Define a role through the link and its direction
Supplier and customer describe different ends of an economic relationship. Attribution requires knowing who supplies what to whom, during which period and for which activity. A general mention of collaboration may not resolve direction. When an element is missing, the system avoids choosing a default role and retains UNKNOWN or a potential association.
Allow simultaneous roles without forcing one category
Two organizations may have different relationships across divisions, products or regions. An exclusive Choice Space that requires one role could discard true information. Typed dimensions may coexist when their contracts allow it, each with its own evidence and boundaries. Composition can show context without merging independent relationships.
Respect time and changes in scope
A relationship observed in one financial year does not prove it continues today. It may end, change products or apply only to a subsidiary. History preserves periods and currentness instead of maintaining a permanent company label. New evidence affects the dimension that depends on it while leaving unrelated facts intact.
Keep each role distinct from an opportunity
Being a supplier does not make a company a candidate for another contract; a past customer relationship does not show future buying intent. A fit between need and capability may yield a POTENTIAL hypothesis, not an observed relationship or lead. A role describes a supported relationship within scope; an opportunity is a separate derivation that needs its own explanation.
Conceptual example
Hypothetical: a technology company buys components from A for one product and sells A a software module under another agreement. Both relationships may coexist with different subjects, directions and periods. AXIGNAL does not compress them into one exclusive category or infer a new sales project.
Scope and limits
Economic roles are not inferred from similarity, sector or proximity. Source coverage may omit part of a relationship, and temporal changes require review. A potential or unknown role should not appear as canonical relationship, confirmed current supplier or customer, or future intent without relevant evidence.
Editorial basis
This page explains product doctrine and boundaries. It does not demonstrate source coverage or observed outcomes.
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