IT Firm Offers Reward for Fastest Santa Delivery Route

Nov. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- Could you find the fastest route for Santa’s Christmas deliveries? That’s the challenge being issued to software integrators, value-added resellers and fleet managers this week, with £250 of Amazon vouchers for whoever can plan the quickest real-world route for St Nick this festive season.

The company running the promotion, Worcester-based IT company Postcode Anywhere, offers a range of software and services for planning more efficient routes for commercial vehicles.

Postcode Anywhere’s lead route optimisation developer, Richard Geary, said: “It’s unlikely that Santa would be able to make his 92 million worldwide deliveries without the help of some kind of route optimisation software. Even then, he’s going to be cutting it fine, with only a thousandth of a second to make each drop-off.

“Fortunately, we’re not challenging anyone to calculate a route for every present Santa delivers - that would be far too difficult. But even given a simple scenario for Santa’s final twenty deliveries, it will take a person some time to figure out what the optimal route would be, whereas our own software found the result within seconds.

“This should go to show how much businesses can really get out of modern route planning systems. Of course, almost anything is better than plotting routes by hand. Some field sales engineers still stick pins in maps, which is massively antiquated when you think about it. But one key difference between services offered by companies such as Postcode Anywhere and more traditional route planning software is that even with sophisticated route planning algorithms, real-world scenarios differ greatly from the maths.

“This is where augmented datasets such as TomTom Speed Profiles come in. By taking actual readings taken from millions of TomToms around the world, the data tells us which roads are busiest at any time of day, so we can adjust routes accordingly. Postcode Anywhere’s results are also informed by other factors such as vehicle height, weight and width restrictions for HGV-friendly routes.”

Postcode Anywhere’s managing director Guy Mucklow said: “The festive season is a crucial time for hauliers and couriers. Although the competition is intended to be a bit of fun, these kinds of services really can be the difference between successful Christmas deliveries and disappointed and upset customers.”

Parshotam Showan, electrical retailer Sonic Megastore’s managing director, reported a 20% efficiency increase and an estimated £10,000 annual saving using Postcode Anywhere’s browser-based route optimisation software, Route Optimiser. He added: “Our level of service improved greatly after just one day. Suddenly we could give our customers two-hour delivery windows. Now they have to spend less time waiting for their deliveries. Our customers love it.”

To enter the Santa competition, simply enter online at www.postcodeanywhere.com/santa. The competition closes at midnight on 17 December.

Postcode Anywhere’s route optimisation web services can be accessed from any device, anywhere with an internet connection, and are designed for use in the development of routing software. The company offers a range of software and services for improving commercial delivery processes, including route planning, “where’s my nearest?” store locator services and address verification software. For more information, please visit www.postcodeanywhere.com. Postcode Anywhere also offers ready-to-use, browser-based route optimisation software at www.routeoptimiser.com.

ENDS

Media contact for Postcode Anywhere
Jim Williams – PR Executive, Postcode Anywhere
jim@postcodeanywhere.com
+44 (0) 1905 888 570

Press centre at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/press
Press Pack download: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/assets/PDFs/press-pack-20...
Santa and map image at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/assets/Stock/santa.jpg

Notes to Editors:

Santa Facts

•   Rudolf, the ninth reindeer, actually only appeared in 1939, thanks to Robert L. May’s story and song of the same name.
•   In Finland, Santa’s reindeer do not fly. It is unclear whether this due to flight regulations or customs laws.
•   With the weight of presents and the speed that he needs to travel, Santa faces g-forces of over 17000g during his journey.
•   In order to make all his deliveries, Santa travels at approximately 3,000 times the speed of sound.
•   Santa’s sleigh is weighed down by at least 321,300 tons, assuming each gift weighs around two pounds. This figure doesn’t include Santa’s own weight, which we can assume is quite substantial.

About Postcode Anywhere

Postcode Anywhere has been providing address services for ten years and is the fastest-growing reseller of Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF®). A multi-award-winning organisation, it has also appeared in successive Deloitte fast-growth European technology company lists. Postcode Anywhere supplies software and services which improve the day-to-day operations of over 8,000 organisations worldwide. Best known as a provider of address auto-fill and verification software, the company offers a range of data-driven services, including route planning and customer profiling. For more information about Postcode Anywhere, please visit www.postcodeanywhere.com.

Recent Awards and Recognition for Postcode Anywhere

•   Red Herring Top 100 Europe - 2010
•   Best Small IT Supplier of the Year - UK IT Industry Awards (finalist) – 2009
•   One of Europe's fastest-growing IT firms - Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2008/9 & 2009/10
•   Dell Small Business Excellence Award (UK finalist) – 2009
•   Small-Medium Sized Business of the Year (regional finalist) - National Business Awards 2009
•   Orange Best Use of Technology (Midlands) - 2008 National Business Awards
•   Growth Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
•   Small Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
•   Customer Service Team of the Year (finalist) - National Customer Services Awards 2008

# # #

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.