- ADDRESSFACTORY WEB – address maintenance via the Internet (batch matching)
- ADDRESSFACTORY TAPE for large quantities of data (batch matching)
- ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC for regular updates (batch matching)
- ADDRESSFACTORY DIRECT – matching in real time (single matching)
Questions and anwers on ADDRESSFACTORY Version 3.
- Which product options are available?
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- Can private and company addresses be processed using ADDRESSFACTORY?
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The range of services has a modular structure. When checking the postal plausibility in the BasicAddressCheck module, it is irrelevant whether it is company or private addresses that are being processed. In the name check (FormalNameCheck) and the deliverability check (PremiumDeliveryCheck) of the relevant addressee, however, both the databases used as reference and the matching algorithms are optimised for processing private addresses. The processing of company addresses therefore generally delivers suboptimal results.
- Are all ADDRESSFACTORY modules automatically used?
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You decide which modules you wish to use in your matching for the ADDRESSFACTORY WEB and TAPE product options. Only BasicAddressCheck is mandatory. For all modules other than BasicAddressCheck, FormalNameCheck is also mandatory.
Your advisor at Deutsche Post Direkt will be happy to inform you about the relevant options and will provide you with the appropriate configurations for your matching for the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC and DIRECT product options.
- Which modules are currently available?
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- BasicAddressCheck (checks an address for the correct street, town/city and postal code).
- FormalNameCheck (correction of names and adding of titles and salutations).
- PremiumDeliveryCheck (person-based, household-based and/or building-based checking of delivery information).
- MoveProfessional (provides relocation addresses).
- DoubleClean (recognition and marking of double entries). This module is not available for ADDRESSFACTORY DIRECT.
- FileMatch (address match with own and/ or predefined negative files such as Robinson list or a fake names list).
- GeoMatch (address enhancement with geographic data).
- PhoneMatch (enhancement with telephone numbers).
- LocalMatch (enhancement with socio-demographic and micro-geographic information).
- What information should my file contain?
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The following matching columns are relevant for a successful matching:
- a unique ID, that you can later use to allocate the data record again
- first name
- last name
- street
- house number
- postal code
- town/city
- where possible, specification of the district, in order to resolve any ambiguities in the address
- What file formats can ADDRESSFACTORY match?
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The following file formats for input and output files:
- Text (variable column width):
- commas ,
- semicolons ;
- tildes ~
- hash symbol #
- colons :
- tabs
- vertical bars | - Text (fixed column width)
The following character sets are supported: ISO-8859-1, ISO-8859-15, US-ASCII, WINDOWS-1252, UTF-8 and IBM85.
- Text (variable column width):
- What do I receive as a result file?
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After batch matching, you will receive a ZIP archive with your result data in your download folder or it will be sent to an (S)FTP server specified by you using an FTP forward. It is also possible for the data to be forwarded to another registered user of Deutsche Post Direkt’s online services.
In addition to information from the system – number, data and time of the matching – the file name also includes the name of the input file to make it easier to identify. The content of the ZIP archive varies according to your agreements with Deutsche Post Direkt. In many cases, we will provide you with an overall result file in the archive. Alternatively, we can also provide you with an archive containing various partial results – e.g. deliverable and non-deliverable data records. For the ADDRESSFACTORY DIRECT option, you will receive the results directly for each data record.
- Can I compare multiple files with one another?
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With the ADDRESSFACTORY batch options, you can have multiple files cleansed if you upload multiple files.
If a duplicate check is performed on your data, the priority order of your files will have an impact on the identification of header duplicates. Your own negative files always have priority over your own positive files.
- Can I compare my data against negative files?
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We process negative files with the same matching settings with which we also process your positive files. This is absolutely essential in order to be able to reliably identify matching records between positive and negative files. It is not possible to download a cleansed negative file.
Please note: If you upload a negative file to the system, a duplicate check is mandatory.
- What does it cost to cleanse negative files?
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Your positive files are compared against your own negative files in the DoubleClean module. For this, EUR3.00/1,000 input addresses will be charged in addition to the costs for the positive file.
- Can different configurations be used?
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Different configurations can be used in both the interface solution (ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC and ADDRESSFACTORY DIRECT) and the online interface ADDRESSFACTORY WEB. During test operations a maximum of three configurations
can be used.
- How long does Deutsche Post Direkt store the personal data from my matching?
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As a general rule, Deutsche Post Direkt stores the personal data from your matching for 90 days from receipt.
If other deletion periods are required, these should be arranged separate.
- How does Deutsche Post Direkt verify the services provided with ADDRESSFACTORY?
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In general, Deutsche Post Direkt returns every data record uploaded to the customer. In so doing, every data record is enhanced with a “Status” field in which the status key is saved. This status key provides detailed information on how Deutsche Post Direkt has rated the relevant data record and where this has been changed for what reason.
- How are addresses protected against misuse?
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To ensure the secure transfer of address data, when using Deutsche Post Direkt’s online services (https://service.postdirekt.de/), your data is protected with 128-bit SSL encryption when it is transmitted over the Internet.
You can recognise the SSL protocol from the "https" in front of the URL of the selected
page.
- Where can I get help for technical problems?
Questions and anwers on ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC
- What is ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC?
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ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC is especially useful for companies wanting to cleanse and update their consumer addresses on a regular basis. Automated address matching and data supply via the Internet will optimise business processes at the same time. The settings for address comparison are defined and automated according to the company or project requirements. In addition, the transfer and collection of cleansed address data can be automated within the company and take place at regular intervals.
- How does the data transfer work?
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The ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system always uses Deutsche Post Direkt’s data exchange platform for transmitting data to and from Deutsche Post Direkt. The universal data exchange platform supports the following types of access:
- The interactive uploading of data is made possible by the web interface.
- Alternatively, it is possible to transfer your data to the data exchange platform via secure file transfer protocol (SFTP). With this method, you can automate the transmission of data or use an SFTP client as an interface instead of our web interface. We recommend that you use this method if you wish to automate the upload of data from your IT system or if you regularly use SFTP clients for data transmission.
- You can obtain the access details from a Deutsche Post Direkt employee. The result files can also be returned to an external SFTP server.
- How does the process of setting up ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC work?
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You need a user name and password to access the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system. A Deutsche Post Direkt employee must set up the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system for you. During the setup process, the employee will manually match your data once in order to prepare the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system
- for the format and structure of your data,
- select matching settings that are appropriate for your data, and
- define the format and structure of the output file(s).
This collection of settings is referred to as a configuration and it effectively acts as a template for all your subsequent matching with the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system. Whilst a configuration is usually assigned to a user name, if required it is also possible to use several configurations in parallel. In this case, please specify the name of the configuration to be used when you upload the data using an attribute in the file name. You therefore have the option of also using the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system if you wish to regularly upload file s with different formats or wish to perform your matching with different matching settings. The number of configurations is limited to an appropriate quantity.
- What do I need to bear in mind with the record format?
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It is important that the record format of the files to be compared always remains the same because the configuration is created once for a record format specified by you and stored on the server
- How do I upload the data to be compared?
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The easiest way of interactively transferring data to Deutsche Post Direkt’s data exchange platform is via the web interface of the data exchange platform. All you need for this at your end is a web browser with access to the public Internet. Once you have registered, you will receive a user a ccount and password from us that you can use to upload data to the upload folder of the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system. In terms of their format and structure, the uploaded files must correspond to the agreements that you have concluded with your advisor at Deutsche Post Direkt. Files that do not correspond to the agreed structure will either be rejected by the system or, if the system fails to detect the deviation, an unsuccessful matching will be carried out.
Please remember that the uploaded files are matched immediately. Once the matching is complete, you will be notified by e-mail.
- Do I need to upload the files for comparison using ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC in encrypted format?
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You can choose between uploading the file as an unencrypted ZIP archive and using a PGP encryption. With this method, you can encrypt the data using our PGP key and then receive the data back in encoded form using your PGP key. The relevant PGP key will be stored in the system. It is also possible to return the data password-encrypted.
- What do I need to bear in mind during the upload process?
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The file to be processed must be uploaded to the upload folder. If you wish to match multiple files using ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC, you can send these files bundled together in a ZIP archive. All the files in this archive must have the same format and structure as you agreed with Deutsche Post Direkt. Multiple files to be matched should be named using the specified naming convention. If several configurations are available the desired configuration must also be specified, otherwise the standard configuration will be selected automatically.
- What do I receive in terms of a result file?
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In terms of a result file, you will receive a ZIP archive with your result data in your download folder or it will be sent to an (S)FTP server specified by you using an FTP forward. It is also possible for the data to be forwarded to another registered user of Deutsche Post Direkt’s online services. In addition to information from the system - number, data and time of the comparison - the file name also includes the name of the input file to make it easier to identify. The content of the ZIP archive varies according to your agreements with Deutsche Post Direkt. In many cases, we will provide you with an overall result file in the archive. Alternatively, we can also provide you with an archive containing various partial results, e.g., deliverable and non-deliverable data records. If the transfer to the server specified by you fails, your file is not lost but you will be informed by us via e-mail that the files are available for retrieval from our server.
- How long does an address matching with ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC take?
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The comparison times depend upon the size of your file to be compared and the modules to be processed. On average, 300,000 data records are compared per day.
- Can I use different comparison settings?
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If you have
- input files with different formats or structures, or
- if you would like different comparisons to be carried out with different comparison settings, or
- if you would like the result files provided to be filtered by different types and methods, a Deutsche Post Direkt employee will assign you several configurations and each of these will correspond to one of your use cases. Each of the configurations will be provided with a name and these names will be communicated to you.
The ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system will treat one of the configurations agreed with you as the ‘standard configuration’. The system will then always use this configuration if it does not receive any other information about the configuration to be used. Alternatively, you can prompt the system to select a certain configuration by using the character string --<CONFIGURATIONNAME> as part of the name of the uploaded file.
- Can I compare multiple files with one another?
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In the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system, you have the option of having multiple files cleansed at the same time by sending multiple files bundled together in a ZIP archive. All the files in this archive must have the same format and the same structure as you agreed with Deutsche Post Direkt. The same comparison settings will be applied to each of the files.
If a duplicate check is performed on your data, the priority order of your files will have an impact on the identification of header duplicates. During this check, the ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system proceeds in the following order:
- As in the ADDRESSFACTORY WEB system, your own negative files always have priority over your own positive files.
- Within the negative and positive files, the system proceeds inalphabetical order.
If a certain priority order is important for you, you can name your files as follows, for example, ‘A_CustomerData.txt’, ‘B_AdditionalCustomerData.txt’ etc.
Please note: A duplicate comparison of your positive files can only be performed if you have agreed comparison options for the duplicate check with Deutsche Post Direkt in advance as part of your configuration.
- Can I compare my data against negative files?
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The ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC system offers you the option of working with your own or predefined negative files such as the Robinson list from the DDV (German Direct Marketing Association) or fake names lists.
In order to identify the file uploaded as a negative file, choose a name for the file that starts with exactly one minus sign, e.g., ‘-BadPayers.txt’.
Please note: If you upload a negative file to the system, a duplicate check will only be performed if you have agreed comparison options for the duplicate check with Deutsche Post Direkt in advance as part of your configuration. If such an agreement has not been made in advance, your comparison will be rejected and you will receive an error message.
- When is ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC available?
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The system is available to you seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Advance notice will always be provided for scheduled maintenance-related shutdowns etc.
- What does ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC cost?
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The prices can be viewed in the current price list.
- Where can I get help for technical problems?
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Zu Beginn der Bearbeitung in unserem Rechenzentrum benachrichtigen wir Sie per E-Mail an die Adresse, die Sie bei der Registrierung für die Online-Services von Deutsche Post Direkt angegeben haben. Nach Abschluss der Bearbeitung erhalten Sie vom System ebenfalls eine E-Mail. Als Anhang an diese E-Mail senden wir Ihnen ein Abgleichprotokoll, welches die wichtigsten Ergebnisse des Abgleichs übersichtlich zusammenfasst.
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Die Systeme stehen Ihnen an 7 Tagen in der Woche, an 24 Stunden pro Tag zur Verfügung. Planmäßige Abschaltungen für Wartung usw. werden rechtzeitig kommuniziert.
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Hier finden Sie die stets aktuellen Preislisten:
ADDRESSFACTORY DIRECT und ADDRESSFACTORY AUTOMATIC:
Preisliste
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Service-Hotline:
Telefon: +49 228 182-57112
E-Mail: info@postdirekt.de
Order online
Online Services
Do you have any questions about our address solutions?
Here you can contact us.
