Topic
This article describes how contact postal code values behave when Location IDs are associated with Locations that are linked to Assets in Everbridge Suite, why postal codes may appear blank or unexpected after a contact upload, and how to configure Locations so that specific postal codes are preserved.
Description
Location IDs can override postal code information in contact profiles. When a contact is tied to a Location ID that maps to a Location or Asset record, the Location record's fields, including the postal code, are applied to the contact.
If a contact's Location ID associates that contact with a Location or Asset record that has no postal code, the Location data will override the postal code value in the contact profile. In this situation, a blank postal code on the associated Location or Asset replaces any postal code supplied for the contact, and previously entered or uploaded postal code values can appear blank after a People Feed or CSV upload.
When a location is associated with an asset, such as a virtual location, and that asset-linked location has a blank postal code, it can replace a previously entered postal code with a blank value. Because the Location association takes precedence, unique postal codes provided in the Contacts feed are not retained when the associated Location or Asset record has an empty postal code field.
To preserve specific postal codes for individual contacts while still using Location IDs, users may need to create a secondary Location that does not associate with an asset and that includes the desired postal code information. This configuration permits contact postal code values to be maintained without being cleared by an asset-associated Location that contains a blank postal code.
When encountering unexpected postal codes after a contact upload, first verify the Location file used for the upload. Steps that can help identify whether the Contacts CSV or separate Location or geolocation uploads are the source of unexpected postal codes include the following:
Run a report or query to list contacts showing the unexpected postal code to understand the scope.
Check a selection of contact profiles to confirm they are associated with the geographic area represented by the postal code.
Inspect uploaded files, such as the Contacts CSV and any Location file, to see whether the unexpected postal code appears there.
If the postal code does not appear in the Contacts file, review the Location file or location or geolocation data used during import and correct it as needed.
Re-upload corrected Location data and verify that postal codes display correctly for the affected contacts.
Following these steps helps determine whether asset-associated Location data, Location files, or geolocation are causing postal codes to be blank, overwritten, or populated with unexpected values after contact uploads.