Episode 3: The D-U-N-S Number Speaks Out
George L'Heureux:
Hello everyone, this is Data Talks presented by Dun & Bradstreet. I'm your host, George L'Heureux, I'm a Principal Consultant for Data Strategy in the advisory services team here at Dun & Bradstreet. In advisory services, our team is dedicated to helping our clients to maximize the value of the relationship with Dun & Bradstreet through expert advice and consultation. On Data Talks, I chat each episode with one of the expert advisors at Dun & Bradstreet about a topic that consumers of our data and services could use to get more value. Today's guest expert is Dan Wadding. Dan is a data advisor in the data advisory services team. And he's been in this role for eight years. Dan, tell me a little bit what you do as a data advisor.
Dan Wadding:
Well, first of all, thanks for having me George, I appreciate it. So as a data adviser one of my objectives is, I manage a portfolio of accounts. Right now I'm a managing a portfolio in the financial services' industry, as well as the insurance industry. And really, I act as the subject matter expert and I work holistically with our technical advisory and analytical solutions, and importantly I help a lot of our customers optimize their match results and make sure they're getting the true value of the implementation of their solutions.
George L'Heureux:
So, how did you end up in this role? Was this something that when you were eight years old, you said to yourself, "This is what I want to do when I grow up."
Dan Wadding:
I was on as strategic assignment for Dun & Bradstreet, probably about 12 plus years ago. And I saw an opportunity to work on a high-tech firm where it actually had five dedicated data advisers on it. And I just thought, wow, this is the biggest customer at Dun & Bradstreet, I could make an impact on this, I could help engage with them, show them the solutions and optimize the benefits and the value of Dun & Bradstreet. So I actually, I left a corporate initiative to go for this, and I've been in this role ever since so 12 plus years ago. And we've evolved from... We were information consultants and we've evolved into this data advisory role under new leadership teams, where we partner more closely with our analytical solutions on our technical advisory teams.
George L'Heureux:
Very cool. And as you and I were prepping for this, you had said that you wanted to make sure that you were giving voice to something that's really basic to us here at Dun & Bradstreet and to all of our customers. When I say basic, I don't mean that it's necessarily simple, but it's really fundamental to what we do and how we do it. And that's the D-U-N-S number. So let's start with that. Dan, what exactly is a D-U-N-S number?
Dan Wadding:
The D-U-N-S number, I mean, acronyms are acronyms when we try to eliminate acronyms in our vernacular, right? So D-U-N-S stands for The Data Universal Numbering System. So it's a nine digit number that Dun & Bradstreet assigns to every business location that we've identified that is economically active. Their doors are open, they're conducting business. It's unique, it's persistent, it's been around for a while. It was actually developed in 1963, as Dun & Bradstreet was launching into the digital age, leveraging computer systems, their databases. And the important part is that it's probably leveraged now by almost 90% of the fortune 500 companies. And it's really the universal standard for business identification.
George L'Heureux:
So when you say that these companies around the world, fortune 500 companies are using it, what exactly are they using it for? When you say business identification, what does that mean?
Dan Wadding:
They leverage it through our patented matching entity process. We can assign a D-U-N-S number. Let's just say we're bringing it in new to our global cloud, right? So if we don't have it, we're going to go through this patented matching technology. And we're going to assign a D-U-N-S number to a business entity. This D-U-N-S number is going to interact within their organization of themselves, but other customers are going to leverage that D-U-N-S number of how they can interact with that D-U-N-S number in other organizations. And what I mean by that is they can tie family trees together. They can do all kinds of great things because it is so unique. It's just not some random D-U-N-S numbering system. It's not an AGN, it's not an alternative key. It's truly a unique universal system. And it's has eight key attributes to it.
Dan Wadding:
I mean, it's global, it's unique, it's persistent, it's constant, it's non indicative is probably the most important part, universal hierarchal and foundational. Just want to touch upon each of those real quick. From a global perspective, it's assigned to businesses and more than 220 countries and territories. So our data cloud covers that massive scope of I'll call it the business landscape around the world. It's unique so it's assigned to business locations and they have a unique, separate and distinct business operations. So if you were a branch and you are at a headquarters' location, each of those entities are going to receive a D-U-N-S number. And I talked about those orgs and we can go into that a little bit deeper, but it's persistent. So it stays with that business. It's never reused, never reassigned.
Dan Wadding:
It stays with that business and I hate to use this term, but from cradle to grave, right? Once we find them and they emerge and we're going to stay with that business until they cease business operations or they just fade off and we did not pick up any more signal data on them. It's not indicative. A lot of people believe that those nine digits mean something. They don't those nine digits don't tell any aspect of the company or to which it's assigned or any other bearing of that business entity, nine digits or nine digits, a D-U-N-S numbers a D-U-N-S number is what we always tell. It's universal so it's really relied on businesses around the world, as well as various governmental agencies that require anyone that they're doing business with to come to them with a D-U-N-S number, or they come to them on a Bradstreet, with their data files to obtain a D-U-N-S number.
Dan Wadding:
I touched upon this and its hierarchical in nature. And what I mean by that is it reveals relationships about how a specific organization is linked into another one of family trees worldwide, right? So you could look at a site D-U-N-S number, it rolls up to a headquarter parent D-U-N-S number. They roll up to a domestic ultimate D-U-N-S number and ultimately it rolls up to a global ultimate that ties in that locate those how one site tied into all of those other entities, respectively from a hierarchal standpoint. And then the last key portion of the D-U-N-S number is its foundational. As a lot of entities are moving into the master data realm, it's part of their master data strategy to harmonize their data across the enterprise. So in my dealings with companies, as they implement their master data strategies with Dun & Bradstreet, some will use it as a dual key. Some will use it as the primary key. So it depends on the structure of that business entity and how they view if they have internal keys that are necessary to keep their business alive and well.
George L'Heureux:
Thanks for going through all that. I want to key in on something because as you went through that list and before you help elaborate on each of them, you called out non indicative and you said that might be the most important one. Can you tell me why you see that as maybe one of the most important of those attributes about the D-U-N-S number?
Dan Wadding:
It's unique to Dun & Bradstreet and I'll get into the weeds a little bit. Years ago before we changed, when we evolve the D-U-N-S number, there used to be systematic checks in a D-U-N-S number. And this is before the business population really exploded. So we had a finite set of D-U-N-S numbers available in the Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S number pool. And we used to leverage what was called a mod 10 check, and what it would do. It would run a mathematical equation and then it would evolve and check that ninth digit and tell you it was a valid D-U-N-S number. As we began to run out of that pool, we then begun to implement a D-U-N-S number of mod 10 plus five factor with more mathematical equations to it as well, business population again booms and explodes.
Dan Wadding:
So we've taken those equations away from the general public and stop touting them if you will. And we just tout that the business, the nine digits are truly not indicative. There's no bearing that if it's a business that's worthy of credit extensions, that's worthy of being a supplier, that they're active or inactive. It's really the key to getting into – what I call - I call it “all the goodness” that Dun & Bradstreet can provide. And that's whether you need credit information, you need supply comply information or basic marketing information, right? Once you have that D-U-N-S number, you can tie in correlate that into all of the solution sets that Dun & Bradstreet offers.
George L'Heureux:
So I guess the key thing about it being non indicative then is that it doesn't tell me anything about the business, just the number itself, but that allows for things to change, and for us to be able to reflect that. And if I own George's pizza that D-U-N-S number is going to stay the same, even as my credit worthiness, even as my phone number is even as the ownership changes over time. Right?
Dan Wadding:
Exactly. So if you go through a business name change, let's say you move your address. Let's say George retires. And you bring in a new CEO, or let's say you change, you evolve into new lines of business. The dynamics of that business operation will not have a bearing on your D-U-N-S number. And I'm going to caveat that. And my caveat is, if you, let's just say, if ABC company merges with XYZ, when we announced the merger on day one, let's say on day 20, the merger's complete. And we begin to look at those family trees and who's going to survive. And who's going where there are certain times when D-U-N-S numbers will not get changed, but they’ll be put the rest if you will.
Dan Wadding:
Let's just say, a branch moves into another they're consolidating locations. We will begin to consolidate those D-U-N-S numbers. One will survive, but we have a behind the scenes audit trails that help all of our customers that if they have that D-U-N-S number of ABC, and let's say it's consolidated into XYZ due to that merger acquisition, we have audit trails that we offer to our customer, that we can point them of the D-U-N-S number of company A to company X, Y, Z.
George L'Heureux:
Yeah. And I know that what we call re-certification is something that one of our other colleagues is looking to speak with us on a future episode of this and so it just shows how it all ties together and how critical the D-U-N-S number really is to understanding businesses. How many of them, you talked about the explosive growth before, how many exist today?
Dan Wadding:
So within the Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud, there are over last count, over 420 million. And that is constantly evolving as different markets start to explode in leveraging different types of data sources and data signals. So sky's the limit on this. We've grown substantially over the past five to 10 years. I remember in my younger years at Dun & Bradstreet, we had a big celebration over hitting a hundred million D-U-N-S numbers. I was a former global D-U-N-S number administrator at Dun & Bradstreet earlier in my career. And it was interesting to watch the evolution of this just in the world, just growing so much in the D-U-N-S number, staying there as that persistent key.
Dan Wadding:
And an interesting note, I will tell you. We've done studies with customers to see if we could start providing alternative keys or different numbers. And we did focus groups with them and we looked at, and we would show them side by side, the values of each and the alternative key versus D-U-N-S number. And 100% of the customers said, do not provide us with an alternative key. The value of the D-U-N-S number drives everything home, whether we're dealing with our customers, our suppliers, our potential market prospects in our own internal systems.
George L'Heureux:
I mean, that's the kind of thing that you want to hear – the value it gives.
Dan Wadding:
Yeah, absolutely.
George L'Heureux:
Briefly you alluded to it earlier. Could you talk about how D-U-N-S number gets assigned? We've seen this explosive growth in the number of D-U-N-S numbers. And so I think that could beg the question, is it because we're changing the way that we assign D-U-N-S numbers or is it just because the business landscape has grown so much over the course of time?
Dan Wadding:
Yeah. Not changing the way we're assigning D-U-N-S numbers for sure. But it is the explosive growth in the global landscape. Particularly if we look at the growth over the past, say 12 months, China has exploded incredibly by millions of additional new sources. So traditionally they didn't have sources available to them. Now they're bringing in new sources, we leverage our patented matching technology to see if when you have those entities, you always got to double check because the last thing you want to do is put duplicates in your system, right? So we always use our leverage our matching technology which is part of the DUNSRight process to see if we have them that entity in the cloud.
Dan Wadding:
And if not, we'll assign one and add it to that business entity. And now they're resident to our Dun & Bradstreet data cloud. And we begin the DUNSRight process there. And we begin to track that evolution of a business. We might've picked them up as they're an emerging business. And we begin to monitor all those various data signals as they evolve all through their life cycle. Some may quickly come and go and some may be there for quite some time. Dun & Bradstreet's an example of being around for over 175 plus years.
George L'Heureux:
So is there a way for a company that's just, just emerging, they're starting to do business. Is there a way for a company to raise his hand and say hey, Dun & Bradstreet here I am start tracking me. I mean, I know that there's plenty of places that require D-U-N-S number to do business with them.
Dan Wadding:
Yeah, absolutely. And that's a great question. We do have specific teams set up where customers can call in or go through the internet and request the D-U-N-S number on their own business entity. And it's a fairly simple, straightforward process. We're going to add, we're going to ask questions, we're going to do a few checks and we're going to go through our process to make sure that it's in the cloud currently, right? And then we're going to go through the evolution of leveraging our DUNSRight process to monitor and always keep an eye on that entity, that up more signal data so that the cloud always has the most current and present view of that business entity.
George L'Heureux:
Dan, you talked about wanting to give the D-U-N-S number a voice. And I think that you've done that. If there's people watching or listening and you want to give them just one thing to walk away from this conversation with what might that be?
Dan Wadding:
The D-U-N-S number is the key to all, as I mentioned, the key to the Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud and that Data Cloud can serve customers of many use cases, leverage the D-U-N-S number and its goodness, whether you're building out your own MDM as a unique persistent key, leverage it to obtain information on other companies, leverage it to be able to walk a hierarchal view of family trees. It is one of the most unique identifiers in the business world. I think that people have seen in a long time and it's been here for a long time.
George L'Heureux:
So the only last thing I'm going to say to you Dan, is I think that you should look into trademarking Dun & Bradstreet goodness. I think that has the real opportunity to catch up.
Dan Wadding:
Thanks.
George L'Heureux:
All right thank you. Dan. Our guest expert today has been Dan Wadding, a data advisory at Dun & Bradstreet. And this has been Data Talks. We hope you've enjoyed today's discussion. And if you have, we encourage you to please share it with a friend or a colleague. And if you'd like more information about what we discussed on today's episode, we encourage you to visit www.dnb.com or to talk to your company's Dun & Bradstreet specialist today. I'm George L'Heureux. Thanks for joining us. Until next time.
