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tegwick bd272151af Model reputation as counterparty assurance gradient across four tiers

Add research on the journey from gamable opinion signals (reviews, ratings)
through observed metrics (PAYDEX, SLA stats), financial commitments (bonds,
escrow), and adjudicated outcomes (arbitration, courts). Resolve OpenQuestions:
no Reputation entity; use Reputation Signal, Performance Evidence, Commercial
Commitment, and Adjudication Outcome with Counterparty Assurance Gradient pattern.

2026-06-21 22:57:28 +02:00

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DUNS and Commercial Credit Identity

Source Type

Industry registry. Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S).

Domain

Commercial credit, vendor onboarding, procurement identity, and business verification.

Why This Source Matters

DUNS predates LEI as a global commercial identifier for business entities in trade and credit. It ties identity to creditworthiness and payment behavior (PAYDEX), illustrating how commercial activity creates durable, high-stakes identity interest among counterparties.

Key Concepts

DUNS number: nine-digit proprietary identifier for a business location/entity.
D&B database: 300M+ business records; global trade and procurement usage.
Business entity: company or location receiving DUNS; not a natural person.
PAYDEX score: D&B payment performance score (credit behavior).
Credit file: aggregated commercial history attributed to DUNS.
Government procurement: historically required DUNS (US); migrated to SAM UEI.
UEI (Unique Entity Identifier): US federal successor identifier in SAM.gov.
ISO/IEC 6523 ICD 0060: standard representation for DUNS in ISO identifiers.

Relevant Terminology

Term	Source meaning
DUNS / D-U-N-S	D&B business identifier.
Business entity	Company or site in D&B registry.
PAYDEX	Payment performance score.
Credit file	Commercial history record.
UEI	US government unique entity ID (SAM.gov).
Vendor onboarding	Procurement verification using DUNS/UEI.
Headquarters vs. branch	Separate DUNS per distinct business location.

Modeling Assumptions

Commercial identity serves credit and procurement, not authentication.
Payment history feeds reputation attributable to identifier.
Multiple national ID schemes (DUNS, UEI, LEI, VAT, company reg) coexist; linking requires Synonymity Assertion or registry crosswalk.
Identifier assignment is vendor-operated (D&B), not self-asserted.
Commercial counterparties rely on DUNS for risk decisions beyond bare legal existence.

Identity-Canon Implications

DUNS maps to Proxy Commercial Identifier (scheme: 0060, authority_class: commercial_proxy) on Commercial Record / Organization.
PAYDEX and credit file map to Evidence Source influencing Trust Relationship and counterparty risk.
UEI maps to Identifier (government authoritative) on Commercial Record.
Illustrates user thesis: once credit exposure exists, identity becomes economically binding and reputationally persistent.
Link to LEI via Synonymity Assertion when same legal entity holds both.

Terminology Conflicts

DUNS vs. LEI: credit/procurement vs. financial regulatory identifier.
Business entity (D&B) vs. Tenant: vendor record ≠ SaaS isolation.
Customer (credit) vs. Customer (role): credit customer vs. relationship role.

Candidate Canonical Mappings

D&B / procurement concept	Candidate canonical concept
DUNS number	Proxy Commercial Identifier (ICD 0060)
D&B business record	Commercial Record
PAYDEX	Evidence Source (credit performance)
UEI	Identifier (government registry)
Vendor onboarding check	Trust Relationship + Evidence Source
Parent/branch linkage	Organization structure Relationship

Open Questions

Numeric score vs. assurance_tier band mapping in downstream risk engines.

Resolved (see reputation-assurance-gradient.md)

PAYDEX and credit scores → Performance Evidence (observed tier), not opinion-tier Reputation Signal.

References

Dun & Bradstreet DUNS — https://www.dnb.com/duns-number.html
Wikipedia, Data Universal Numbering System — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Universal_Numbering_System
GSA Unique Entity Identifier — https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/fas-initiatives/integrated-award-environment/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update

4.0 KiB Raw Blame History