High quality of our data is always our top priority, and this article serves to provide insight into the processes our rate management team (RMT) have in place to insure that it remains that way.Rate Data Processing StagesTo make sure that the quality of our data remains as high as possible, we have introduced a number of checks and validations at different stages of data processing.Stage 1. Pre-upload Data Assessment and CleaningAll information that RMT receives from a customer is thoroughly checked during processing. This includes not only the rate sheets themselves, but also any other notes, comments, or additional files the customer has provided.In addition to that, we also have Data Guidelines with specific requirements for the data that our customers are providing. If any information we receive is incomplete, RMT will request clarifications.Most of the checks we perform are automated, while some particularly tricky ones are manual. If there are any doubts, RMT will always double check with the customer before proceeding to feed the rates into the platform.After finalizing the processing of the customer's rate sheet, we always look over the rates again before uploading them into Xeneta.Stage 2. Data Upload & ValidationWhen uploading rates into the platform, we have an additional validation stage where all uploaded data is checked against a specific set of rules.At this stage we mainly concentrate on the requirements outlined in the guidelines mentioned above — double-checking the processing results and looking at the same point from a different angle, if necessary.If the rates violate any of our internal rules, they are brought to the attention of our analytics team, so they can be further investigated, corrected, or (if the issue with a particular rate can’t be resolved) discarded.Stage 3. Outlier DetectionDuring the final stages of processing, the rates go through the outlier detection phase where we check for rates that otherwise have no data quality issues, but stand out from a statistical point of view.We do this to make sure that the overall market metrics are not distorted by one or several rates that are significantly lower or higher than the rest.Outliers are revised on a regular basis (both automatically and manually) to ensure that the market metrics we provide are as accurate as possible.Stage 4. Final ValidationAfter the rates have been added to the customer’s account, we take a final look to make sure that they were uploaded and calculated properly, and that there were generally no disruptions during any of the processing stages.Additionally, we also check if the rates are correctly displayed in the customer’s account in Xeneta.Rate Data Quality MaintenanceIn addition to our standard quality measures during data processing, we have a set of tools that help us routinely look over our rate data quality on a higher level.RMT hold regular internal meetings with the aim of maintaining consistency and accuracy of our dataWe encourate customers to report any data that appears odd or inconsistent in the platform, and we commit to promptly investigate any such reports to make sure that any data-related issues are resolved as quickly as possible