IT Firm Offers Reward for Fastest Santa Delivery Route

£250 prize for fastest present delivery, says business efficiency software company Postcode Anywhere

Worcester, UK – 9 November 2010 – 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