NCOA Processes

Overview

When creating Print Campaigns in Engage+, the platform provides optional processes that can streamline the process workflow, reduce execution time, and reduce mailing costs. Two of these processes are related specifically to reducing postage costs -- National Change of Address and Postal Pre-Sort.

National Change Of Address (NCOA) is a process that submits a list of postal addresses to a service which maintains updated addresses for individuals who have filed a Change of Address with the U.S. Post Office. This process provides updated addresses for these individuals, thereby resulting in reduced postage costs as fewer pieces of mail are returned to the postal service. The results of NCOA processing are reported back to Engage+, and are used to set various flags in the database. Additionally, "bad" postal addresses are identified and eliminated from the Campaign, thereby saving print costs and postage costs. Bad postal addresses include consumers who have passed away, gone to prison, or other criteria.

Access

The NCOA Processes screen is accessible by the following method:

From the Admin Banner Bar, select Settings > Data Settings > NCOA Processes

Features

Create a New NCOA Process

Click here

To create a new NCOA Process:

Above the list of existing NCOA Processes, click + New.
A "New NCOA Process" pop-up window is displayed. In the "Name" field, enter a name for the new NCOA Process.
From the "Data Source" drop-down menu, select the Source Table from which you'll be pulling names and postal addresses to build the NCOA file.

Note: You can never modify this Source Table after the NCOA Process is created.

Click Create. The Workspace is refreshed to show a blank NCOA Process details screen, where you can configure the details of the NCOA Process.
Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your NCOA Process. To assign a tag, click on the "Add tag" field in the Edit section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the "X" icon next to the tag label.
In the "Processing Options" section, select the following options:

- Type: The only valid Type is "CASS / NCOA."
- Process: The only valid Process is "NCOALink."
- Mail Class: Select "Standard" or "First Class."
- NCOA Months: Select a date range of history that you want to check; the options vary from only the past six months, to the past four years.
- Matching: The NCOA process offers several different methods of trying to find a match between the names on your file and the NCOA database. Select the desired name-matching method:
  - Standard: This method attempts to find a match by looking at various name fields in the following order: Business name, then Individual name, then Family name (surname) only.

Note: Individual name matching requires first name, middle name, surname, and title. Gender is checked, and nickname possibilities are also taken into consideration.

- - Individual Only: Only Individual name matching is performed.
  - Business Only: Only Business name matching is performed.
  - Individual and Business: Individual and Business name matching are performed, but not Family name (surname) matching.
- Auto-Update: Place a check mark in this check box if you want the system to automatically run the NCOA Process every 90 days in order to get the most up-to-date move information.
The "Address Fields" section is used to define the NCOA file. For each item (Name, Street Address, City, etc.), select the corresponding field in the Source Table that will be used to populate this item. For the consumer's name, you can select either a single "Full Name" field, or separate "First Name" and "Last Name" fields. If your table doesn't include business names, then select the "None" tab next to "Company."

Note: The NCOA file requires a set of postal-related fields that typically aren't part of a "Recipient" table, such as "Delivery Point Barcode" or "DPBC Check Digit." To automatically add these required postal fields to the Source Table, click Edit > Database > Add Required Data Fields in the Tool Ribbon. All of these new fields can be seen on the Tables screen, and are identified by the prefix "Presort."

The "Postal Processing FTP Site" section is used to define where the NCOA file should be sent. From the "FTP Profile" drop-down menu, select an FTP Profile. Optionally, in the "Folder Path" field, enter the filepath on the FTP site where the NCOA file should be saved.
The "Bad Addresses FTP Site" section is used to define the "Bad Address" export file that contains records flagged as "bad" by the NCOA process. From the "FTP Profile" drop-down menu, select an FTP Profile. Optionally, in the "Folder Path" field, enter the filepath on the FTP site where the Bad Address file should be saved.
If you want the Bad Address file to have a header row, place a check mark in the "Include a header row?" check box.
From the drop-down menu, select a delimiter character -- either a tab, a comma, a pipe, or a semi-colon.
The "Export File Map" section is used to define the layout of the Bad Address file. To add a field, select it in the "Available Fields" list box, then click the center "Move" bar. Optionally, you can use Shift + click or Control + click to select and move multiple fields. The selected field (or fields) is added to the "Mapped Fields" list box. Repeat this step as needed to add more fields to the Bad Address file. To remove a field from the Bad Address file, click the "X" icon next to the field name within the "Mapped Fields" list box. To rearrange the fields in the Bad Address file, drag-and-drop the fields within the "Mapped Fields" list box into the desired sequence.
When finished, click Edit > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

Copy an NCOA Process

Click here

To copy an existing item to use as the basis for a new item:

Search for the desired item (see Search for an Item for more details).
Click on the item name. The main item screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected item.
In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Save As. A "Save as" dialog box is displayed.
Enter a name for the new item.
By default, the new item will be saved in the same folder location as the base item. Optionally, click the magnifying glass icon to browse to and select a different folder location.
Click save a copy. The system creates a copy of the selected item.

View or Edit an NCOA Process

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To view or edit an existing NCOA Process:

Search for the desired NCOA Process (see Search for an Item for more details on the available search methods).
Click on the NCOA Process name. The NCOA Process screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected NCOA Process.
Optionally, to view detailed information about the NCOA Process, click the Postal Process tab in the Tool Ribbon. The Item Details screen is displayed, showing who created the item, who modified it last, and what the last actions taken on the item were. On this screen, click "Related Items" in the Function Menu to see other items in the system that reference or utilize this NCOA Process. When finished, click the Edit tab in the Tool Ribbon to return to the main edit screen.
Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your NCOA Process. To assign a tag, click on the "Add tag" field in the Edit section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the "X" icon next to the tag label.
Optionally, to rename the NCOA Process, click Edit > Rename. A "Rename Item" dialog box is displayed. Enter a new name for the NCOA Process, then click save new name.
Make any necessary changes to the NCOA Processing options, the address fields that are to be processed, the FTP site where the NCOA file is sent, or the "Bad Address" export file.
To save your changes, click Edit > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

Delete an NCOA Process

Click here

To delete an item:

Search for the desired item (see Search for an Item for more details).
Click on the item name. The main item screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected item.
In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Delete. A confirmation dialog box is displayed.
Click delete item to confirm the deletion.

Foldered items are moved to the Recycle Bin. Non-foldered items are permanently deleted.