Postcode Anywhere Blog

More for Less...

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Are companies allowed to have mantras?

If they are, then we would probably lay claim to the one currently being chanted across the UK (especially in the public sector) – “more for less.” It’s nothing new, of course. You could argue that since the computer was conceived and the first commercial devices sold, it’s been at the heart of every IT value proposition. Every one that’s worked that is!

One thing we realised early on was that it’s not just the technology that matters, but the entire customer experience. These days it’s not hard for software developers to create interesting online services that do cool things. What’s much harder is ensuring that every part of the process works smoothly – technical integration, free trials, sales advice, procurement and after-sales support. Only when you have ticked all these boxes do you have a full appreciation of “value”.

We hope this week’s case study, from motor parts suppliers Rimmer Brothers, will testify to this. Rimmer Brothers saw an opportunity to save costs on their online address validation by switching to Postcode Anywhere. But, as ever, it was not the cost saving which stood out most prominently for them – it was the value of good customer service.

Phil Rothwell (@prothwell)

Read the full article here - Rimmer Brothers Case Study

There's nothing like community... online

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I recently chaired some of the sessions at the Actinic User Conference 2010 and was pleased to see one of Postcode Anywhere’s customers, Heather Gorringe of Wiggly Wigglers talk about social media.

Wiggly Wigglers is a gardening company, which was founded 21 years ago. Not only were they quick to take advantage of the internet, but, understanding the passion of gardeners, they have used podcasts and Facebook to share their enthusiasm for gardening and their business. Since 2005, Wiggly Wigglers podcasts have had more than 2 million downloads.

What was especially heart-warming about Heather’s presentation was connection both she and her company have with its customers and its local community. “I come from a village where the people are outnumbered by the cows,” she said. It’s a great illustration of the internet’s ability to connect communities.

While the newswires tend to be dominated by bad news stories about online browsers, its shows that most people really want to be connected to those who share their passions, interests and problems. There’s nothing like community.

More about Wiggly Wigglers and Postcode Anywhere is available at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/about-us/news-item.aspx?n=wiggly-wigglers
Download Heather's presentation here: http://www.actinic.co.uk/docs/user_conference_resources/wiggly_wigglers.pdf

Phil Rothwell
Sales & Marketing Director, Postcode Anywhere

Follow me on Twitter (@prothwell)

The first batch of funds for Ifakara Bakery

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

At our major fund raising event last year, the Last Choir Standing Corporate Event in aid of Leukaemia CARE, Martin Schellenberg, director of music at Abberley School, kindly offered his services as our lead judge.

Martin gave up so much of his valuable and precious time and made the evening even more memorable with his professionalism, charm, wit and consummate musical expertise. We were so thrilled with his contribution to the overall success of the event we asked him if he had a particular charity he supported and he told us that the Ifakara Bakery Project was close to his heart.

Unbeknown to us Martin’s parents, Eugene and Margaret Schellenberg, were pioneers of the Ifakara Bakery Project, which started in 1998 when they went on holiday to Ifakara, a small town 250 miles away from Dar es Salaam in the East African state of Tanzania.

The couple were visiting their son David, Martin’s brother, who is a Doctor researching tropical diseases and lives with his wife Joanna, an epidemiologist and their children. With their influence and some added persuasion from the Sisters at a nearby convent the idea of the Ifakara Bakery Project was engendered.

The Sisters at the St. Frances Convent, Ifakara had a vision. They wanted a bakery to ensure that the community had food all the year round even when they suffered a poor harvest, as the nearest bakery was a six hour car journey away. However, there were no surplus funds available as both the Convent and the Diocese of Mahenge had any cash for the project.

Back in the UK, Eugene and Margaret raised a staggering £30,000 to cover the purchase of the machinery and equipment and the installation and shipping costs. After staff in Ifakara were trained in the art of making bread the first batch bread was produced consisting of 20 small and 10 large loaves.

Although the bakery was self funding with the small loaf being sold at an affordable £0.17, free bread is distributed to the children of the Bethlehem Centre, leprosy patients in the Nazareti Centre, the local orphanage and hospital and the Idete Kindergarten.

We are happy to say our modest contribution paid for over 1,400 small loaves. We are hoping to nominate Ifakara as our main overseas fund raising project next year as we think it’s a fantastic project.

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Best Use of IT award for The Pod

Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Students from Worcester Sixth Form and their company The Pod came home from both the Young Enterprise Area Board and Strategic finals with no less than two awards from Postcode Anywhere.

Postcode Anywhere has always been keen to encourage both enterprise and technology and have provided bursaries and awards for the last four years running for the Young Enterprise company demonstrating the best use of IT.

This year judges at both levels of the competition were unanimous in their decision to award it to The Pod, a Young Enterprise company founded by students from Worcester Sixth Form College. They also won the QinetiQ Innovation prize and the Young Enterprise 2010 Spring Fair ‘Best Company Stand’ shield.

The Pod was formed by eight budding entrepreneurs participating in the enterprise education charity’s Company Programme devised to encourage and nurture the skills for enterprise and employability. The group’s product is a weekly podcast devised to communicate topical issues to young people across Worcestershire.

Their first podcast featured everything from exam tips, film and music reviews with a perspective from students hailing from outside the UK. It has also been an ideal medium to promote new music and up and coming local bands to sports activities and the coolest new places to visit in the county.

We thought it would be a nice gesture to invite the students to our Hallow-premises for a tour of the site and a slap-up lunch. Their Young Enterprise, Link Teacher Mrs Sheila Smith asked if she could come too and we said yes, because teachers deserve treats too for all their hard work and dedication.

Joining Bertie Blood Cell for the BUPA Great North Run

Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A nearly all girl team (apart from Rob) will be participating in the BUPA Great North Run on the 19th September 2010 to raise funds for blood cancer charity Leukaemia CARE.

The BUPA Great North Run is the world’s biggest half marathon, starting in Newcastle and finishing in South Shields - a gruelling 13.1 miles, which apparently is mostly uphill.

Our intrepid runners comprising Charlotte, Christine, Gemma, Nicky and Rob are currently in training to compete in, what promises to be, an exhausting but great day out. Many of us will be there at the finishing line cheering them on.

Rob Willis, Postcode Anywhere’s marketing manager is looking forward to meeting up with his old friend Bertie as they became quite close at a recent photo-shoot where the two of them huddled up together to hold a giant cheque we presented to Leukaemia CARE for £10,000.

The Postcode Anywhere ‘Fit Squad’ is in training most lunch times, after work and weekends. I wonder who will be first past the post? My money would be on Christine who will also be running the Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life in June – some people are just born masochists aren’t they?

Apparently the event includes an after-race massage and nibbles, which seems a lot more tempting than the 13 mile run. Our friend Lauren Billington, Leukaemia CARE’s fund raising director will also be running and she’s another extremely fit lady.

Rob will certainly have is work cut out competing against the bevy of ultra fit beauties – still I’m sure they will slow down a little for him and he has got quite nice legs!

Noah's Ark Charity Bike Ride

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On Sunday 11th April three of our brave bikers did us proud by completing a gruelling 40 mile bike ride in aid of the children’s bereavement charity, the Noah’s Ark Trust Worcester.

The Cruisy Ride as it was deceptively called, was devised as a fun event to encourage families and corporate participants to appreciate the joys of cycling around the beautiful, undulating Teme Valley countryside. The fundraising challenge was split into three options to include family cycling, ten mile and forty mile routes, depending on participants’ level of fitness and stamina.

Our hardcore team, who are notoriously fit and competitive, comprising Ed Moseley, Guy Mucklow and Tom Gurney obviously did the 40 mile trip which was not meant for the faint hearted.

Arriving in literally minutes of each other Ed broke through the finishing line first closely followed by Tom with Guy a tiny way behind them both (in my experience it’s always advisable to let the MD win).

The event raised £1,500 and our boys did us proud contributing £200 towards the overall funds raised. Well done to all three.

Noah’s Ark offers bereavement support in the form of counselling for young people, children and their families after the death of a mum, dad or someone close.

Like most of the charity events we like to participate in, we ended up at the local pub, where our three biking heroes, saddle sore and exhausted, were sufficiently hydrated with beer and nourished with burgers and sausages.

We all got physical at the 'bikeathon'

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We all did our bit for Sport Relief, but needless to say some of us did a bit more than others.

As the oldest member of staff at Postcode Anywhere, I was dreading the physical challenge that Chris, our office manager, and Guy our MD, had devised for us, without consultation I might add. Both incidentally are extremely fit. Chris is famous for running marathons and Guy cycles into work from his home most days – which I guess is about a ten mile trip- rumour has it that he has a fetish for wearing lycra but I don’t believe anyone could be that much of a masochist!

Basically we each had to spend 20 minutes on the exercise bike in the company gym. I thought that was probably OK. Sitting still on a saddle for that length of time, even without the aid of a safety net, would be fine. I thought I might even be able to give myself a French manicure. Then they told us that we had to cycle a minimum of 10 kilometres- by which time I was terrified with visions of me being carried away on a stretcher by two hunky paramedics – that bit wasn’t so bad actually.

Anyway the challenge began in alphabetical order so I was third – and I have to say whilst I didn’t break any world records I didn’t break or strain any limbs either. Chris was so proud of me being the oldest and possibly least fit amongst the ranks of some very competitive young people, she awarded me a lovely plastic medal – which I shall treasure for always. Thankfully I didn’t have to stand on a podium to the strains of the National Anthem.

Postcode Anywhere donates look-up services to Soccer Aid 2010

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We’re very pleased to announce PCA will be supporting UNICEF again this year by providing our UK address look-up services free of charge on the Soccer Aid 2010 website.

The live event will take place on Sunday 6 June, where "football legends and celebrities will compete in another action-packed Soccer Aid match at Old Trafford." All profits from ticket sales go directly to UNICEF, so take a look at the official website and book your tickets today!

The roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The venue's booked and the choirs are lined up to compete for what promises to be a bigger and better event than last year’s Last Choir Standing Corporate Event.

I know for a fact that last year’s winners are already rehearsing with aspirations of retaining the cup after winning at the inaugural event in 2009. Well Lauren (alias "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee") Leukaemia CARE’s corporate manager and choir mistress, think again because we have got the most stunning repertoire lined-up - if only we had time to rehearse it.

We are so busy with the pre-launch preparation of our new website and fund raising for Sport Relief, that we just haven’t had time to rehearse, what looks like a quite challenging piece of music - well there are lots of those squiggly things - bass and treble clefs I think they’re called, dotted with crotchets and quavers (not the cheesy snack type I might add).

Our MC Jonathan Fisher will be on the case soon. He’s currently doing lots of techie things for the new site, but he’ll be exchanging his mouse for his baton any day now, so watch this space!

We are all really excited at the prospect of performing at The Forum, Malvern Theatres on the 11th November. There’s loads of space for those choirs who fancy performing a bit of nifty choreography although it’s quite a drop if you fall off. There’s a real opportunity for all you ‘luvvies’ to be a bit theatrical. My colleagues say I’m a right drama queen, so I’m halfway there.

Bringing Christmas cheer to residents at St. Stephens

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

After our great success at the Age Concern Christmas lunch, Postcode Anywhere’s group of singing troubadours entertained residents at St. Stephen’s Residential home in Worcester with a repertoire of Christmas songs.

Our performance didn’t go to plan as Jim (our best baritone) got lost on the way to the gig. Alex Bryan, typically led him astray, we think they may have frequented a public house – shock horror! But fortunately Jim’s wife Rowenna, such a lovely girl, and definitely Jim’s better half, added some glamour and musicality to our alto section.

The residents were a little reluctant for us to do an encore but we said we wouldn’t let them have their chocolates and sherry if they didn’t listen to us. After a little bit of resistance and some of them furtively adjusting their hearing devices, we gave an enthusiastic performance of Winter Wonderland.

Everyone joined in with us when we sang White Christmas for our finale by which time Alex and Jim turned up and surreptitiously joined the back of the choir which added another dimension to our performance (Jim has a very powerful, deep voice, although many say he’s just loud).

Our audience was very appreciative. They loved their gifts of chocolates, mince pies and sherry and were very polite about our singing. The question is will they want us to entertain them next year?