Delivery expert system, method and computer program product
View Patent ↗Embodiments disclosed herein can facilitate delivery of a document from a source to a destination over a network where an initial delivery attempt has been unsuccessful. Actions to be taken are based upon input conditions which may include a time-variable set of input conditions such as identifying non-business days and/or hours at the destination. The document can be a fax, an email, or a voice mail. The actions may include resubmitting the document to the network for a next delivery attempt, cancelling the document, sending a request to the source or destination for additional delivery information, identifying the destination as a technical problem, or a combination thereof.
1. A method of facilitating delivery of a document from a source to a destination over a network when an initial delivery attempt has been unsuccessful, comprising:
at a server machine communicatively connected to the network:
initiating a rule-based process to determine a next action based on at least one input condition to the rule-based process, the next action being related to delivery of the document, wherein the at least one input condition comprises one or more of the following:
destination;
source;
past delivery attempts;
non-business time, day, or hour at the destination;
non-business time, day, or hour at the destination categorized by one or more of a country in which the destination is located, a region, and a destination number;
a response;
a cycle, the cycle being one pass through the rule-based process;
destination business hours;
a delivery instruction;
past action taken; and
alternative network tried.
2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the rule-based process at least retrieves information related to past attempts to deliver other documents to the destination.
3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one input condition comprises at least a result from the past attempts to deliver other documents to the destination.
4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the document is at least one of an email message, a voice mail message, or a fax document.
5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein rule-based instructions for the rule-based process are received at the server machine from the source before the initial delivery attempt.
6. A method according to claim 1 ,
wherein rule-based instructions for the rule-based process are received at the server machine from the source after the initial delivery attempt.
7. A method according to claim 6 , wherein the rule-based instructions received at the server machine from the source are designated temporary.
8. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by a computing device to perform:
after an initial delivery attempt of a document from a source to a destination over a network has been unsuccessful, initiating a rule-based process to determine a next action based on at least one input condition to the rule-based process, the next action being related to delivery of the document, wherein the at least one input condition comprises one or more of the following:
destination;
source;
past delivery attempts;
non-business time, day, or hour at the destination;
non-business time, day, or hour at the destination categorized by one or more of a country in which the destination is located, a region, and a destination number;
a response;
a cycle, the cycle being one pass through the rule-based process;
destination business hours;
a delivery instruction;
past action taken; and
alternative network tried.
9. A computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein the rule-based process at least retrieves information related to past attempts to deliver other documents to the destination.
10. A computer program product according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one input condition comprises at least a result from the past attempts to deliver other documents to the destination.
11. A computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein the document is at least one of an email message, a voice mail message, or a fax document.
12. A computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein rule-based instructions for the rule-based process are received at the computing device from the source before the initial delivery attempt.
13. A computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein rule-based instructions for the rule-based process are received at the computing device from the source after the initial delivery attempt.
14. A computer program product according to claim 13 , wherein the rule-based instructions received at the computing device from the source are designated temporary.
15. A computing system, comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by the at least one processor to perform:
after an initial delivery attempt of a document from a source to a destination over a network has been unsuccessful, initiating a rule-based process to determine a next action based on at least one input condition to the rule-based process, the next action being related to delivery of the document, wherein the at least one input condition comprises one or more of the following:
destination;
source;
past delivery attempts;
non-business time, day, or hour at the destination;
non-business time, day, or hour at the destination categorized by one or more of a country in which the destination is located, a region, and a destination number;
a response;
a cycle, the cycle being one pass through the rule-based process;
destination business hours;
a delivery instruction;
past action taken; and
alternative network tried.
16. A computing system according to claim 15 , wherein the rule-based process at least retrieves information related to past attempts to deliver other documents to the destination.
17. A computing system according to claim 16 , wherein the at least one input condition comprises at least a result from the past attempts to deliver other documents to the destination.
18. A computing system according to claim 15 , wherein the document is at least one of an email message, a voice mail message, or a fax document.
19. A computing system according to claim 15 , wherein rule-based instructions for the rule-based process are received at the computing system from the source before the initial delivery attempt.
20. A computing system according to claim 15 , wherein rule-based instructions for the rule-based process are received at the computing system from the source after the initial delivery attempt.