UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION PROPOSED STANDARD: INTERNATIONAL POSTAL ADDRESS COMPONENTS AND TEMPLATES

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UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNIONPROPOSED
STANDARDINTERNATIONAL POSTAL ADDRESS COMPONENTS
AND TEMPLATES

• Presented to
• UPU Direct Mail Advisory Board
• Bern, Switzerland
• Joe Lubenow (lubenow_at_msn.com)
• Lubenow and Associates
• 1 November 2002

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REPORT OF UPU INTERNATIONAL BUREAU TO UPU
ADVISORY GROUP

• The POSTCode project team is in the process of
  developing a standard for international postal
  address elements and structures, which identifies
  and describes all international address
  elements.
• Following a series of tests, the standard will
  be adapted as necessary, then gradually
  supplemented with descriptions of the address
  structures in natural language and XML of all UPU
  member countries.
• 14 October 2002

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NEED FOR AN ADDRESSING STANDARD INTERNATIONAL
ISSUES

• International addresses have more lines and
  longer lines than can be imaged using much
  existing technology
• It is hard to correctly identify the components
  of international addresses
• Formatting addresses into small label blocks can
  lead to loss of information
• Address elements vary from country to country
• International coding rates vary from 90 to 80
  or less
• Lack of address standardization lowers delivery
  rates
• Cost of international postage intensifies these
  problems

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KEY PARTICIPANTS

• POSTCode project team
• European CEN Technical Committee 331
• UPU DMAB Address Management Project Team
• USPS International Address Template Working Group
• IDEAlliance Address Data Interchange
  Specification (ADIS) working group

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UPU DMAB ADDRESS MANAGEMENT PROJECT TEAM GOALS

• Support development of databases of delivery
  points to allow mailers to validate and correct
  address lists
• Support development of change of address systems
  and procedures, with consideration of privacy
  issues
• Foster development and use of standardized
  formats and techniques for the collection,
  dissemination, and maintenance of international
  addresses
• Develop a detailed database of address management
  capabilities by country
• Evaluate best practices and develop a list of
  recommended procedures

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UPU POSTCODE PROJECT

• Began work in 1998
• Has produced Universal POSTCode database
• Data available from all 189 UPU members
• Common data format used throughout the product
• Reasonable subscription price
• Variable rates dependent on geographic scope and
  type of use intended
• UPU contact is Guy Goudet at 41 31 350 31 56

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UPU POSTCODE PROJECTUNIVERSAL POSTCODE DATABASE

• Some countries have data on localities only
• Some have localities and associated postcodes
• Some have localities, districts, and associated
  postcodes
• Some have localities, streets and associated
  postcodes
• In this last group, some have supplemental
  conditions and additional fees may be required
• Specific delivery point data is not available
  through the POSTCode database
• Updates to data are made on a quarterly basis
• Documentation of typical address formats is
  included

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RELATION OF DATABASE TO AN INTERNATIONAL
ADDRESSING STANDARD

• Database allows for validation of address
  elements
• Common format of database can be linked to
  address element definitions
• Inclusion of typical address formats is quite
  useful
• Addressing standard must also cover names
• Addressing standard defines templates for all
  address types
• Standard specifies trigger conditions for each
  template
• Also covered is the final rendition on mailpiece

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TWO RESOLUTIONS FROM UPU STANDARDS BOARD

• Two resolutions passed in January, 2001
• Assigned Status P for proposed work
• First resolution calls for codifying address
  elements and their placement in templates by
  country
• Second resolution for EDI and XML messages for
  transmission of data and rendition instructions
  for final presentation on mailpiece
• First resolution sponsored by POSTCode project
• Second resolution sponsored by USPS and UPU
  Direct Mail Advisory Board

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BASIC APPROACH OF ADDRESS ELEMENT TECHNOLOGY

• The address is not the same as the address label
  block
• The address is a structure of separate elements
• Elements are the smallest meaningful parts of
  addresses
• Addresses in each country can be classified in
  terms of one or more templates
• Templates are orderings or sequences of address
  elements
• The label is merely one rendition of the address
• Rendition instructions can make the presentation
  consistent and repeatable
• The label must preserve address deliverability
  even when address space is limited

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EXTENSIBLE MARKUP LANGUAGE (XML)

• XML is defined by the World Wide Web Consortium
  (W3C)
• XML is used on the Internet and for transferring
  data in computer systems
• XML provides a Document Type Definition (DTD) for
  defining data structures
• XML incorporates UNICODE and supports many
  alphabets
• XSLT provides for reference implementations
  within XML
• XML schemas offer strong data typing and
  validation capabilities

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ADDRESS ELEMENTS

• A postal address element is a basic entity of a
  postal address that has a well defined meaning,
  has significance for customer or postal
  processing purposes and cannot usefully be
  divided into smaller units for exchange or
  printing purposes.
• from International Postal Address Components
  and Templates

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ADDRESS ELEMENTS

• Basic units of postal addresses
• Standard based on element list and definitions
  provided by CEN TC 331
• About fifty elements have been defined
• Includes name and address elements
• Does not include mail production elements
• Process proposed for amendments if needed

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EXAMPLE UPU ADDRESS ELEMENTS

• Street Number or Plot
• Thoroughfare Name
• Thoroughfare Type
• Delivery Service Type
• Delivery Service Indicator
• Town
• Region
• Postcode

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ADDRESS TEMPLATES

• An address template states how an address is to
  be written in particular, it shows the order in
  which address elements are to appear,
  distinguishes between mandatory and optional
  elements and provides rendition instructions.
• Each country may have its own characteristic
  address templates.
• from International Postal Address Components
  and Templates

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ADDRESS TEMPLATES

• Address templates reflect address types or
  patterns
• Country based templates will be defined
• Using natural language or XML
• Postal Address Template Description Language
  (PATDL)
• Language(s) of presentation must be specified
• A template is a sequential ordering of lines and
  elements
• Address format varies if mailing is internal vs.
  external
• Usable for single country applications without
  external knowledge
• Templates need to support variations in formats
• One way is to support conditional logic if and
  else
• Another way is to allow multiple templates per
  country

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US STREET ADDRESS TEMPLATE

• Line 1 Mail Recipient Despatching Information
• Line 2 Mailee Specification
• Line 3 Components of Individual Identification
• Line 4 Function
• Line 5 Organizational Unit
• Line 6 Organization Name
• Line 7 District
• Line 8 Components of Delivery Point Location
• Line 9 Components of Locality and Postcode
• Line 10 Receiving Country (for external mailings)

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RENDITION INSTRUCTIONS

• Rendition instructions define how address
  elements must be rendered, or optionally may be
  rendered, when printed on a mail piece. They
  reflect rules for properly formatting addresses,
  including punctuation, spacing, fonts, the format
  of the postcode, locations for identifying marks
  and codes, abbreviations, and techniques for
  shortening and reorganizing components to ensure
  deliverability when there are constraints on
  available label space.
• from International Postal Address Components
  and Templates

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RENDITION INSTRUCTIONS

• Address presentation is a key aspect of address
  quality
• An address standard needs to incorporate a
  consistent and systematic approach to rendition
• Economics and aesthetics drive the tendency for
  address labels to be undersized in relation to
  address data
• Address elements and mail production elements are
  both present together on mailing labels
• Postal services incur additional costs as a
  result of deficiencies in address presentation

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RENDITION INSTRUCTIONS

• Various types of operations need to be supported
• Abbreviation eligibility, table-based and
  customized
• Language-based ways to shorten identifiers
  without loss of meaning
• Noise table to eliminate less significant
  components
• Required punctuation and spacing
• Combining and dividing of various address lines
• Elimination of elements when not essential
• Left and right justification of address and mail
  production elements
• Prioritization of the above operations
• Truncation and unwanted elimination only as a
  last resort
• Rendition quality measurement possible if inputs
  validated
• Rendition quality measurement adds value for the
  Posts

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RENDITION INSTRUCTIONS EXAMPLE
Example of US Rendition Instructions City
Chicago State Illinois ZIP Code
60625 ZIP Code Addendum 3806 State
abbreviation should be used Two spaces
recommended after State Dash required between
parts of ZIP Code Result Chicago IL
60625-3806
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LISTS AND REGISTRIES

• Registry of elements and element sub-types
• Elements have associated codes such as 14.21
• Sub-types have sub-codes such as 14.21/1
• Codes can be used to simplify template definition
• Registry of synonyms
• Synonyms can be defined for elements
• Synonyms can be defined for element sub-types
• Postal address templates
• Templates can be defined for each country
• Multiple templates can be defined per country

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LISTS AND REGISTRIES

• Registry of rendition instructions
• Can be defined in natural language
• Can be defined as named procedures
• Registry of cross-references
• Cross-references to related standards
• Potential examples ECCMA, ADIS, OASIS
• For informative purposes

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TEST PLAN

• Identify address types within each country
• Select 50 or more sample addresses of each type
• Identify the address elements individually
• Utilize all address elements found in the
  country
• Include name elements following privacy
  restrictions
• Define templates for each address type (natural
  language or XML)
• Specify trigger conditions when multiple
  templates defined
• Define result of passing data elements through
  templates
• If there is a delivery point database
• Compare results to known delivery point formats
• Otherwise
• Evaluation by subject matter experts
• Note that this procedure can be replicated by
  other participants

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PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES (TO DATE)

• Finland
• France
• Great Britain
• Japan
• Morocco
• Netherlands
• United States of America
• Venezuela

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NEXT STEPS

• UPU Status 0 Request will be proposed to UPU
  Standards Board in November 2002
• If request approved
• POSTCode Project Team will conduct the test plan
• Based on test results, standard will be adapted
  as necessary
• Amendments to lists of elements and registries
  will be considered
• Templates will gradually be developed in natural
  language and XML for all UPU member countries

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POTENTIAL RESULTS AND BENEFITS

• UPU standard definition of address elements and
  templates will be available for all postal
  customers
• Software developers can utilize the standard to
  improve address quality
• Increased development of delivery point databases
  will foster further address quality improvements
• Customer databases may be redesigned to
  permanently retain address elements
• Address formatting will be directly derived from
  stored data, templates and rendition instructions
  for any needed format
• Economics of direct mail will be more
  advantageous
• Reduction in undeliverable mail and returned mail
  will benefit the Posts

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HOW TO PARTICIPATE

• Contact UPU POSTCode team
• Andreas Kerll of POSTCode (41 31 350 32 30)
• Or provide your business card today
• Join in with the proposed test plan
• Support is available from the POSTCode project
  team for template definition
• DMAB Address Management Project Team can provide
  technical assistance