Geocoding is a step in the Task import process where imported addresses are matched to their real-life coordinates. Once coordinates are matched to the imported addresses, Tasks are placed on the map according to the retrieved geocoding results. This is an important step because eLogii, like other similar software, determines the exact location of the Task based on the location's Latitude and Longitude which it gets by retrieving the data from chosen geocoding providers that match the provided addresses. In other words, eLogii doesn't perform geocoding on its own, it uses external providers (HERE and Google), that pull coordinates from databases that contain government/commercial address location data.
Geocoding options can be accessed through Configuration ⇒ Address Lookup/Geocoding. These options can help with location geocoding during Task import. in case the results are not satisfactory and if specific cases cannot be resolved by switching the address lookup/geocoding provider.
If you already have ready coordinates (Latitude and Longitude values) that you would like to import directly into eLogii, the entire geocoding step of the process will be skipped as eLogii already has the necessary coordinates to place the Tasks on the map.
In case both the address field and the Latitude and Longitude fields are populated, eLogii will not perform geocoding and will prioritize the provided coordinates over the address. If there are provided addresses, and no coordinates for some Tasks, eLogii will only perform geocoding for the Tasks whose Latitude and Longitude fields are empty, the rest will be considered as geocoded,
The address will not be deleted on import and it will be displayed in the address field on the Task card. However, if you only import coordinates, without specifying the addresses, eLogii will not auto-populate the address field and it will remain empty after import.
Switching the provider
Users can switch between different providers for both Geocoding and Address lookup. Your configuration may depend on the country where you run your operations, and for some customers HERE would give better results, while for others Google would be a better option.
Address Lookup
In terms of Address lookup, eLogii offers the following options:
HERE Maps - Excellent worldwide coverage for precise address inputs. Recommended for geocoding UK addresses. Included in eLogii pricing.
Google Maps - Best for loosely formatted or incomplete address inputs and places of interest or landmarks.
Mapbox - A generally good provider with strong coverage of specific areas.
Ideal Postcodes - A UK-specific provider that accepts UK postcodes as input and returns a selection of exact addresses/flats /units for the given postcode.
To help with getting the most precise results and to avoid potential routing to a different country that happens to have the same street name, you can limit your address lookup to a specific country, and even a city (in case you run your operations in one city).
Geocoding providers
eLogii allows users to choose from 2 major providers for Geocoding and they are Google or Here. They are more or less equivalent in terms of the results they provide you with, though different results mostly depend on the address inputs, namely Here is much better at geocoding UK addresses, while Google is better at finding loosely formatted or incomplete inputs.
eLogii also provides additional options to help with better geocoding:
Use access point coordinates when available - Use access point coordinates when available. This can help with placing the Task exactly where it needs to be on the map, so you would avoid situations where the Task is at the right address, though pinned to the center of the building, instead of the entrance of the building.
Force postcode match - Geocoding results that do not match the provided postcode will be marked as ambiguous. This means that if the geocoding provider finds the address, but the postcode is not an exact match, eLogii will not mark the address as successfully geocoded, but as ambiguous, and users will be able to review these results before the data is imported. This way false positives where the address doesn’t match the provided postcode will be avoided. For example, if there are multiple addresses of the same name in the city where you deliver, the possibility of having the wrong street prioritized would be excluded. However, in situations where postcodes differ slightly from what is returned by the provider, even if it’s the desired location, with this option turned on, geocoding would be returned as ambiguous. That is why this option works only if you have precise postcode inputs.
Not ambiguous if the postcode matches - This option should help reduce the number of ambiguous results shown on the import screen. The result will not be marked as ambiguous if the postcode matches fully, even though the address name might vary slightly. For example, if there’s no “Unit 6” or "Floor 3" in the address name etc. However, without precise postcode inputs, this wouldn't work as expected.
Highlight ambiguous geocoding - Ambiguously geocoded results will be highlighted in the UI.
Exclude Tasks with ambiguous geocoding from optimization - Tasks with ambiguous geocoding results will not be optimized
Reject Tasks without coordinates - If coordinates are not provided and the system is unable to determine them, the Task will not be saved, and an error will be returned.
Not ambiguous if the postcode matches and Force postcode match can be switched on simultaneously, which may help achieve better results. Force postcode match matches only precise postcodes, and Not ambiguous if the postcode matches ensures that if addresses don’t match completely but the postcode does, the result is not shown as ambiguous, so they can be used in tandem.
Other Geocoding options
Automatically retry with other provider - Use the alternative geocoding provider to automatically retry addresses that your selected geocoding provider failed to find matches for. For example, if Here doesn't manage to geocode some locations, if this option is enabled, eLogii will automatically retry with Google to find those locations.
Limit lookup to country and Limit lookup to city - These options will limit the address lookup to either a specific country or a specific city. For example, if you set the lookup to be limited to only the UK, that way you would avoid situations where the provider will locate the provided address in another country and mark it as successfully geocoded.
Automatically geocode API Tasks without coordinates - For all Tasks sent through the API that do not include pickup or delivery location coordinates, eLogii will automatically geocode the provided addresses. Please keep in mind that eLogii will use the first result returned by the geocoding provider based on provided inputs, and the quality of geocoding will largely depend on the quality of the provided address information.
Highlight ambiguous geocoding - Tasks with ambiguous geocoding results will be marked with a GEO tag, indicating that while they were successfully geocoded, the result of geocoding may not be accurate (because the coordinates for these Tasks were returned as ambiguous by the provider during geocoding).
Exclude Tasks with ambiguous geocoding from optimization - This will tell eLogii not to optimize Tasks with ambiguous geocoding results.
Reject Tasks without coordinates - If Task coordinates are not provided, and eLogii's geocoding providers are not able to determine them, the Task will not be saved and an error will be returned.
Geocoding problems
eLogii provides a stable and reliable integration with external sources, whose government/commercial address databases constantly get updated, and it also offers a lot of configurability.
If you encounter geocoding issues, it’s not with eLogii because the results depend entirely on the quality of the provided data. Bad geocoding results are often an indicator that the provided data is not precise enough so the geocoding provider was not able to find a good match.
To get better results we recommend the following:
Using a service or database - Using a pre-existing address database will provide you, or your customers with the ability to find and choose the address, instead of freeform input. These types of services allow customers to look for their address during the checkout process, and select from pre-existing database options. These services also allow customers to pinpoint their location on the map, in case they cannot find the desired address from the provided inputs. This is the best solution because it avoids typos and similar errors (for example, cases where the customer writes down the correct street name and number, but the postcode is wrong). In the end, these services give the most uniform and clean results which are readable by eLogii's geocoding providers.
Switch between service geocoding/address lookup providers on eLogii - Depending on your area of operation, sometimes switching the geocoding provider may give better results.
Ensure that there are little to no errors in terms of address input. - This means that omitting elements such as Unit 6, street, number”, or “Street, Flat 6, number, or similar might help with achieving better results.
Use the what3words integration - The what3words integration helps with delivering better geocoding results for UK-based customers.
Provide valid postcodes in the dedicated data import column and try utilizing eLogii's additional toggles in the Geocoding providers section.