Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data
Address collection can be a daunting task. It is essential to collect clean data, whether you're collecting information for weddings, holiday cards or for parties.
Businesses can save time and money by using valid addresses. Incorrect addresses can lead to returned mails, extra fees and missed opportunities. Address verification tools can help cut down the cost of these issues by ensuring that addresses are entered correctly.
ArcGIS Solutions for State and Local Government
Address collection is vital for local governments. It is also an essential element in geospatial management. Many governments are struggling to manage authoritative address repositories. They require simple workflows that help capture the physical location of an address early in the process of development and standard map tools 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.
To meet these requirements, local government staff are making use of Esri solutions. These pre-built maps and apps are configured around specific workflows, making it easy for local governments of all sizes and levels of geospatial expertise to adopt them for improved efficiency and understanding.
According to Scott Oppmann, State and Local Government Solutions Team Director, Esri, solutions are organized into categories that represent "the most common needs in local and state government." Click here to see the full list of capabilities.
Address Field Inventory for instance, contains the following tasks that assist you in creating an address layer that is based on a list of verified proposed sites that are collected through an online form. These feature layers can be used to create USNG Coordinates and an address for mailing. In addition to that, the solution allows you to divide roads at a specified point, calculate municipal boundaries and update the address characteristics in the master road name table.
Managing Address Field Operations is another Esri solution that can be used to assist address authority personnel collect inaccurate or missing information from internal and outside stakeholders. It allows office staff to assign a task to their field workers, who utilize the address crowdsourcing tool on mobile devices to verify the submitted addresses and capture new addresses that are observed out in the field. The information is automatically entered into appropriate databases tables to be processed and published.
The solution also allows office staff to assign a task the option of confirming an existing set of address data with a specific accuracy threshold, which helps them spot mistakes, such as duplicates or duplicate addresses in the database. This information can be transferred into the master address database to improve the data quality and make the data more accurate.
Reverse Geocode Geoprocessing Tool
Reverse geocoding can be used to understand data regardless of whether you're trying to determine the location of a company or just want to find out which areas are most profitable. Many mobile apps, like Uber or Lyft, rely on reverse geocoding to convert raw GPS coordinates into something drivers can read. Retail chains use reverse geocoding to understand their customers' shopping habits. Urban planners can connect address data with population density to determine the best location to build public facilities.
The Reverse Geocode tool turns point locations within a feature class into addresses by searching for the nearest address or intersection based on the search distance. It can be used to reverse geocode one or more points or multiple points in batches. The output is well-structured and ready to be integrated into other systems or tools.
It supports both standard formats as well as custom formats for address data. This includes the standardized attributes X andY from a Point Address feature as well as the identifiers of POIs (Points of Interest). You can also specify the geometries match the type of location it is. It can be an address location for routing (a side-of street location that can be used to direct traffic) or the parcel centroid or rooftop of an address.
You can also make use of the tool to create composite locators by connecting together two or more locators. The resulting locator will fall back on the ArcGIS World Geocoding service if it cannot find an address that matches your own local data.
Reverse geocoding can be an expensive process, especially if you're working with large quantities of coordinates. Esri has a free usage limit of 200 million requests per month. If you exceed this, you'll be charged. Another option is to purchase an application that converts coordinates into addresses in bulk for you.
It is crucial as a final step, to verify the accuracy and completeness of any address information 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 you use in your direct mail campaigns are deliverable and will be delivered to your customers.
Data Assistant Add-in
The Data Assistant add-in contains a set of tools designed to aid you in transferring data from one dataset to another one that might have distinct data structure. These tools can be used to perform various tasks, such as concatenating multiple sources into a single target field, or splitting a string into multiple fields of target.
Installing the Data Assistant is required before you can use it. To do this simply select Start and then more info choose Control Panel, and then select Add or Remove Programs. Uninstall Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 by following the directions on the screen.
Once the Data Assistant add-in is installed You can set it to create an source-target configuration file and then load or substitute data from that file. The Data Mapping tool includes a variety of options for converting data between formats and handling specific characters.
To learn more about the Data Assistant add-in, including how it can help with your address collection needs, read how to use the Data Assistant add-in. This article explains how you can use the Data Assistant add in and how to carry out work flows to collect data from parcels and update the parcel data and populate community layer.
Data Validation Tool
A reliable tool for verifying addresses is a powerful tool that can help companies maintain accuracy of their data and operational efficiency. It ensures that the correct address is used for mail, invoices go to the right person and marketing campaigns are sent to the right target audience. When selecting a validation tool be sure to choose one with broad coverage across all countries and seamless integration into business processes. You should also look at pricing structures and opt for tools that have a high ROI.
It is crucial to ensure that the initial entry of addresses is correct, whether it's on paper forms in the retail store, or electronically at the time of online checkout or integrating data from CRM systems. This will reduce the chance of errors in shipping and return and ultimately boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. This goes beyond an easy postal code or ZIP lookup. It requires a thorough process of address collection and validation.
The process starts with a sophisticated data parsing program that breaks the address into its component elements, including street name, city and postal code. The tool then compares these pieces with commercial databases to verify their accuracy. The tool then standardizes the address to be in line with global postal norms. For example, it converts extended forms into standardized abbreviations or capitalization.
The address is then geocoded in order to confirm its location. This is crucial for companies that operate globally. It allows them to determine shipping costs accurately and arrange transparency for customers, minimizing the possibility of costly delays due to inaccurate or insufficient data. In addition, a robust geocoding API can help businesses comply with international shipping regulations and avoid issues related to customs.
Once the address has been verified, it is automatically updated in CRM systems and enterprise resource planning systems to ensure that every customer interaction or shipment delivery is based on accurate information. Precise address data can also simplify the logistical aspect of operations by simplifying logistics and procurement processes, which saves time and money.