Contact Data Search Using Product Context

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current systems for managing and searching contact information on computing devices are inefficient in identifying relevant contacts for communication, particularly when filtering by job titles and industry identifiers for sales-related purposes.

Innovation Solution

A system that receives requests from client devices to identify and sort contacts based on ranked lists of job titles and industry identifiers, categorizing contacts into sets for prioritization and presentation through a graphical user interface for effective communication initiation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If contact information is stored and managed using traditional computing devices and applications, then contact data can be accessed and searched, but the efficiency in identifying relevant contacts for sales-related communications is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveefficiency in identifying relevant contactsVSAvoiddifficulty in filtering contacts by job titles and industry identifiers

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-processes and structures contact information by organizing contacts into sets based on job titles and industry identifiers before sales communications are initiated. This preliminary organization allows for rapid retrieval and filtering when sales representatives need to identify relevant contacts, eliminating the need for manual searching and filtering during the sales process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary system that acts as a bridge between traditional contact management applications and sales communication tools. This intermediary layer automatically filters and prioritizes contacts based on job titles and industry identifiers, presenting only the most relevant contacts to sales representatives, thereby improving identification efficiency without requiring changes to existing contact management workflows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If all contacts are presented to users for communication initiation, then users have access to complete contact information, but users cannot efficiently prioritize and identify the most relevant contacts for sales purposes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision in identifying relevant contactsVSAvoidcomplexity of contact filtering and sorting mechanisms

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The contact list is segmented into multiple sets based on job titles and industry identifiers. Each set contains contacts that share common characteristics relevant to specific sales objectives. This segmentation allows users to navigate through organized groups rather than a single undifferentiated list, improving precision in identifying relevant contacts while maintaining manageable complexity through structured categorization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameters used to organize and display contacts from simple alphabetical or chronological ordering to multi-dimensional sorting based on job titles, industry identifiers, and relevance scores. This parameter transformation enables precise filtering and prioritization of contacts according to sales criteria, allowing users to quickly identify the most relevant contacts without overwhelming complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If traditional contact search functions are used, then basic contact retrieval is possible, but the system lacks the capability to sort and prioritize contacts based on ranked job titles and industry identifiers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecapability to filter and sort contacts by multiple criteriaVSAvoidtime required to manually filter and sort contacts

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs automatic filtering and sorting of contacts based on job titles and industry identifiers without requiring manual intervention from users. The contact management system self-services by organizing contacts into prioritized sets according to predefined sales criteria, eliminating the time-consuming manual filtering process while enhancing the system's adaptability to different sales scenarios and contact prioritization needs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS10778638B2Searching contact data based on product data

Publication Date: 2020.09.15 SAP SE

AI summary

Some embodiments provide a non-transitory machine-readable medium that stores a program. The program receives from a client device a request for contacts to use to initiate communications for a product. The program further identifies a set of contacts associated with a user of the client device. The program also determines a subset of the set of contacts associated with the user based on data associated with the product. The program further provides the client device the subset of the set of contacts associated with the user as candidates for initiating communications for the product.