Patent ID: 8386516

Claim:
A method of mining address data to locate a preferred address for a parcel, comprising the steps of: maintaining one or more databases comprising a plurality of active shipment records and a plurality of delivery records; receiving a current parcel bearing address indicia; determining a preferred address corresponding to said address indicia based, at least in part, on said active shipment records and said delivery records; and assigning said preferred address to said current parcel; wherein said one or more databases comprise a package-level detail database and a delivery records archive; wherein said package-level detail database comprises said plurality of active shipment records, each active shipment record comprising an active tracking number, an active ship-to address, and an active delivery pattern code; wherein said delivery records archive comprises said plurality of delivery records, each delivery record comprising a past tracking number, a past ship-to address, a past delivery pattern code, and a stop identifier; and wherein said step of determining a preferred address corresponding to said address indicia comprises: assigning a mining key to said current parcel, said mining key comprising a parcel tracking number and a current delivery pattern code related to said address indicia; comparing said mining key to said package-level detail database and said delivery records archive by: (a) retrieving from said delivery records archive a first set of delivery records, each of said first set of delivery records having a past delivery pattern code that matches said current delivery pattern code; and (b) retrieving from said package-level detail database a first set of active shipment records, each of said first set of active shipment records having an active ship-to address that matches any past ship-to address in said first set of delivery records; building a set of mined data comprising said first set of delivery records and said first set of active shipment records; and prioritizing said set of mined data in order of the records most closely associated with said mining key, such that a preferred address related to said mining key occurs first.