I would like to know the best way I can verify shipping addresses our
customers give us, to ensure we are getting the right one- be it the
street spelling, the zip code etc.  We sell custom designed rings to
the US military, and we typically accept the orders in busy, noisy
locations.  The salesmen are often in a hurry, and their handwriting
leaves a lot to be desired.  When we get the handwritten order forms
back to the office, we enter them into an Access database, and we
would like to be able to compare the address to a database of accurate
addresses so we can choose to correct them. Any ideas?

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Request for Question Clarification by tisme-ga on 26 Mar 2003 18:43 PST

Hello jhc1352-ga,

Are you looking for a database to compare your addresses to verified
addresses, or are you looking for a method to implement a check within
your Access Database?

tisme-ga

---

Clarification of Question by jhc1352-ga on 26 Mar 2003 19:16 PST

Really I am looking for both, I think.  The ideal would be for the
system to check the address as it is beign entered, to see if such an
address exists.  Or perhaps the only address in that zip code is a
Court, or an Avenue, or that the zip code is incorrect for the address
we entered.
We used to have a book (from the post office, I think) that we would
look in.  But times have changed, and it is probably available on CD,
which may be available to integrate with ACCESS.
I hope that answers your question.

Hello jhc1352,

Thank you for your question. 

There are software products just for this purpose.

http://www.correctaddress.com/

"Correct Address: Is (US CASS Certified) software that validates,
corrects, and enhances address and geographic information.

 -Validates the Incoming Address 
 -Address Standardization 
 -ZIP Correction and ZIP+4 Code Appending 
 -Provides Line of Travel (LOT) Coding 
 -Delivery Point Bar Coding 
 -Distinguishes Residential and Business Addresses 
 -Provides Carrier Route Codes and Carrier 
 -Advanced Name and Address Parsing 

Correct Address is powered by Intelligent Search Technology's advanced
address searching and matching engine, "Name Search".  By leveraging
the power of our intelligent search and matching tools, the Correct
Address technology delivers unsurpassed speed and accuracy while
overcoming significantly greater degrees of variations as compared
with standard address correction methodologies."

http://www.intelligentsearch.com/

"The Fastest, Easiest and most accurate Name & Address Matching and
Searching Software

Would your business systems run better if you could rapidly find
records based on a name and/or address, even when those records have
variations due to phonetics, missing words, noise words, nicknames,
prefixes, keyboard errors or sequence variations? Applications that
require searching include fraud detection, customer record retrieval,
merge/purge, duplicate record detection/removal and data mining. Our
Name Search product provides fast, accurate, and easy-to-use name and
address matching. Using our unique rule-based matching algorithms,
NameSearch produces faster and more accurate matches than systems
based only on traditional SOUNDEX or ALPHASEARCH techniques. And, it’s
easily customizable to support foreign languages, technical data,
medical information, or other specialized information..."

Free Trial and Demonstration Software
Intelligent Search Technology Ltd. offers a free 60 day trial. To find
out more about NameSearch call (800) 287-0412 or (845) 278-8989.


You will notice the term CASS used often with this type of software.
Infopod defines the scope of CASS as:
http://www.infoprod.com/techfax/0810.htm

"CASS 

Stands for Coding Accuracy Support System. Data that has been CASS
certified has been run though a Post Office approved address
correction process. Having your data CASS certified is now required
for certain bulk rates.

To have your bulk mailing accepted by the Post Office you must have a
3553 form (CASS report) from your data provider. This CASS report will
show when the data (from which your farm was taken) was processed and
the date of the CASS database it was processed with.

For automated noncarrier route mailings - the date of CASS database
must not be over 6 months old.

For automated carrier route mailings - the date of the CASS database
must not be over 90 days old and the OUTPUT section of the 3553 form
must state 'RECORDS CR RT CODED'."

This is important information to know when considering bulk mailings.
Should you require more information on this, check the Post Office
site at www.usps.com
 


Satori Software also offers solutions:
http://www.satorisoftware.com/US/

"Mailroom Toolkit

Standard Edition  
 
Comes with a suite of three agents: ZIP+4 Agent, CASS Agent, & PRESORT
Agent. It can support up to 25 users, and includes wizards for
Microsoft Office. The optional MOVE Agent is an add-on..."


What seems most interesting about this product is that it is
compatible with most database and therefore should integrate with your
Access database. They note:

"...Instant and seamless integration within Microsoft Office.

The MailRoom ToolKit series’ COM technology includes ActiveX controls
that install into Microsoft Office. This brings address quality and
postal solutions right into the applications you use most often. Setup
is automatic using the MailRoom ToolKit installer program. Once
installed, all of the features of MailRoom ToolKit are available
within Access, Excel and Word. There is even a MailRoom ToolKit
toolbar added to the menu. Multiple users can share the same address
data files over your local network...

...Cleaned and corrected addresses, postal presorting and barcoded
labels all from within your original database!

When it comes to addresses, think of MailRoom ToolKit as your database
assistant. By using simple setup wizards, or by adding a small amount
of Visual Basic code to your application, Mailroom ToolKit can access
the key elements of your address database. Once installed, it cleans
the address data you’ve entered, and becomes your postal authority
when it’s time to prepare a mailing..."
 

Hallogram Publishing
ZIP USA
http://www.hallogram.com/mailers/zipusa/

"Lookup and validate Addresses Nationwide 

With this address verification program for Windows. It will save you
time and get you the right answer. ZIP*USA compares U.S. address with
a national address database from the USPS. If the address is verified,
the program returns the correct ZIP+4, Carrier Route and Delivery
Point codes, county name, time zone and area code. You'll be able to
look up companies, ZIP Codes in a city, street names and cities in a
ZIP Code."

This program is only $99

At this year's Comdex, QuickAdress Pro was named "best in class":
http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/cw/Bma-qas.RJEF_DJF.html

"QAS Wins COMDEX Editor's Choice Award for Address Verification
Software; Positive Image News recognizes QuickAddress Pro v3.0 as
'Best Software Utility Solution'

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2003--QAS, the global leader in
address verification systems, has received the COMDEX Fall 2002
Editor's Choice Award from Positive Image News. The company's
QuickAddress Pro v3.0 software was the winner in the 'Best Software
Utility Solution' category.

"Address verification is very important for any company today, in
order to ensure packages are delivered to the correct destination and
to minimize extra costs due to product losses and additional postage.
There are many so-called address verification solutions available, but
QuickAddress Pro is the first one we have seen that delivers," said
James GW Fisher, CEO of Positive Image News. "It was obvious from the
amount of interest generated at COMDEX that the latest version of
QuickAddress Pro is an exceptional product. We have never seen a
solution of such innovative design and value in its class."

You can find the QAS site here:
http://www.qas.com/us/

"Overview
  
QuickAddress Pro provides users with the ability to enter address
information quickly and accurately. Returning it to any underlying
application in a standard, user-defined format for future use.

QuickAddress Pro is a rapid addressing tool which allows users to
verify an address against the data file of the national postal
authority in order to verify an address before it enters your
database. To see which countries are supported click here.

Not only can QuickAddress Pro help ensure that the data that enters
your database is valid and entered in a consistent format, but it also
enters it in typically 15 keystrokes or less...

and they also offer QuikAddress Batch:

"Overview
  
QuickAddress Batch cleans and enhances the addresses in your existing
database and maintains the validity of your data over time. Batch
checks the accuracy of your address records against the United States
Postal Service database. It verifies postcodes and addresses, amending
them where incorrect and adding elements where incomplete.

All addresses can then be sorted into a standard, user-defined
format..."

It seems this product suite may be an ideal match for your needs.
There is more information and product demos on their site, however I
did not see pricing. There are a number of ways listed to contact them
for more information.


Search Strategy:

address verification software
"address verification" +software

I trust my research has provided you with a number of quality
solutions to verify addresses either as a stand alone application or
with integration with your database. If a link above should fail to
work or anything require further explanation or research, please do
post a Request for Clarification prior to rating the answer and
closing the question and I will be pleased to assist further.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

If you ever have a list and you do this regularly, I would recommend a
direct mail and fullfillment service for this purpose.  If fact, USPS
requires that a database is CASS certified for presorted mail (as
mentioned above).  There is also something called NCOA (National
Change of Address).  This is where the party has moved.  These are for
large batch orders mostly. In the long run they can save some money in
certain cases due to postal disconts.

I recommend http://www.nwmail.com for this purpose.  They can
personalize and send personalized materials (like certificates
invoices) along with the mailing.

It would take a lot of rings to make this worth is, but I thought I
would give my two cents.