Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data
Address collection may seem like an overwhelming task. When you're collecting addresses to be used for weddings, parties, or holiday cards, it's essential to keep your data clean.
Valid addresses help businesses save time and money. Incorrect addresses can result in returned mail, additional fees and missed opportunities. Address verification tools can help reduce costs by ensuring addresses are properly entered.
ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government
Address collection is vital for local governments and is an essential element of geospatial data management. However many governments have difficulties with managing authoritative address repository. They need simple workflows that allow for the capture of the physical location of an address earlier in the development process Standard map products to inform decision makers and the general public about the quality of their addresses, as well as tools to share authoritative addresses with other agencies.
Local government employees utilize Esri solutions to meet these needs. These pre-built maps and applications are designed to work with specific workflows, making it simple for local governments of all sizes and levels of expertise to adopt them for improved efficiency and greater insight.
Scott Oppmann is the State and Local Government Solutions Team Director at Esri. According to him, solutions are organized in categories that reflect "the common needs of state and local government agencies." To view the complete list of solutions available, click here.
For example, a solution called Maintaining an Authoritative Address Repository includes a series of tasks that help you create a layer of address from a list of verified proposed sites collected through an online form or in the field with Address Field Inventory. The feature layers can be used to create USNG coordinates and a mailing address. The solution allows you to split a street at any particular point, calculate the municipal boundary, and update address attributes in the master road table.
Another example of an Esri solution is Managing Address Field Operations, which is designed to help address authority staff solicit addresses that are not correct or incomplete from both external and internal stakeholders. It allows office staff assign a task to their field employees to use the address crowdsourcing app on their mobile devices. They can then check the addresses they submit and take note of any new ones they see while in the field. This information is automatically inserted into the appropriate database tables to be processed and then published.
The solution permits office personnel to assign tasks by giving them the option of validating existing set address data using an exact accuracy level. This helps them spot errors, like duplicate addresses or incorrectly matched 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 regardless of whether you're trying to locate the location of a business or simply want to know which areas are most profitable. Numerous mobile apps like Uber and Lyft rely on reverse-geocoding to transform raw GPS coordinates into information that drivers can understand. Retail chains utilize reverse geocoding to learn about their customers' buying habits. Urban planners can also link address information to the density of people to determine where to construct public infrastructure.
The Reverse Geocode tool turns point locations in a feature class into addresses by searching for the closest intersection or address based on the search distance. It can be used to reverse geocode single or multiple points. Its output is structured and ready for integration into other tools and systems.
It allows both standard and custom formats of address data, including the standardized X, Y attribute values of the Point Address feature, and the identification codes for POIs (Point of Interest). You can also specify what location type the matching geometry is. It can be a routing location (a street side location that can be used to route) or the parcel centroid or rooftop of an address.
You can also use the tool to create composite locators by connecting together two or more locators. If it cannot find the address using your local information, the resulting locator will fallback on ArcGIS World Geocoding.
Reverse geocoding is costly, particularly if you're working with large amounts of coordinates. You'll need to keep your usage under Esri's free usage threshold--which is around 200 thousand monthly requests or you'll incur costs. You may also purchase a subscription to convert coordinates into addresses in a masse.
In closing it is crucial to confirm the accuracy of any address information that you receive from customers through reverse geocoding. You can do this by using an address verification API that is certified by CASS like PostGrid. This will ensure that the addresses that you use in your direct mail campaigns can be delivered and will be delivered to your customers.
Data Assistant Add-in
The Data Assistant addin contains a set of tools that will assist you in transferring data between different datasets using different data structures. These tools can be used to perform various tasks, such as concatenating multiple sources into a single target field, or splitting strings into multiple fields of target.
To use the Data Assistant add-in, you must first install it. To do this, click Start, select Control Panel, and then select Add or more info Remove programs. Then, search for Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 and follow the instructions on screen to uninstall it.
After the Data Assistant add-in is installed you can set it up to create a source-target configuration file and then load or replace data from that file. The Data Mapping tool includes a number of methods for converting data to different formats and handling special characters.
To find out more about the Data Assistant add-in, including how it can assist 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 workflows to collect and update parcel data and populate layers of community.
Data Validation Tool
A reliable tool to verify addresses is a powerful tool that can help businesses to maintain accuracy in their data and operational efficiency. It ensures that the correct address is used for mail and invoices are sent to the right person and marketing campaigns are delivered to the intended target audience. When selecting a validation tool make sure you choose one that has comprehensive country coverage and seamless integrations into business processes. Be aware of the pricing structure and select tools that offer a high return on investment.
It is crucial to ensure that the initial entry of addresses is correct whether it's written on handwritten forms in stores, or entered digitally at the time of online checkout or the integration of data from CRM systems. This will reduce the chance of errors in shipping and return and ultimately increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. This requires more than just using a conventional postal code or ZIP code lookup; it involves a process of thorough address collection and verification.
This process begins with a sophisticated data parsing tool that breaks down an address into its individual components, including the street name, city, and postal code. The tool then compares these parts with commercial databases to verify their accuracy. The tool then standardizes the address to meet the global postal standards. For example, it converts extended forms into standard abbreviations or capitalization.
Finally, the address is geocoded to confirm its location. This is particularly important for companies operating globally. It allows 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. A robust geocoding API will also help businesses comply with international shipping laws and avoid customs issues.
Once the address is verified, it's updated automatically in CRM systems and enterprise resource planning systems to guarantee that every contact with a customer or shipment delivery is based on accurate information. Precise address data can also simplify the logistics side of business by reducing the procurement and logistics processes, thus saving time and money.