Protocol Profile Hierarchy for B2B Communication Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing approaches to managing protocol information for B2B commerce require maintaining a large number of records, leading to high costs in time and resources for creation and storage, as well as inefficiencies in updating changes across multiple records.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a profile hierarchy where higher-level profiles inherit and override properties of lower-level profiles, allowing for a more efficient management of protocol information by reducing the need for redundant records and simplifying updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a business stores a separate electronic record for each trading partner with complete protocol information, then the protocol information can be fully described for each party, but the number of records increases significantly leading to high storage costs and maintenance overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a master protocol information record that serves multiple trading partners simultaneously. Instead of maintaining separate complete records for each partner, a single master record contains protocol information that can be inherited and overridden by multiple partner-specific records, making the master record universal for use across many trading relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested record structure where partner-specific records are embedded within or reference master protocol information records. Each partner record contains only the specific protocol parameters that differ from the master record, while inheriting the common parameters from the master record, creating a nested information hierarchy.
2Reliability
If complete protocol records are created for each trading partner, then all necessary communication parameters are available, but the time and resources required to create and maintain these records increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes master protocol information records in advance that contain default protocol parameters for multiple trading partners. When a new trading relationship is established, the system can quickly reference and inherit from these pre-configured master records, eliminating the need to create complete protocol records from scratch for each partner.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the creation and maintenance of protocol information across multiple trading partners by consolidating common parameters into a single master record. Changes to common protocol parameters can be made once in the master record and automatically propagate to all partner records that inherit from it, rather than requiring individual updates to each partner's complete protocol record.
3Adaptability or versatility
If individual records are maintained for each trading partner, then specific protocol parameters can be customized per partner, but updating changes that affect multiple records requires modifying each record individually
Solution Approach 1:
The master protocol information record serves as a universal template that can be customized for different trading partners through selective overriding. The same master record can support multiple partner configurations, allowing centralized management of common parameters while maintaining the ability to customize partner-specific parameters through simple overrides rather than complete individual records.
4Adaptability or versatility
If 10,000 separate protocol records are maintained for 10,000 trading partners, then each partner's specific communication requirements can be met, but the storage space and computational resources required become undesirable
Solution Approach 1:
A single master protocol information record is designed to serve multiple trading partners simultaneously. By storing protocol parameters at the master record level rather than replicating complete records for each partner, the system reduces storage requirements while maintaining the ability to support a large number of trading partners through inheritance and selective customization.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing complete protocol records for each trading partner, the system creates lightweight partner records that contain only the specific parameters that differ from the master record. These partner records act as references or pointers to the master record, copying only the necessary deviations rather than duplicating entire protocol configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for managing protocol information used in exchanging communications is provided. One or more protocol profiles are stored. Each of the protocol profiles is associated with a protocol. One or more transaction profiles are stored. Each of the transaction profiles identifies a combination of protocol profiles. One or more trading partner transaction profiles are stored. Each of the trading partner transaction profiles identifies a configuration of protocols for exchanging communications with a receiving party. After storing the profiles, a particular parameter value of a particular protocol profile is updated to identify an updated value without updating any of the transaction profiles. Updating the particular parameter value causes the updated value to be inherited by at least one of the transaction profiles. An application may obtain the updated value by accessing a profile that references the particular protocol profile.