Poor quality address data is an issue for retailers when it comes to providing a fast and efficient delivery service, with research highlighting that 71 per cent of businesses blame delivery failures on inaccurate customer address data.

This is to be expected with 20 per cent of addresses provided online containing errors, and data on customer databases decaying at around 25 per cent a year as people move home, get divorced and pass away, according to our own findings.

Also, incorrect address data doesn’t support sustainability efforts. Expect to experience an increase in fuel consumption, and therefore expense, as couriers unsuccessfully attempt to deliver to an address that is inaccurate, and then return to sender. It costs retailers on average £11.60 (about $16) per misdelivery, although it can be considerably higher for big ticket items.

Then there’s the extra expense of correcting the address and redelivery, which results in delayed fulfilment, and overall delivers a poor customer experience which drives customer churn.

The solution is to have address cleaning processes in place, which includes address verification and cleansing, as well as obtaining geocodes to provide a smooth last mile fulfilment.  

Begin with address verification

By starting with address verification it’s possible to confirm that an address exists, is deliverable and valid. Though ascertain if the service has access to data from postal operators, otherwise it’s not possible to guarantee the address is real, exists or is usable for fulfilment. Using postal operator data correct, standardised addresses are obtained, which as well as speeding up deliveries supports optimised routing which leads to reduced miles driven per delivery, with lower fuel consumption and emissions.

Avoid using Google Maps or a search engine to check the accuracy of addresses, because they don’t usually have access to postal operator data.

When it comes to international logistics address verification is even more important, because each country has its own address format which can cause logistics and fulfilment issues if the address is not correctly standardised and validated.

Address lookup / autocomplete

Address lookup and autocomplete services support address verification at the customer onboarding stage. These tools automatically provide the correct address when the customer begins typing theirs. This helps to avoid errors caused by fat finger syndrome, speeds up the path to checkout, thereby reducing the risk of cart abandonment, while supporting a standout customer experience. 

Similar technology enables real time verification of email and phone data at first contact, strengthening these critical datasets.

Data cleansing and deceased flagging

A vital part of the data cleaning process is data suppression or data cleansing. These services clean address data and help to standardise address formats, as well as highlight those customers who are no longer at an address.

Having access to the National Change of Address (NCOA) database is an essential part of this approach. Available in the UK and US, and some other countries, it highlights those who have moved, and provides their new address. By having quick access to the new addresses of customers who have changed residence retailers will be able to maintain a speedy and accurate fulfilment process.

In addition to removing incorrect addresses data cleansing services should include deceased flagging. This helps to avoid sending mail and other communications to the deceased, sparing their friends and relatives unnecessary distress.

Consider a data-cleaning SaaS platform

Delivering data quality in real time has never been easier. A scalable data-cleaning SaaS platform can be deployed within hours and, as a standalone solution, requires no coding, integration, or extensive training to use. This technology can cleanse and standardise names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers worldwide using authoritative data sources from government agencies, credit bureaus and utility providers. It can do so as new data is being collected, and with held data in batch on-premise. Such a platform is not only available as a SaaS, but can also be accessed as a cloud-based API, and via connector technology like Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce.

Geocoding for delivery accuracy

Once you have an accurate address use geocoding technology to turn it into a geocode. This is important because with latitude and longitude (rooftop level) coordinates delivery to the customer is swift. This level of insight is crucial, particularly when different properties may share an address, such as a plot of land or the street edge of a driveway.

With different conventions for address formats around the world geocoding is valuable when it comes to global deliveries. For example, while the UK uses city, street and house number, in Japan buildings are referenced by the number of the block they belong to, and within each block buildings are numbered as well. Sometimes it’s done by order of construction, so the numbers don’t necessarily follow each other.

In summary

It is time to ensure that misdeliveries, which are costly in monetary and customer experience terms, become a thing of the past. This requires putting processes in place that deliver accurate customer address data at both the customer onboarding stage and held data in batch. It’s something that’s straightforward and cost effective to implement.

As reported, liquidators have been appointed to wind down Witney-based Sherwood Kitchens Limited having been founded 24 years ago.

The business, in the town’s High Street, was set up by Steve and Bobby Pidsley in 2002 and specialises in kitchen design, supply, and installation.

Steve’s son Robert Pidsley has set up a new company Kiss Kitchens and Doors Ltd, reportedly operating from the same place as Sherwood Kitchens.

One disgruntled former customer of Sherwood Kitchens claimed Steve told them that ‘Kiss’ stands for ‘Keep it Simple Stupid’.

Kitchen (Image: Stefano Ferrario from Pixabay)

She said she found the new name “very disrespectful to customers” and added: “[Steve] told me moving forward he would only take cash or bank transfers and sent me his bank details.

“He said that if I wanted my £1,400 it would be £1 a week or month via the liquidation company. He hasn’t paid shop staff nor paid redundancy to them.”

Another source alleged: “Sherwood Kitchens made two members of staff redundant with immediate affect on January 31, 2026 owing them both the wages for the hours they worked in January, redundancy pay and redundancy notice pay.

“They have also not had any pension contributions since October 2025 despite contributions being taken out of their wages.”

READ MORE: ‘Shocking and frightening’: Man ‘stabbed’ several times with knives

Former Sherwood Kitchens director Steve said: “Due to the current economic climate, Sherwood Kitchens Ltd has had to go into liquidation so two staff and four family members are seeking redundancy.

“We are a local business and local people and want to do the right thing by our customers and staff.

“With that in mind, Sherwood Kitchens Ltd is in liquidation.”

UK company administrations surged 52 per cent between February and March to 235, and were 82 per cent higher when compared with March 2025, while compulsory liquidations jumped 18 per cent.

Experts have previously warned the underlying picture is worrying for businesses as cost pressures bite.

Steve said that Kiss Kitchens and Doors Ltd is a new business in his son 36-year-old son Robert’s name and has “nothing to do with” Sherwood Kitchens.

Robert remains a director at Sherwood Kitchens, Companies House records show.

“But he will be honouring all Sherwood Kitchens guaranteed work,” the 61-year-old added.

“We also managed to complete all jobs outstanding without them paying any extra money with the exception of one who we offered to complete, but she decided to claim back her deposit.

“We even managed to pay a proportion of outstanding wages in cash out of our own pockets.

“Going forward after this terrible start of the year we are confident my son will be able to make Kiss Kitchen’s and doors into a successful local brand.”

One in five British firms have moved AI workloads out of the UK because of high power costs, according to research commissioned by CUDO Compute, adding to concerns about the country’s ability to keep more AI activity on home soil.

The survey covered more than 700 senior AI decision-makers across the UK, US and Europe, including 200 in the UK. Among UK respondents, 33% said energy costs were limiting their ability to scale AI operations, while 43% said cost and performance outweighed sovereignty when deciding where to deploy AI.

The findings suggest the UK’s push for AI sovereignty is running up against infrastructure constraints. Businesses may want to keep workloads in domestic or regional markets, but power prices, available land and access to grid capacity are proving more decisive.

Geopolitics is also shaping deployment choices. Among UK respondents, 46% said geopolitical instability was pushing them to keep AI workloads within home markets, compared with 36% across the full sample.

Even so, commercial pressures remain strong. Almost a third of UK organisations (32%) said they were actively considering relocating workloads due to geopolitical pressures, while 45% said data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, or national security concerns were shaping their AI deployment strategy. At the same time, 31% said they were prioritising sovereign or regionally controlled compute even at a higher cost.

Where Workloads Go

When asked which markets looked most attractive for new AI cluster capacity, respondents ranked the US highest, with 72% viewing it positively. India followed at 62% and Eastern Europe at 58%.

Eastern Europe ranked ahead of Western Europe at 45% and the Nordics at 44%. China scored 55%, ahead of Latin America at 40%, the Middle East at 39%, Africa at 38% and APAC at 29%.

The pressure appears sharper for businesses that depend more heavily on compute. Among AI-first businesses, 32% said they would consider moving workloads overseas because of power costs, compared with 18% of enterprise organisations.

That gap suggests companies running the most demanding AI systems may be quickest to shift work to lower-cost locations when domestic operating conditions worsen. For policymakers, it highlights the challenge of matching AI ambitions with the industrial base needed to support them.

Infrastructure Strain

The findings reflect a broader issue in the AI market: infrastructure supply is constrained not only by access to chips and software, but also by physical requirements such as land, energy, cooling and grid access. In that context, electricity costs become a central part of the cost of compute.

CUDO Compute commissioned the research with Censuswide as part of its Land. Power. Compute report. Respondents included decision-makers responsible for AI workload and infrastructure decisions, budget input, vendor selection or active deployment planning. The sample included enterprise businesses with turnover above GBP £50 million and AI-first companies with turnover above GBP £1 million.

Matt Hawkins, chief executive of CUDO Compute, said the UK risked a widening gap between policy goals and operational reality if it did not address infrastructure constraints.

“AI sovereignty is being hotly discussed as a priority for UK organisations, but it only works if the infrastructure exists to support it,” Hawkins said. “What we are seeing is a growing tension between where businesses want to run AI and where they actually can.”

“AI is not abstract software. It is physical infrastructure that depends on power, land, cooling and grid access. When those constraints tighten, economics take over. If it is cheaper or easier to run workloads elsewhere, they will move, regardless of sovereignty ambitions.”

“Right now, every UK boardroom is talking about AI, but almost nobody is talking about the infrastructure needed to power it. Until we close that gap, there will continue to be a disconnect between policy, ambition and reality. The countries that solve this first will shape the future of AI, and the UK still has a window to lead, but it needs to act quickly.”