with complex requirements. When we say that the AFD Refiner engine is best-in-class, we say so after a thorough comparison and examination of multiple dimensions.
Our previous supplier’s account management was not at the required level. From initial engagement, the team at AFD Software responded the fastest, and developed a relationship of partnership rather than transaction. This continued through testing, our bespoke development requirements, go-live, and ongoing support. If you need address data cleansing – partner with The Postcode People at AFD Software.”
If you would like to discuss your data cleansing requirements or understand the quality of your contact database, contact one of AFD’s Data Quality Consultants to discuss your specific requirements today on 01624 811711 or email postcode@afd.co.uk.
We serve thousands of organisations and a network of hundreds of partners across multiple industry sectors, enabling them to have full confidence in their contact data.