Step 2 - Sorting Test Addresses
Once you have downloaded the Test Address Data, you must use your software to sort this list according to one of the following schemes and generate a printable report and electronic file of the Computer Planning Report, Line Listing and the sorted Test Address Data for submission to the Royal Mail Technical Team for validation.
Please note - you must use the appropriate version of the Test Address Data and Royal Mail Selection Files.
| Mailing Schemes | Advertising Mail | Business Mail | Publishing Mail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Sort Letters |  |
|
|
| Low Sort Large Letters | |
|
|
| Low Sort Mixed Weight Large Letters | |
|
|
If you plan to submit tests for more than one mailing scheme then in the first instance please submit test results for one scheme only - choosing the scheme nearest the top of the above list.
Once you have successfully completed the initial test you may submit tests for other schemes, in the above sequence.
Test Parameters
- Sort each scheme (apart from the Mixed Weight varieties) as 45g for letters and large letters.
- Although certain sort options and/or formats permit trays and bags as the method of presentation, please use bags for the test purpose.
- Although the maximum bag weight is 11000g, please use 10500g for the test purpose.
- Although your software may permit user choice of minimum selection size, for the Low Sort option, the minimum selection size should always be 1 item.
Mixed Weight Schemes
The Test Address Data contains a Weight Indicator for each item. You should use this indicator to determine the item weight for mixed weight schemes as follows:
| Weight Indicator | Weight |
|
|---|---|---|
Low Sort Large Letters |
||
1 |
48g |
|
2 |
70g |
|
3 |
130g |
|
4 |
212g |
|
5 |
550g |
|
Other Considerations
The Software Testing process is designed in part to determine whether or not software is able to allocate the correct standard selection codes (SSC) from Postcodes and Post Towns in addresses where quality and format of addressing may vary. Therefore, if your software provides address cleaning and Postcoding functions in addition to sortation, these additional functions must be disabled for the purposes of the software tests.