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.
The Evolution of Address Quality: From the Basics to Advanced Strategies
Address quality is a crucial factor in the success of mailing and shipping operations. Ensuring that addresses are accurate not only helps with deliverability but also minimizes costs and reduces risks. Therefore, businesses need to prioritize effective address...
USPS Tools & Standards
Explains technical postal tools, services, and data sources (ACS™, NCOALink®, IMb™, etc.).
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Edge Cases & Advanced Challenges
Real-world complexities, exceptions, and scenarios where postal logic breaks.
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Business Risk & Cost
Explores the impact of UAA mail, operational risks, and cost structures.
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Webinars & Resources
Links to recorded sessions, CIPCC webinars, and expert videos.
Undeliverable is Unacceptable: In addressing, nothing is 100%
I say this in addressing all the time. Nothing is 100%. You’ll always find some weird messed up thing that will result in something weirder. ...
Undeliverable is Unacceptable: The difference between Return Mail, Undeliverable Mail, and Undeliverable-As-Address Mail
There’s a difference between returned mail, undeliverable mail, as well as a full understanding of what is undeliverable-as-address (UAA) mail. Most, but not all, returned mail is undeliverable. You have a few exceptions, like when a mailpiece was refused or it was...
Understanding Address Quality: Top 10 Q&A
1) Q: I am using a Secure Destruction STID, the IMb is still readable, why am I getting pieces physically returned. A: It depends - there are multiple reasons. 1) the barcode became unreadable. 2) Pieces that need to go to a CFS site for UAA processing and are...
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
