Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data

Address collection can be a daunting task. It's important to collect clean data, whether you're collecting information for weddings, holiday cards or even for parties.

Valid addresses help businesses save time and money. Invalid addresses lead to returned mail, extra fees and missed opportunities. Address verification tools can cut expenses by ensuring addresses are properly entered.

ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government

Address collection is vital for local government and is a key component of geospatial data management. However many governments have difficulties in managing authoritative address repositories. They need simple workflows to document the physical location at an early stage in the creation of an address, standard maps that inform decision makers and the general public about quality and accuracy of their addresses, as well as tools to share authoritative address with other agencies.

To meet these needs local government employees are using Esri solutions. These pre-built maps and apps are configured to specific workflows. This makes it easy for local government personnel of any size and level of geospatial competence to adopt them.

Scott Oppmann is the State and Local Government Solutions Team Director at Esri. According to the team leader, solutions are arranged into categories that reflect "the common needs of the state and local governments." To see the full list of capabilities available go here.

For instance, a program called Maintaining an Authoritative Address Repository comprises a set of tasks to help you create a site address layer from a list of verified proposed sites collected through an online form or gathered in the field using Address Field Inventory. These feature layers can be used to create USNG Coordinates and a mailing address. Additionally, the solution also enables you to divide the road at a specific point, calculate municipal boundaries, and update address characteristics in the master road name table.

Another example of an Esri solution is Managing Address Field Operations, designed to assist address authority staff solicit incorrect or missing address information from external and internal stakeholders. It enables office personnel to assign a task to their field workers, who can utilize the address crowdsourcing tool using their mobile devices to check submitted addresses and record any new ones observed while out in the field. This information is automatically inserted into appropriate databases tables to be processed and published.

The solution allows office workers to assign tasks with the option of validating an existing set of address data with the specified accuracy level. This helps them spot mistakes, such as duplicate addresses or incorrectly matched addresses in the database. This information can then be transferred into the master address database to enhance data quality and make the database more accurate.

Reverse Geocode Geoprocessing tool

Reverse geocoding can be used to understand data when you're trying find the location of a business or just want to know which areas are most profitable. Many mobile apps, including Uber and Lyft use reverse geocoding to transform raw GPS coordinates into information drivers can understand. Retail chains use it to analyze the habits of their customers when shopping, and urban planners can combine the address data to the density of their population to decide where to build new public facilities.

The Reverse Geocode tool turns point locations in a feature class into addresses by searching for the nearest intersection or address based on the distance of search. It can be used to reverse geocode single or multiple points. The output is well-structured and able to be integrated into other systems or tools.

It supports standard formats as well as custom formats for address data. This includes the standard attributes X andY from the Point Address feature and the identifiers for POIs (Points of Interest). You can also specify the location type the matching geometry is. It can be an address location for routing (a street-side location that can be used to direct traffic) or the parcel's centroid, or the rooftop of an address.

In addition, you can make use of the tool to build an integrated locator by linking two or more existing locators together. The resultant locator will fall back on the ArcGIS World Geocoding service if it is unable to locate an address that matches your own local information.

Reverse geocoding can be a costly process. This is particularly relevant if you work with a lot of coordinates. You'll need to stay under Esri's free usage level--which is around 200 thousand requests per month, or you'll be charged. Another option is to buy a service that will convert coordinates into addresses en masse for you.

As a final note, it's important to verify the accuracy of any address information you receive from customers through reverse geocoding. This click here can be done using an address verification API that is CASS certified, such as PostGrid. This will ensure that the addresses used in your direct mail campaigns are deliverable and can be delivered to your customers.

Data Assistant Add-in

The Data Assistant addin contains a set of tools that can assist you in transferring data between datasets with different data structures. You can use these tools to accomplish a variety of tasks, including merging multiple sources into a single target field or splitting the string into multiple target fields.

Installing the Data Assistant is required before you can use it. Click Start, choose Control Panel, then Add or remove programs. Uninstall Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 by following the directions on the screen.

Once the Data Assistant addin is installed it can be set up to create the source/target configuration files. You can then load or replace data by using the file. The Data Mapping tool also includes an array of methods you can use to transform data into different formats and to handle specific characters.

Learn how to use the Data Assistant Add-in to learn more about how it can assist you with your requirements for address collection. This article explains how you can use the Data Assistant add in and how to carry out processes to collect parcel data and update the parcel data and populate the community layer.

Data Validation Tool

A reliable address validation tool is a powerful tool that can help businesses maintain the integrity of their data and increase operational efficiency. It ensures that mail goes to the correct address and that invoices are delivered to the right customer, and marketing campaigns reach their intended audience, thus driving precision in delivery systems and increasing overall user satisfaction. When selecting a validation tool make sure you choose one that has seamless integration into business processes as well as broad coverage of the entire world. Be aware of the pricing structure and choose tools that have a high return on investment.

If you are you are collecting addresses on handwritten forms in a retail store, during digital inputs at checkout online, or from integrated data flowing in from CRM systems, precise initial data entry is crucial to reducing shipping errors and return and ultimately increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is more than using a standard postal code or ZIP code lookup, it requires thorough address verification and collection.

The process starts with an advanced data parsing program that breaks down the address into its component parts, such as street name, city name and postal code. Next, the tool matches these pieces to commercial databases to confirm their accuracy. The tool then standardizes the address to be in line to international postal standards for example, the conversion of extended forms to standard abbreviations and capitalization.

The address is then geocoded to verify its location. This is crucial for businesses who operate globally. It helps them calculate shipping costs in a precise manner, and also to provide transparency to their customers. This reduces the risk of costly delays caused by incorrect or insufficient information. Additionally, a robust geocoding API can help businesses comply with international shipping regulations and avoid customs-related issues.

Once the address has been verified, it is automatically updated in CRM and enterprise resource planning software to ensure that each customer contact, shipment or delivery is based upon accurate data. Accurate address information can simplify the logistical aspect of operations by reducing procurement and logistics processes, which saves time and money.