Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data
Address collection can be a difficult task. It's important to collect clean information, regardless of whether you're collecting data for weddings, holiday cards or even for parties.
Businesses can save time and money by using correct addresses. Incorrect addresses can result in returned mail, extra fees and missed opportunities. Address verification tools reduce these costs by ensuring that addresses are correct.
ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government
Address collection is vital for local governments and is a crucial element of geospatial data management. Many governments are struggling to manage authoritative address repository. They need simple workflows that allow for the capture of the physical location of an address early in the development process and standard map tools to inform decision-makers and the general public about the quality of their addresses, and tools for sharing authoritative addresses with other agencies.
To meet these needs local government employees are employing Esri solutions. These pre-built maps and apps are designed to work with specific workflows. This makes it easy for local government personnel of any size and level of geospatial competence to adopt them.
According to Scott Oppmann, State and Local Government Solutions Team Director, Esri, solutions are classified into categories that cover "the most frequently-asked for needs in state and local government." Click here for the full list of capabilities.
For instance, a solution called Maintaining an Authoritative Address Repository contains a series of tasks to help you create a site address layer from a list of verified proposed sites that are collected using an online form or in the field with Address Field Inventory. This feature layers can then be used to generate USNG coordinates and a mailing address. Additionally this solution allows you to split a road at a defined point, calculate the municipal boundaries and update the characteristics of addresses in the master road name table.
Another illustration of an Esri solution is Managing Address Field Operations, which is designed to help address authority personnel collect addresses that are not correct or incomplete from external and internal stakeholders. Office staff can assign a task for their field workers to make use of the address crowdsourcing app on their mobile devices. They then can verify the addresses they submit and take note of any new ones they see when they are out in the field. This information is then added to the appropriate databases for further processing and publication.
The solution also permits office staff to assign a task with the option of confirming an existing set of address data using a specified accuracy threshold, which helps them spot errors such as duplicates and incorrect addresses in the database. The data can then be imported into the master database to improve the quality of data and ensure it is more accurate.
Reverse Geocode Geoprocessing Tool
Reverse geocoding can be used to interpret data, whether you're trying to find the location of a business or simply want to know which area is the most profitable. Many mobile apps, including Uber or Lyft, use reverse geocoding to transform raw GPS coordinates into something that drivers can read. Retail chains use it to understand the habits of their customers when shopping, and urban planners can combine the address data to population density to decide which areas to build public infrastructure.
Reverse Geocode is a tool that converts point locations within a feature class into addresses. It does this by searching for the nearest intersection or address in relation to distance. It can be used to reverse geocode single points or multiple points in a batch. The output is well-structured and ready to be integrated into other systems or tools.
It supports both custom and standard formats of address data, including the standard attributes X, Y of a Point Address feature, and the IDs for POIs (Point of Interest). You can also specify the geometries match the type of location it is. It can be a routing location (a side-of street location that can be used to route) or the parcel's centroid, or the rooftop of an address.
Additionally you can also make use of the tool to build a composite locator by linking two or more existing locators together. The resultant locator will be back to the ArcGIS World Geocoding service if it is unable to locate an address with your own local information.
Reverse geocoding is an expensive process. This is especially when you're working with a large amount of coordinates. Esri offers a no-cost usage limit of around 200 million requests per month. If you exceed this, you'll be charged. Another option is to purchase an online service that can convert click here coordinates into addresses in bulk for you.
As a final note it's crucial to confirm the accuracy of any address information you get from customers using reverse geocoding. This can be done using an address verification API that's CASS certified, like PostGrid. This will ensure that the addresses used in your direct mail campaigns are deliverable and will be delivered to your customers.
Data Assistant Add-in
The Data Assistant addin contains a set of tools that can aid you in moving data between different datasets using different data structures. These tools can be used to perform various tasks, such as concatenating multiple sources into one target field, or splitting strings into several fields to be used as targets.
The installation of the Data Assistant is required before you can use it. Click Start and select Control Panel, then Add or remove programs. Then, search for Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 and follow the on-screen instructions to remove it.
After the Data Assistant add-in is installed you can set it up to create a source-target configuration file and load or replace data from the file. The Data Mapping tool also includes a set of methods that you can use to transform data between various formats and handle special characters.
To find out more about the Data Assistant add-in, including how it can help you with your address collection needs, read how to use the Data Assistant add-in. This solution explains how to use the Data Assistant add in and how to perform processes to collect parcel data and update data on parcels and populate the community layer.
Data Validation Tool
A reliable tool to verify addresses is an effective tool that helps businesses maintain data accuracy and operational efficiency. It ensures that mail is delivered to the correct address and that invoices are delivered to the right customer and marketing campaigns reach their intended target audience, thereby driving precision in delivery systems and increasing overall satisfaction of users. When selecting a validation tool pick one that provides seamless integration into business processes as well as extensive coverage across all countries. Be aware of the pricing structure and pick tools that provide a good return on investment.
If you are you are collecting addresses on handwritten forms at a retailer store, through digital inputs at an online checkout, or from integrated data that is flowing into CRM systems, accurate initial data entry is essential in reducing shipping errors and return, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. This involves more than just an easy postal code or ZIP lookup. It requires a thorough method of address collection and validation.
This process begins with a sophisticated data parsing program that breaks the address into its constituent elements, including street name, city name and postal code. Next, the tool matches these pieces against commercial databases to verify their accuracy. The tool then standardizes the address to conform to the global postal norms including changing extended forms into standard abbreviations and capitalization.
The address is then geocoded to verify its location. This is especially important for companies operating globally. It helps them calculate shipping costs in a precise manner, and to provide transparency to their customers. This helps reduce the risk of costly delays caused by inaccurate or incomplete data. In addition, a robust geocoding API will help businesses adhere to international shipping regulations and avoid issues related to customs.
After the address has been verified, it is automatically updated in CRM and enterprise resource planning software to ensure that every customer contact, shipment or service delivery is based upon accurate data. Precise address data can also simplify the logistical aspect of business by reducing the procurement and logistics processes, thus saving time and money.