Sagacity finds extensive incorrect address information in central database

Nearly half of all supply points (SPIDs) listed in the non-household market’s central database may need correction of clarification.

That was a high level finding from the data quality assessment phase of Project TIDE (Transformation in Data Enrichment), being undertaken by MOSL and data solutions specialist Sagacity, to define the case for a central data cleanse.

Among the findings so far were the following:

• only 58% of SPIDs could be confidently matched (exactly or definitively) to recognised address data sources while a further 7% were probable matches and 19% potential matches. The remaining 16% (415,000 SPIDs) were unmatched;

• 1.1m of the 2.6m SPIDs had valid Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs), government mandated identifiers. A further 610,000 had UKRNs that needed validation. 865,000 did not have a UPRN, though Sagacity managed to source 525,000 leaving 340,000 unidentified;

• 35,000 premises listed in CMOS have been demolished or removed, and a further 168,000 are potentially residential;

MOSL’s chief information officer, John Davies, said the findings “whilst eye-opening, are unsurprising”. He reported: "We’re paying particular attention to the 16% of premises that are unmatched, the 6.5% of premises identified as potentially residential and the 33% that have no UPRN – a significant volume of supply points that need to be reassessed and potentially de-registered from the market;”

Davies added: “This significant amount of incorrect address data is not only muddying the water in CMOS, but is increasing the associated costs for retailers to fix the data and leading to inefficiencies in the service they are able to provide to their customers. Poor quality customer and address data cost the market an estimated c£6m a year in resource costs alone, so it’s essential that we don’t approach a sixth year of the open market without taking action to resolve this key market friction."