Address Collection - How to Make Sense of Your Data
Address collection can seem like an overwhelming task. It's essential to collect accurate information, whether you're collecting information for weddings, holiday cards or even for parties.
A valid address can save businesses time and money. Incorrect addresses can result in returned 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 vital for local governments. It is also an essential element in geospatial management. Many governments have difficulty managing authoritative address repository. They need simple workflows to document the physical location early in the development of an address, standard maps that inform decision-makers and the public about the quality and accuracy of their addresses, and tools for sharing authoritative address with other agencies.
Local government employees utilize Esri solutions to meet these requirements. These pre-built applications and maps are customised to specific workflows. This makes it easy for local government employees of all sizes and levels geospatial expertise, to adopt them.
According to Scott Oppmann, State and Local Government Solutions Team Director, Esri, solutions are organized into categories that represent "the most commonly-used requirements in state and local government." To see the full list of capabilities available, click here.
For instance, a solution known as Maintaining an Authoritative Address Repository contains a series of tasks that help you create a site address layer from a list of verified proposed sites that you have collected via an online form or captured in the field by using Address Field Inventory. This feature layer can be used to create USNG coordinates and a mailing address. The solution allows you to split a street at a particular point, calculate the municipal boundary, and update address attributes in the master road table.
Another illustration of an Esri solution is Managing Address Field Operations, designed to help address authority staff solicit missing or inaccurate address information from external and internal stakeholders. It allows office staff to assign a task to their field workers, who utilize the address crowdsourcing tool on their mobile devices to verify submitted addresses and to record new ones observed while in the field. The information is then automatically entered into the appropriate database tables for further processing and publication.
The solution allows office staff to assign tasks using the option of validating existing set of address data with an exact 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 improve the data quality and make the data more accurate.
Reverse Geocode Geoprocessing Tool
Reverse geocoding can be used to make sense of data, whether you're trying to locate the location of a company or simply want to know which area is the most profitable. Numerous mobile apps like Uber and Lyft rely on reverse-geocoding to transform raw GPS coordinates into information drivers can understand. Retail chains use it to analyze the preferences of customers, and urban planners can connect address data with the density of people to determine which areas to build public facilities.
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 to search. It can be used to reverse geocode single or multiple points. The output is well-organized and ready for integration into other systems and tools.
It can handle both custom and standard formats for 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 the type of location of the geometry you are comparing to -- it could be a routing location or a street side location that can be used for routing, or the rooftop or parcel centroid of an address.
Additionally you can make use of the tool to create a composite locator by linking two or more existing locators together. If it is unable to locate the address with your local data, then the locator will fallback on ArcGIS World Geocoding.
Reverse geocoding can be a costly process. This is especially when you're working with a lot of coordinates. You'll have to keep within Esri's free usage limit, which is approximately 200 thousand monthly requests or you'll incur costs. Another option is to purchase an application that converts coordinates into addresses in bulk for you.
In closing it's crucial to confirm the accuracy of any address information you get from customers via reverse geocoding. You can do this by using a CASS-certified address verification API such as 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 can help you migrate data between different read more datasets using different data structures. These tools can be used to perform many different tasks, such as concatenating multiple source fields into one target field or splitting up a string into multiple fields to be used as targets.
To make use of the Data Assistant add-in, you must first install it. Click Start, choose Control Panel, then Add or remove programs. Uninstall Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 by following the steps on screen.
Once the Data Assistant addin is installed It can be configured to create the source/target configuration files. You can then load or change data by using this file. The Data Mapping tool includes a number of methods for converting data between formats and handling special characters.
To learn more about the Data Assistant add-in, including how it can help you with your address collection needs, read How to use the Data Assistant add-in. This guide explains how to utilize the Data Assistant add in and how to perform work flows to collect data from parcels and update the parcel data and populate the community layer.
Data Validation Tool
A reliable address validation tool is a potent tool that aids businesses in maintaining integrity of their data and improve operational efficiency. It ensures that mail goes to the correct address and invoices are sent to the correct customer and marketing campaigns reach their intended target audience, thereby driving precision in delivery systems and improving the overall user experience. When selecting a validation software make sure you choose one that has comprehensive country coverage and seamless integrations into business processes. Be aware of the pricing structure and pick tools that offer a high return on investment.
Whether collecting addresses on handwritten forms in a retail store, or during digital inputs at the checkout process online or through integrated data coming in from CRM systems, precise initial data entry is essential to reduce shipping errors and returns and thereby increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. This goes beyond a simple postal code or ZIP lookup. It requires a thorough approach to address collection and validation.
This process begins with an advanced data parsing tool that breaks down an address into its distinct elements, like the street name, city, and postal code. The tool then compares these parts with commercial databases to ensure their accuracy. It then standardizes the address to be in line to international postal standards including changing extended forms into standard abbreviations and capitalization.
The address is then geocoded to verify its place of residence. This step is particularly important for businesses that operate globally. It allows them to calculate shipping costs in a precise manner, and to be transparent to customers. This decreases the chance of costly delays caused by incomplete or inaccurate data. A robust geocoding API can aid businesses in complying with international shipping laws and avoid issues with customs.
After the address is verified, it's updated automatically in CRM systems and enterprise resource planning systems to guarantee that every customer contact or shipment delivery is based on accurate data. Accurate information on addresses can also streamline logistics processes by simplifying procurement, logistics and delivery of services.