POSTCODE FINDER OVERVIEW
From 1 July 2008, New Zealand Post is introducing new accuracy and addressing standards
for bulk mail. These new standrads mean postal address information must be extremely
accurate for any organisation to qualify for bulk mail postage rates. New Zealand
Post will continually update this information as changes will occur every quarter.
To help our new and existing customers achieve the required levels of accuracy,
Infosoft, has developed the PostcodeFinder application.
The PostcodeFinder is a
web service that can be easily integrated into any application which allows users
find and update full postal address information.
The New Zealand Post Accuracy Requirement Changes (and what they mean to you).
The Statement of Accuracy (SOA) is the percentage of addresses in mailing
lists or databases that are valid matches against the New Zealand Post Postal Address
File (PAF). This means that every address stored in your database must have the
correct adress, post code and Delivery Point Identifier (DPID) before qualifying
for the bulk mail discount.
In order for you too keep your bulk mail postage rates you must achieve an SOA of
at least 85% for each mailing by 1 July 2008
If an SOA of less than 85% is achieved,
the difference below the 85% threshold will be charged at the full standard mail
rate. For example, a mailing with an SOA of 80% will be charged full standard mail
rate for 5% of mail pieces. The SOA requirement for bulk mail will be progressively
increased to 95% accuracy over time. Rural delivery addresses are exempt from these
postcode requirements until 1 July 2009. By keeping your postal information accurate
and formatted according to NZ Posts requirements your organisation will save on
bulk mailing costs. This is where Infosoft’s PostcodeFinder application can help
you.
Rural delivery addresses are exempt from these postcode requirements until 1 July
2009.
HOW POSTCODE FINDER WORKS
The PostcodeFinder is a web service which can easily integrate into any system. By connecting directly to the internet, your search criteria is passed to
the PostcodeFinder search engine which scans approximately two million addresses
within the latest New Zealand Post PAF data. The search engine will return complete
results including the DPID where it can be presented to the user. The diagram below
illustrates a typical server environment and how data is passed.
The more accurate your postal data, the more money your organisation will save on
bulk mail costs. This is where the Infosoft PostcodeFinder can help.
BATCH ADDRESS CLEANING
More than likely your existing database currently contains thousands of
addresses. All of this data has to be updated or “cleansed” in order for you to
achieve the new accuracy requirements. Getting your information up to date can represent
a significant cost in time and resources. Infosoft can provide Batch Cleaning services
for all existing data. This process is done with Infosoft’s Batch Cleaning extract
tool and in conjunction with our SendRight™ certified data partner Acxiom®
The Batch
Clean process, in conjunction with the PostcodeFinder service will provide your
organisation with the confidence that your database addresses are accurate as possible.
If you would like to know more about
how the PostcodeFinder can be used within your organisation or require more technical information on how to integrate the PostcodeFinder
to existing system, please
contact us.
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