Notes

Address Collection Isn't As Tough As You Think
Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data

Address collection can be a challenging task. If you're collecting addresses for weddings, parties or holiday cards, it's essential to keep your data clean.

A valid address can save businesses time and money. Incorrect addresses result in rejected mail, additional fees and missed opportunities. Address verification tools can cut costs by ensuring that addresses are properly entered.

ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government

Address collection is essential for local government and is an essential component of geospatial data management. However, many governments face challenges with managing authoritative address repository. They require simple workflows to document the physical location at an early stage in the development of an address, standard maps that inform decision makers and the general public about the quality and accuracy of their addresses, as well as tools to share authoritative addresses with other agencies.

Local government staff use Esri solutions to meet these needs. These pre-built maps and apps are configured to specific workflows. This makes it simple for local government personnel of all sizes and levels of geospatial knowledge to use them.

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

Address Field Inventory for instance, contains an array of tasks to assist you in creating an address layer that is based on a list of verified proposed sites that are collected through an online form. This feature layers can then be used to create USNG coordinates and a related mailing address. The solution lets you divide a street at a specific point, calculate a municipal boundary, and update address attributes in the master road table.

Another illustration of an Esri solution is Managing Address Field Operations, designed to assist address authority personnel collect missing or inaccurate address information from both external and internal stakeholders. It allows office staff to assign tasks to their field workers, who utilize the address crowdsourcing tool using their mobile devices to check submitted addresses and record any new addresses they see out in the field. This information is then automatically entered into the appropriate databases for further processing and publication.

The solution also permits office staff to assign a task with the option to validate 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. This information can be incorporated into the master database to improve the data quality and make it more accurate.

Reverse Geocode Geoprocessing Tool

If you're searching for the location of a specific business or simply want to find out which location is the most lucrative, reverse geocoding can help you make sense of your data. Many mobile apps, including Uber and Lyft rely on reverse-geocoding to convert raw GPS coordinates into information drivers can understand. Retail chains use it to understand the preferences of customers, and urban planners can connect the address data to the density of their population to decide where to build new public infrastructure.

The Reverse Geocode tool turns point locations within a feature class into addresses by searching for the closest address or intersection 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 allows both custom and standard formats for address data, such as the standardized attributes X, Y of a Point Address feature, as well as the identifiers for POIs (Point of Interest). You can also specify the location type of the matching geometry--it can be a routing location or a side-of-street location that can be used to route, or the rooftop or parcel centroid of an address.

You can make use of the tool to create composite locators by linking two or more locators. If it is unable to locate the address using the local information, the resulting locator will use ArcGIS World Geocoding.

Reverse geocoding is a costly process. This is particularly relevant if you work with a large number of coordinates. You'll need to keep your usage under Esri's free usage level--which is about 200 thousand monthly requests or you'll incur costs. Another option is to buy a service that will convert coordinates into addresses en masse for you.

It's important, as a final point to check the accuracy and completeness of any address information you receive from your customers using reverse geocoding. This can be accomplished by using an address verification API that's CASS certified, such as PostGrid. This will ensure that the addresses you use in your direct mail campaigns are delirable and can be delivered to your customers.

Data Assistant Add-in

The Data Assistant addin contains a collection of tools to help you migrate data between datasets with different data structures. These tools allow you to accomplish various tasks, such as merging multiple sources into a single target field, or splitting the string into multiple fields to be used as targets.


To use the Data Assistant add-in, you must first install it. Click Start then select Control Panel, then Add or Remove programs. Uninstall Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 by following the instructions on screen.

After the Data Assistant addin is installed It can be configured to create a source/target configuration file. You can then import or replace data using that file. The Data Mapping tool also includes a set of methods that you can employ to convert data between various formats and to handle specific characters.

Read How to use Data Assistant Add-in to learn more about how it can assist you with your address collection requirements. This article explains how you can make use of the Data Assistant add in and how to use processes to collect data from parcels and update data on parcels and populate the community layer.

Data Validation Tool

A reliable address validation tool is a potent tool that can help businesses maintain integrity of their data and improve operational efficiency. It ensures that the correct address is used to mail and invoices go to the right customer and marketing campaigns are sent to the intended target audience. When selecting a validation tool be sure to choose one with comprehensive country coverage and seamless integrations into business processes. Take into consideration the pricing structure and select tools that have a high return on investment.

Whether taking addresses from handwritten forms in a retail store, through digital inputs at the checkout process online or through integrated data flowing in from CRM systems, precise initial data entry is vital to reducing shipping errors and returns, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is more than an easy postal code or ZIP lookup. It requires a thorough approach to address collection and validation.

The process starts with a sophisticated data parsing tool that breaks down an address into its distinct elements, like the street name, the city, and postal code. The tool then matches these pieces with commercial databases to validate their accuracy. It then standardizes an address to meet international postal standards. For example it converts extended forms into standard abbreviations or capitalization.

The address is then geocoded to verify its location. This is particularly important for businesses who operate globally. It allows them calculate shipping costs accurately, and to be transparent to their customers. This helps reduce the risk of delays that are costly due to inaccurate or incomplete data. Additionally, a robust geocoding API can help companies adhere to international shipping regulations and avoid issues related to customs.

Once the address is verified, it is updated in CRM and enterprise resource planning software to ensure that each customer contact, shipment or delivery is based upon accurate data. Accurate information on addresses can also speed up logistics operations by reducing the logistics, procurement and service delivery processes.

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