System, method and software for providing persistent business entity identification and linking business entity information in an integrated data depository

• US 20040243539A1
• Filed: 08/29/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Experian Marketing Solutions, LLC (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Experian Marketing Solutions Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Skurtovich, John L. Jr., Sumida, Timothy, Barrios, Pamela
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24553 of query operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2465 Query processing support for facilitating data mining operations in structured databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

The present invention provides a system, method and software for linking persistent and unique business identifiers, associated with business entities, for associating corresponding business records without a loss of historical records, regardless of subsequent changes, updates, and mergers. In the various embodiments, a first business record, of the plurality of business records, is associated with a first business identifier; and a second business record, which does not match the first record, is associated with a second business identifier. Subsequently, when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity, the first business identifier and the second business identifier are linked, and respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier are maintained, with corresponding source references, and collectively utilized in subsequent search and match determinations.

Claims

1. A method of associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the method comprising:

(a) associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;

(b) associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and

(c) when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises:

maintaining respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier and collectively utilizing the first business record and the second business record in subsequent search and match determinations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier are maintained for at least a predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises:

determining that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to the singular business entity by determining that a third business record, of the plurality of business records, is both associated with the first business record and associated with the second business record.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises:

determining that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to the singular business entity by determining that a third business record, of the plurality of business records, matches with a first element of a first plurality of elements of the first business record and further matches with a second element of a second plurality of elements of the second business record.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements each comprise at least two of the following elements:

a business name element, a business address element, a tax identification element, a telephone number element, a standard industry code element, and a client key element.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein a match is determined by:

determining a plurality of potentially matching business records; and

from the plurality of potentially matching business records, eliminating a potentially matching business record which does not match a business name element of the third business record.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

from the plurality of potentially matching business records, eliminating a potentially matching business record which does not match a business address element of the third business record.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

from the plurality of potentially matching business records, eliminating a potentially matching business record which does not match a standard industry code element of the third business record.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

following elimination of one or more potentially matching business records from the plurality of potentially matching business records, affirmatively matching the third business record to the first element of the first plurality of elements of the first business record, the first business record remaining within the plurality of potentially matching business records, and affirmatively matching the third business record to the second element of the second plurality of elements of the second business record, the second business record remaining within the plurality of potentially matching business records.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the affirmative matching is exact.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the affirmative matching is flexible and has a corresponding confidence level.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

associating the first business record with the first business identifier by matching the first business record to another business record associated with the first business identifier, of the plurality of business records.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first business record is associated with the first business identifier by not matching to any another business record of the plurality of business records and the first business identifier is assigned to the first business record as representative of a previously unidentified business entity of the plurality of business entities.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(d) when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a separate business entities of the plurality of business entities, maintaining the first business identifier separately and independently from the second business identifier, and further maintaining the association of the first business record with the first business identifier separately and independently from the association of the second business record with the second business identifier.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) associating a plurality of business addresses with the first business identifier, each business address of the plurality of business addresses having a unique site identifier of a plurality of site identifiers associated with the first business identifier.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) associating a site identifier with the first business identifier, the site identifier corresponding to a business address associated with the first business identifier.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to step (a), searching a consumer database for a match of the first business record and, when no match is determined, searching a business database for a match of the first business record.

19. A system for associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the system comprising:

a data repository storing the plurality of business records and storing a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique; and

a processor coupled to the data repository, the processor configured to associate a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers;

to associate a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and

when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, to link the first business identifier and the second business identifier and to maintain the link of the first business identifier and the second business identifier in the data repository.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to maintain in the data repository respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier and to collectively utilize the first business record and the second business record in subsequent search and match determinations.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier are maintained in the data repository at least for a predetermined period of time.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to the singular business entity by determining that a third business record, of the plurality of business records, is both associated with the first business record and associated with the second business record.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to the singular business entity by determining that a third business record, of the plurality of business records, matches with a first element of a first plurality of elements of the first business record and further matches with a second element of a second plurality of elements of the second business record.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements each comprise at least two of the following elements:

a business name element, a business address element, a tax identification element, a telephone number element, a standard industry code element, and a client key element.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a match by:

determining a plurality of potentially matching business records; and

eliminating, from the plurality of potentially matching business records, a potentially matching business record which does not match a business name element of the third business record.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to eliminate, from the plurality of potentially matching business records, a potentially matching business record which does not match a business address element of the third business record.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the processor is further configured to eliminate, from the plurality of potentially matching business records, a potentially matching business record which does not match a standard industry code element of the third business record.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein following elimination of one or more potentially matching business records from the plurality of potentially matching business records, the processor is further configured to affirmatively match the third business record to the first element of the first plurality of elements of the first business record, the first business record remaining within the plurality of potentially matching business records, and to affirmatively match the third business record to the second element of the second plurality of elements of the second business record, the second business record remaining within the plurality of potentially matching business records.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the affirmative matching is exact.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the affirmative matching is flexible and has a corresponding confidence level.

31. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to associate the first business record with the first business identifier by matching the first business record to another business record associated with the first business identifier, of the plurality of business records.

32. The system of claim 19, the processor is further configured to associate the first business record with the first business identifier by not matching the first business record to any another business record of the plurality of business records and to assign the first business identifier to the first business record as representative of a previously unidentified business entity of the plurality of business entities.

33. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured, when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a separate business entities of the plurality of business entities, to maintain the first business identifier separately and independently from the second business identifier in the data repository, and further to maintain the association of the first business record with the first business identifier separately and independently from the association of the second business record with the second business identifier in the data repository.

34. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to associate a plurality of business addresses with the first business identifier, each business address of the plurality of business addresses having a unique site identifier of a plurality of site identifiers associated with the first business identifier, and to maintain in the data repository the association of the plurality of business addresses and corresponding plurality of site identifiers with the first business identifier.

35. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to associate a site identifier with the first business identifier, the site identifier corresponding to a business address associated with the first business identifier, and to maintain in the data repository the association of the business addresses and corresponding site identifier with the first business identifier.

36. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to search a consumer database for a match of the first business record and, when no match is determined, to search a business database for a match of the first business record.

37. A tangible medium storing computer readable software for associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the tangible medium storing computer readable software comprising:

a first program construct for associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;

a second program construct for associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and

a third program construct for linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities.

38. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 37, wherein the third program construct maintains the respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier for a predetermined period of time and provides for the collective utilization of the first business record and the second business record in subsequent search and match determinations.

39. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 37, further comprising:

a fourth program construct for determining that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to the singular business entity by determining that a third business record, of the plurality of business records, is both associated with the first business record and associated with the second business record.

40. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 37, further comprising:

a fourth program construct for determining that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to the singular business entity by determining that a third business record, of the plurality of business records, matches with a first element of a first plurality of elements of the first business record and further matches with a second element of a second plurality of elements of the second business record, wherein the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements each comprise at least two of the following elements;

a business name element, a business address element, a tax identification element, a telephone number element, a standard industry code element, and a client key element.

41. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 40, wherein the fourth program construct determines a match by:

determining a plurality of potentially matching business records;

from the plurality of potentially matching business records, eliminating a potentially matching business record which does not match a business name element of the third business record;

from the plurality of potentially matching business records, eliminating a potentially matching business record which does not match a business address element of the third business record;

from the plurality of potentially matching business records, eliminating a potentially matching business record which does not match a standard industry code element of the third business record; and

following elimination of one or more potentially matching business records from the plurality of potentially matching business records, affirmatively matching the third business record to the first element of the first plurality of elements of the first business record, the first business record remaining within the plurality of potentially matching business records, and affirmatively matching the third business record to the second element of the second plurality of elements of the second business record, the second business record remaining within the plurality of potentially matching business records.

42. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 37, wherein the first program construct associates the first business record with the first business identifier by matching the first business record to another business record associated with the first business identifier, of the plurality of business records.

43. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 37, further comprising:

a fifth program construct for associating a plurality of business addresses with the first business identifier, each business address of the plurality of business addresses having a unique site identifier of a plurality of site identifiers associated with the first business identifier.

44. The tangible medium storing computer readable software of claim 37, further comprising:

a fifth program construct for associating a site identifier with the first business identifier, the site identifier corresponding to a business address associated with the first business identifier.

45. A method of associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the method comprising:

(a) associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;

(b) associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers;

(c) determining that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to a singular business entity when a third business record, of the plurality of business records, matches with a first element of a first plurality of elements of the first business record and further matches with a second element of a second plurality of elements of the second business record, wherein the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements each comprise at least two of the following elements;

a business name element, a business address element, a tax identification element, a telephone number element, a standard industry code element, and a client key element; and

(d) when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier, and maintaining the respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier; and

(e) associating a plurality of business addresses with the first business identifier, each business address of the plurality of business addresses having a unique site identifier of a plurality of site identifiers associated with the first business identifier.