How Melissa Data is getting locations right

We see time after time how location data is important to business success. But what happens if location listings are wrong? People can't find the restaurant at the address you provide. Your packages end up getting delivered to your neighbor. Your taxi driver can't find your pickup point. For over 35 years, Melissa Data has been verifying address data, helping to ensure that restaurants are found, packages are delivered properly, and on-demand drivers find their passengers.

Generally, there are two ways to view location; as a postal address or a point on a map. That point on a map translates geospatially to a latitude and longitude and gives a very precise location. We can use geocoding to convert a postal address to a corresponding latitude and longitude to give an exact location. But geocoding’s success is only as good as the source data (AKA the address) being processed.

"144 Maine Street is not the same as 144 Main Street,” states Greg Brown, VP of Marketing at Melissa Data. “Simple data entry mistakes can lead to errors in identifying client locations. Melissa Data applications search for these errors, and we work with our clients to correct them early on.”

Through the years, Melissa Data has earned the reputation of being the “address expert.” They boast 99.99% uptime, delivering high quality, trusted data for more than 10,000 clients worldwide. The company’s best-of-breed address engine verifies the integrity of addresses. In the business of address verification, integrity matters most.

"Beyond simple data entry errors, getting the exact geospatial location of a premises correctly identified is equally important," Brown says. “That’s why we turned to TomTom years ago. While some location data providers offer interpolated address ranges, TomTom gives us rooftop precision.”

Interpolated address ranges versus rooftop precision.

"In the world of payroll tax and accounting, knowing precisely which city and county you live in, or where your business is located, is key,” according to Brown. “Let’s say your shop is on a street that borders Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. Sales tax in Beverly Hills is 9.00% whereas in Los Angeles it’s 8.38%. Getting your address right means setting the right sales tax and keeping you in good graces with city and county tax officials.”

Melissa Data has taken its success in verifying addresses to a global scale. From its roots checking address integrity within the United States, the company has now grown to support 240 countries and territories.

Admound Chou, VP of Product Development at Melissa Data says, “A challenge we face in international business is multi-language and multi-format support. When it comes to postal addressing, not every country is alike. TomTom ingests country data into one global standardized dataset, while supporting multiple languages. That’s a key reason why we value our partnership. They handle the various addressing nuances country-by-country, making our solution efficient and seamless.”

Looking ahead, Melissa Data sees continued growth in international markets. India and the UK are emerging, Europe and Asia Pacific are also seeing significant growth. Given the vast investment businesses are making in Indian development teams, Melissa Data is working with TomTom API technology to meet developers’ rapid time-to-market needs in the nation.

“TomTom has been a trusted partner for years” says Bud Walker, VP of Enterprise & Strategy at Melissa Data. “Their data is precise, reliable and standardized. The trust we’ve earned in the industry is a testament to the quality of the data TomTom provides.”