New Zealand Post is currently implementing new address standards that will impact all businesses across New Zealand. The changes are part of a two year phased process designed to improve the accuracy of mail sorting and to process mail through the automated systems more efficiently and quickly. All businesses applying for bulk mail discounts will need to comply with the new standards in order to be eligible for New Zealand Post VolumePost discounts.

In July 2006, New Zealand Post will be introducing a certification program requiring businesses to lodge a Statement of Accuracy (SOA) certificate with their bulk mail. This certificate will report the percentage of postal addresses in a business’ mailing database that have been validated against the New Zealand Post Postal Address File.

The transition period will cease in July 2008, and all businesses applying for VolumePost discounts will be required to attach the SOA certificate with their bulk mail lodgements. This certification can only be obtained using New Zealand Post certified software.

As a Data Services Alliance Partner of New Zealand Post, Baycorp Advantage has developed GeoCoder, a software program designed for address matching, cleansing and validation of address data in accordance with the standards set by New Zealand Post.

The current release of GeoCoder already appends the new postcodes and applies the currently required New Zealand Post address standards. Using GeoCoder, an organisation can access bulk mail discounts of up to 25% and benefit from increased address accuracy that in turn facilitates cost effective and appropriate communication with customers and allows streamlining of customer information to a single household view.

As shown in the graph below, a company that uses GeoCoder can make significant annual savings with New Zealand Post’s bulk mail discounts. This example shows that a company that sends out 750,000 mail pieces in a year can save almost $25,000 by using GeoCoder to cleanse and validate addresses according to New Zealand Post standards for VolumePost discounts.

In addition, GeoCoder can enhance customer and prospect data by appending data variables enabling an organisation to profile and segment their customers and prospects.

The data variables available through GeoCoder include:
Meshblock – a geographic boundary which contains on average between 35 – 40 households and is used by Statistics New Zealand to report on the Census
LandSscape – a geodemographic segmentation tool which provides insights into the lifestyle and behaviours of people based on the area in which they live
GeoRisk – a risk profiling tool that categorises areas based on their level of credit risk

To find out more about GeoCoder or to request a free trial please contact Karen Lynch on 
+64 9 356 2790 or email geocoder@baycorpadvantage.com