Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data
Address collection may seem like an overwhelming task. It is essential to collect clean data, whether you're collecting data for weddings, holiday cards, or for parties.
A valid address can save businesses time and money. Invalid addresses lead to returned mail, fees, and missed opportunities. Address verification tools can help reduce costs by ensuring addresses are entered correctly.
ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government
Address collection is crucial for local governments and is an essential element of geospatial data management. Many governments struggle to manage authoritative address repositories. They need simple workflows to capture the physical location early in the process of developing 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 staff 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 all sizes and levels of geospatial knowledge to use them.
According to Scott Oppmann, State and Local Government Solutions Team Lead, Esri, solutions are classified into categories that cover "the most frequently-asked for needs in local and state government." To see the full list of the capabilities available go here.
Address Field Inventory for example, includes an array of tasks to assist you in creating an address layer that is based on a list of verified sites taken from an online form. This feature layers can then be used to generate USNG coordinates as well as a mailing address. The solution lets you split a street at any specific point, calculate a municipal boundaries, and then update address attributes in the master road table.
Managing Address Field Operations is another Esri solution that can be used to help address authority staff collect incomplete or incorrect information from both internal and external stakeholders. Office staff can assign tasks to their field workers to utilize the address crowdsourcing application on their mobile devices. They can then verify the addresses they submit and take note of any new addresses they find when they are out in the field. This information is then entered into the appropriate databases for further processing and publication.
simply click the next site permits office personnel to assign a task the option of validating an existing set of address data with a specified accuracy threshold, which helps them identify mistakes, such as duplicates or incorrect addresses in the database. This information can be imported into the master database to improve the quality of the data and ensure it is more accurate.
Reverse Geocode Geoprocessing Tool
Reverse geocoding is a method to interpret data regardless of whether you're trying to find the location of a business or just want to know which area is the most profitable. Many mobile apps such as Uber and Lyft depend on reverse geocoding to transform raw GPS coordinates into information drivers can understand. Retail chains employ it to study the preferences of customers, and urban planners can link data on address with the density of people to determine where to build new public facilities.
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 batches. The output is well-organized and ready to be integrated into other tools and systems.
It supports both standard and custom formats of address data, such as the standardized attributes X and Y of a Point Address feature, as well as identification codes for POIs (Point of Interest). You can also specify the type of location of the matching geometry--it can be a routing location that is an area on the street that can be used to route, or the rooftop or parcel centroid of an address.
Additionally, you can make use of the tool to build a composite locator by linking two or more existing locators together. The resultant locator will be back on the ArcGIS World Geocoding service if it cannot find an address that matches your own personal data.
Reverse geocoding is an expensive process. This is particularly relevant if you work with a large number of coordinates. You'll have to keep within Esri's free usage threshold--which is approximately 200 thousand requests per month, or you'll incur charges. Another option is to purchase a service that will convert coordinates into addresses en masse for you.
It's important as a final step to check the accuracy and completeness of any address data you receive from customers using reverse geocoding. This can be done by using an address verification API that's CASS certified, like PostGrid. This will ensure that the addresses used in your direct mail campaigns are delirable and are able to be delivered to your customers.
Data Assistant Add-in
The Data Assistant add-in contains a collection of tools that aid you in transferring data from one database to another that may have an entirely different data structure. You can use these tools to accomplish various tasks, like concatenating multiple source fields into one target field or splitting a string into several fields of target.
To use the Data Assistant add-in, you must first install it. Click Start and select Control Panel, then Add or Remove programs. Uninstall Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 by following the instructions on the screen.
After the Data Assistant addin is installed, it can be configured to create the source/target configuration files. You can then import or replace data using this file. The Data Mapping tool also includes a set of methods that you can employ to convert data between various formats and to handle special characters.
Read How to use Data Assistant Add-in to learn more about how it can help you with your address collection requirements. This solution explains how to utilize the Data Assistant add in and how to use tasks to collect parcel data and update data on parcels and populate community layer.
Data Validation Tool
A reliable address validation tool is a potent tool that aids businesses in maintaining data integrity and operational efficiencies. It ensures that the correct address is used for mailing and invoices are sent to the right person and marketing campaigns are delivered to the right target audience. When choosing a validation tool make sure you choose one that has comprehensive country coverage and seamless integrations into business processes. You should also consider pricing structures and select tools that offer a high return on investment.
Whether you are collecting addresses on handwritten forms at a retail store, or during digital inputs during an online checkout or through integrated data flowing in from CRM systems, accurate initial data entry is essential in reducing shipping errors and return and ultimately increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is more than using a conventional postal code or ZIP code lookup, it requires thorough address collection and verification.
The process begins with an advanced tool for data parsing that breaks down an address into its various elements, like the street name, city name, and postal code. The tool then compares these pieces with commercial databases to ensure their accuracy. Then, it standardizes the address to conform to global postal norms, such as the conversion of extended forms to standard abbreviations and capitalization.
The address is then geocoded in order to verify its location. This is especially important for companies that are globally-based. It allows them calculate shipping costs accurately and also to provide transparency to customers. This reduces the risk of costly delays resulting from incorrect or insufficient information. Additionally, a reliable geocoding API can help companies comply with 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 every customer contact, shipment or delivery is based on accurate information. Accurate address information can simplify the logistics side of operations by simplifying logistics and procurement processes, thereby saving time and money.