Asynchronous Document Exchange Router for Bilateral Contracts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional manual processes for executing bilateral contracts between telecommunications service providers result in delays due to incorrect data, unsynchronized document exchange, and lack of adequate documentation, leading to increased time and cost for getting signed and verified quotations and contracts, and existing workflow models struggle to handle the complexities of interrelationships among multiple service providers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables secure, asynchronous exchange of documents between service providers using encrypted headers with pairwise relationship identifiers, workflow engines applying rules to manage document states, and a Business Support System (BSS) on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for efficient document management and tracking, allowing for creation, validation, and monitoring of bilateral contracts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual processes are used for executing bilateral contracts, then service providers can maintain simple system architecture, but document exchange becomes slow and error-prone due to lack of automation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a router as an intermediary component that mediates document exchange between service providers. The router receives encrypted documents with headers containing routing information, determines the destination service provider based on the header data, and forwards the document accordingly. This intermediary approach automates the document exchange process, improving productivity while keeping individual service provider systems relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The document structure is segmented into distinct components: an encrypted body containing the actual document data and an unencrypted header containing routing and identification information. This segmentation allows the header to be processed and routed independently without decrypting the entire document, thereby improving exchange speed while maintaining system simplicity through modular processing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional workflow models are used, then implementation is straightforward, but they cannot handle the complexities of interrelationships among multiple service providers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new dimension to workflow management by incorporating pairwise relationship identifiers that capture the specific bilateral relationship context between service providers. Instead of using a flat, single-dimension workflow model, the system adds the relationship dimension, allowing workflows to adapt to different service provider pairings while maintaining a standardized underlying structure. This enables handling of complex interrelationships without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The workflow model uses variable parameters including service provider identifiers, pairwise relationship identifiers, and document types to adapt to different scenarios. By changing these parameters rather than creating entirely different workflow models for each service provider relationship, the system achieves high adaptability while keeping the base workflow structure relatively simple and reusable.
3Reliability
If documents are exchanged without encryption, then transmission is fast and simple, but security and confidentiality of document content are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The document is segmented into an encrypted body and an unencrypted header. The encrypted body ensures security and confidentiality of the actual document content, while the unencrypted header contains only routing information needed for fast transmission and processing. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high security for sensitive data while keeping the overall transmission and routing process efficient, minimizing the time loss associated with encryption.
Solution Approach 2:
The encryption of the document body is performed in advance before routing and transmission. The unencrypted header is prepared simultaneously with the encrypted body, containing all necessary routing information. This preliminary action ensures that security measures are in place before transmission begins, while the pre-prepared header allows for immediate routing decisions without delaying the transmission process.
4Stability of the object's composition
If synchronized document exchange is implemented, then document versions remain consistent, but the process becomes slower due to coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The router acts as an intermediary that manages document version consistency without requiring direct synchronization coordination between service providers. The router receives documents with version information in the header, routes them appropriately, and can maintain a record of exchanged documents. This intermediary approach ensures version consistency through centralized management rather than distributed coordination, maintaining stability while improving exchange speed by eliminating the need for real-time synchronization protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method manages workflows exchanges a document between a first server associated with a first service provider and a second server associated with a second service provider over a network. A first workflow engine associated with the first service provider is configured to apply the document to a first workflow based on a first set of rules. A second workflow engine associated with the second service provider is configured to apply the document to a second workflow based a second set of rules. The first and second workflow engines run the first workflow at first service provider asynchronous to the second workflow at the second service provider. The system and method transports a document between the first service provider and second service provider. A first server encrypts the document to create an encrypted document and append an unencrypted header to the encrypted document. The header has a pairwise relationship identifier.