by jezwalker
8. October 2010 10:58
Every building, anywhere in the UK with a mail box has a postcode. Each postcode comprises of between 5 and 7 letters and numbers for the purposes of sorting and directing mail. All of the postcode data is stored, maintained and updated in the Royal Mail Postcode Address File database.
Over recent years postcodes have increasingly been integrated into applications for sorting mail, planning routes, and geocoding to put information onto online maps. An example of this postcode software is a find my nearest store location tool.
The postcode has become a source of data in its own right, and is used in applications for targeted marketing, credit referencing and calculations for insurance and banking.
It has become common for call centres to identity their customers by asking for the house number and postcode. Typing this into their postcode software brings up the correct record and decreases keystrokes by up to 90%