System and method for storing, routing, and tracking digital documents in a call center

• US 6,597,783 B1
• Filed: 02/01/2000
• Issued: 07/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Nguyen, Hung Thanh, Tada, Mark David
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, QUYNH H
• Application Number:
  US09/490,570
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: 379/100.01, 379/100.05, 379/100.06, 379/100.09, 379/265.01, 379/265.09, 379/265.11, 379/265.12, 379/266.05, 379/266.1, 358/407
• US Class Current: 379/265.09
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/52 Arrangements for routing dead number calls to operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for tracking, routing, and storing a number of digital documents in a call center. An example of an embodiment of the system includes a customer contact management server that is part of a network in a call center. The customer contact management server includes a processor coupled to a local interface and a memory coupled to the local interface. Stored on the memory is document tracking logic that is executed by the processor to perform the functions of tracking, routing and storing the digital documents. In one embodiment, the document tracking logic comprises contact management logic to generate a contact record associated with a digital document and to store the contact record on a contact database. The document tracking logic also includes resource management logic to identify a routing designation on the digital document, and scheduling logic to transmit the digital document to a destination based upon the routing designation.

Claims

1. A system for tracking and routing a number of digital documents in a call center, comprising:

a processor coupled to a local interface;

a memory coupled to the local interface; and

document tracking logic stored in the memory, the document tracking logic being executed by the processor, the document tracking logic including;

contact management logic to generate a contact record associated with a digital document and to store the contact record on a contact database;

resource management logic to identify a routing designation on the digital document, the routing designation indicative of an association between the digital document and digital documents previously received; and

scheduling logic to transmit the digital document to a destination based upon the routing designation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the document tracking logic further comprises parsing logic to identify at least one key word on the digital document to be placed in a field in the contact record.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the parsing logic further comprises logic to perform a character recognition routine on the digital document.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource management logic further comprises logic to determine the routing designation by forming an association between at least one keyword from the digital document and a number of associative variables stored in the memory.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the scheduling logic further comprises logic to detect a digital document to be transferred, whereupon the scheduling logic transmits the digital document to a destination.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the document tracking logic further comprises logic to search the contact database for a contact record that meets a predefined statistical criteria.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the contact management logic is further operable to determine key field values indicative of a sequence of previously received digital documents and to:

write an indication of the key field values in the contact record;

associate the contact record with other contact records having corresponding key field values to identify associations between the contact records; and

store the digital documents and corresponding contact records in the contact database according to the associations.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the resource management logic is further operable to determine a routing designation indicative of an agent and to:

identify, from the key fields, a particular customer corresponding to the current digital document

determine, from the key fields in the contact records, a sequence of previously received digital documents corresponding to the current digital document; and

compute, from the associations between the contact records in the sequence, an agent having prior dealings with the particular customer.

7. A system for tracking and routing a number of digital documents in a call center, comprising:

means for generating a contact record associated with a digital document and to store the contact record on a contact database;

means for identifying a routing designation on the digital document, the routing designation indicative of an association between the digital document and digital documents previously received; and

means for transmitting the digital document of a destination based upon the routing designation.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising means for identifying at least one key word on the digital document to be placed in a field in the contact record.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for identifying at least one key word on the digital document to be placed in a field in the contact record further comprises means for performing a character recognition routine on the digital document.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for identifying a routing designation on the digital document further comprises means for determining the routing designation by forming an association between at least one keyword from the digital document and a number of associative variables stored in the memory.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising means for searching the contact database for a contact record that meets a predefined statistical criteria.

19. The system of claim 7 wherein the means for generating a contact record is further operable to determine key field values indicative of a sequence of previously received digital documents and to:

write an indication of the key field values in the contact record;

associate the contact record with other contact records having corresponding key field values to identify associations between the contact records; and

store the digital documents and corresponding contact records in the contact database according to the associations.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the means for identifying a routing designation is further operable to determine a routing designation indicative of an agent and to:

identify, from the key fields, a particular customer corresponding to the current digital document

determine, from the key fields in the contact records, a sequence of previously received digital documents corresponding to the current digital document; and

compute, from the associations between the contact records in the sequence, an agent having prior dealings with the particular customer.

12. A method for tracking and routing a number of digital documents in a call center, comprising the steps of:

generating a contact record associated with a digital document and storing the contact record on a contact database;

identifying a routing designation on the digital document, the routing designation indicative of an association between the digital document and digital documents previously received; and

transmitting the digital document to a destination based upon the routing designation.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of identifying at least one key word on the digital document to be placed in a field in the contact record.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of identifying at least one key word on the digital document to be placed in a field in the contact record further comprises the step of performing a character recognition routine on the digital document.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of identifying a routing designation on the digital document further comprises the step of determining the routing designation by forming an association between at least one keyword from the digital document and a number of associative variables stored in the memory.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of searching the contact database for a contact record that meets a predefined statistical criteria.

21. The method of claim 12 wherein the contact management logic is further operable to determine key fields indicative of a sequence of previously received digital documents and generating the contact record further comprises:

writing an indication of the key field values in the contact record;

associating the contact record with other contact records having corresponding key field values to compute associations between the contact records; and

storing the digital documents and corresponding contact records in the contact database according to the associations.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein determining a routing designation further comprises:

identifying, from the key fields, a particular customer corresponding to the current digital document

determining, from the key fields in the contact records, a sequence of previously received digital documents corresponding to the current digital document; and

computing, from the associations between the contact records in the sequence, an agent having prior dealings with the particular customer.

23. A method for routing digital documents in a call center comprising:

generating, via contact management logic, a contact record including key fields in an incoming digital document, the key fields indicative of a correspondence between the incoming digital document and contact records of digital documents previously received;

determining, by the matching key fields in the contact records, associations indicative of a document sequence;

storing the contact records in a contact database according to the associations;

computing, from the key fields, a document sequence of the incoming digital document and digital documents previously received, the document sequence defined by contact records of prior dealings with a particular customer;

identifying, via resource management logic, a routing designation indicative of an agent, the routing designation determined by an agent having prior dealings with the particular customer; and

transmitting, based on scheduling logic, the incoming digital document to the agent identified by the routing designation.