Understanding Address Quality Management
Address Hygiene and Data Quality
This hub brings together GrayHair’s address quality management thinking, from foundational concepts and USPS tools to edge cases, business risk, and hands‑on training.
The content reflects real‑world thinking, based on decades of working with USPS standards, address data, and production mailing environments.
One principle guides everything here: Nothing is 100%.
Address quality is about managing probabilities, tradeoffs, and risk — not chasing perfection.
Featured Series: Ask Adam
Your Address Quality Questions, Answered
With Adam Collinson, Director of Address Intelligence, GrayHair Software
Concepts & Principles
Foundational ideas, models, and mental frameworks. Examples: accuracy vs. precision, why nothing is 100%, address characteristics.
Address Quality Best Practices: From Entry to Delivery
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 7 of 8 · [See all articles →] I recently worked with a company that had invested heavily in CASS™ processing and NCOALink®. Their just-in-time address...
The #1 Rule in Address Quality: Nothing is 100% (And Why That’s OK)
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 8 of 8 · [See all articles →] Early in my career, I spent hours explaining to a client why their deliverability would never reach 100%, no matter how much...
Accurate Addressing: Beyond Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Close Enough Is NOT Good Enough For Accurate Addressing. When I entered the Address Quality world over 2.5 decades ago, I was surprised to learn that over 25% of mail submitted to the USPS...
USPS Tools & Standards
Explains technical postal tools, services, and data sources (ACS™, NCOALink®, IMb™, etc.).
Understanding Pub 28: Your Roadmap to USPS Address Standards
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 2 of 8 · [See all articles →] If you work with mailing operations for more than a week, someone will eventually tell you to "check Pub 28." It's delivered...
NCOALink® : Beyond the Basics of Move Updates
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 4 of 8 · [See all articles →] I once worked with a marketing director who was frustrated that NCOALink® kept "deleting" her best customers. When I asked what...
ACS™ vs. NCOALink®: What’s the Difference?
By Adam Collinson If you’ve been in the mailing world for more than five minutes, you’ve heard two acronyms tossed around: ACS™ (Address Correction Service) and NCOALink® (National Change of Address). Both are critical tools for managing undeliverable-as-addressed...
Edge Cases & Advanced Challenges
Real-world complexities, exceptions, and scenarios where postal logic breaks.
CASS™ Certification Explained: What Those Codes Really Mean
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 3 of 8 · [See all articles →] Every year, I meet mailers who proudly announce they're "CASS™ certified" as if it's a badge of honor. I hate to break it to...
Making Smarter Decisions: How to Connect CASS™, NCOALink®, and ACS™
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 6 of 8 · [See all articles →] A mailer once asked, "We're running CASS™, processing through NCOALink®, and using ACS™. Our deliverability still isn't where...
Holiday Direct Mail Deliverability: Debunking Address Quality Misinformation
By Adam Collinson During the holiday season, I frequently encounter articles offering tips for improving direct mail deliverability. While many of the suggestions are valid year-round, and some are specific to the seasonal surge, the advice related to Address Quality...
Business Risk & Cost
Explores the impact of UAA mail, operational risks, and cost structures.
Why Address Quality Matters: The $20+ Billion Problem Hiding in Your Mail
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 1 of 8 · [See all articles →] When I talk to business leaders about address quality, I often get a polite nod followed by "Yeah, we run CASS™." It's a bit...
ACS™ Data: The Missing Link in Your Address Quality Strategy
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... By Adam Collinson Address Quality Series · Article 5 of 8 · [See all articles →] Here's a scenario I see more often than not: A mailer runs CASS™, processes through NCOALink®, qualifies for all the postage...
The Cost of Undeliverable Mail: A Billion-Dollar Preventable Problem
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Undeliverable mail isn’t just a bother; it’s a measurable drain on business performance. Every returned or wasted mail piece represents lost printing costs, postage, time, and opportunity. This infographic...
Webinars & Resources
Links to recorded sessions, CIPCC webinars, and expert videos.
The Anatomy of Undeliverable Mail: Visibility, Waste, and the Enterprise Cost Stream
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... Undeliverable as Addressed (UAA) mail is a delivery issue and a visibility issue. When address quality drifts, mail programs keep paying for pieces that are less likely to reach the right person, and the...
Undeliverable is Unacceptable: UAA mail isn’t just a mail issue; it’s an enterprise-wide issue
You need to realize that when you have an address quality issue that is generating Undeliverable-as-Addressed (UAA) mail, it’s not just a mail issue; it’s an enterprise-wide issue affecting things across your company. So you need input and support from across your...
Undeliverable is Unacceptable: Undeliverable addresses are costing you way more than you think
You have an address: 10 ½ Main Street. I had an actual client that had a lot of undeliverable mail and wasn't qualifying for discounts, but it was still getting delivered, and it didn't make sense. I found a pattern. The issue was because it was in their systems as:...
Training Courses
For information about GrayHair’s Address Quality Management training courses, get in touch today.
About Adam
Adam is one of the postal industry’s leading experts on all aspects of address hygiene and data quality services. For 20+ years, he has brought expert knowledge of how address quality management tools and processes can enhance the postal and business operations of some of the largest operations in the country.
As the industry’s “Address Quality Guru”, he is constantly involved in leading postal initiatives, associations, and work groups including being the MTAC Industry Focus Area Leader (Data, Technology, and Addressing) and AMEE Association Rep. He is also a key speaker at numerous venues such as PCC events, the National Postal Forum and Xplor.
When I entered the Address Quality world over 2.5 decades ago, I was surprised to learn that over 25% of mail submitted to the USPS was undeliverable as addressed, with more than 70% of these issues related to Change of Address. Shockingly, most of this mail still got delivered thanks to the extra efforts of USPS carriers and clerks.
When the address was “close enough,” there was a high probability that the piece would still get delivered consistently. Today, relying on that method is ill-advised and no longer as reliable.
-Adam Collinson, Director of Address Intelligence, GrayHair Software
