Last Post: Postcode Anywhere Adds Army Data to UK Address Service

April 19, 2012 - PRLog -- British forces and their families abroad will now be able to shop online with ease, thanks to a new dataset introduced by Royal Mail and implemented for the first time by address specialist Postcode Anywhere.

Previously, British forces working abroad could not take advantage of address validation and auto-fill technology, which enables consumers to order goods online or by telephone rapidly and easily.

From today, Postcode Anywhere has integrated new Royal Mail British Forces Post Office (BFPO) data into its suite of address management tools. Any address entered is automatically cross-checked against Royal Mail data to ensure orders don’t go astray.

Mike Newnham, Royal Mail’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “Royal Mail is intensely proud of its strong and enduring links with the armed services and we are delighted we have played our part in implementing this important initiative.

“We understand how much service personnel and their families based overseas value being able to shop online and how they will benefit from gaining access to a range of online services too.

“We have been working closely with the BFPO to develop an address and postcode structure consistent with Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF®) that will provide businesses with the opportunity to make these services available.”

All BFPO post is delivered by Royal Mail to an address in the UK for distribution overseas.
To fit the PAF® format as closely as possible, each BFPO number has been assigned a postcode and the PAF® post town field contains “BFPO”, to allow BFPO addresses to be easily included in address management products.

Postcode Anywhere’s managing director Guy Mucklow said: “Over the years we have received a regular stream of requests for British Forces Post Office data and, until now, have not been able to satisfy them.

“Receiving this data is therefore  an important addition to both our service as well as to the Royal Mail’s PAF® dataset and I am sure will help to reduce a lot of the frustrations which our armed forces and their families have encountered when trying to perform simple tasks such as ordering goods online to be delivered to their bases.

“Address validation is an established technology which we now take for granted in the UK when talking to a call centre or ordering goods online. But if your address data doesn’t match, the best-case scenario is a lengthy ordering process. At the other end of the scale we have missed deliveries and possibly even a situation where it’s impossible to make a transaction online or over the phone.

“Royal Mail’s BFPO data should make a huge difference to the lives of our armed forces, and this is why Postcode Anywhere is proud to be one the first suppliers to integrate BFPO data into its range of address management services.”

For more information about Postcode Anywhere’s range of address validation and auto-fill products, visit the website at www.postcodeanywhere.com.

ENDS

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Postcode Anywhere is a UK-based company best known for its market-leading “what’s your postcode” technology. Its services include route optimisation, international addressing, data cleansing, business information services and lifestyle profiling.