This decision tree is part of the interchange exception resolution guide. It answers one question for one company: who can say yes to a conversation about licensing its dispute history.
Three owners in one dispute file
A single resolved equipment dispute holds records from three different hands. The table sorts them before anyone talks about authority.
| Record | Created by | Who controls it | Who can say yes to licensing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dispatch emails and driver replies | Carrier's dispatchers and drivers | Carrier | CEO |
| Dispute log, evidence packages, credit memos | Carrier's billing team | Carrier | CEO |
| Dispatch platform loads and pairings | Carrier, on a software vendor's platform | Carrier, subject to the platform contract | CEO, after checking the contract |
| Asset tracker events | Device, on the tracker vendor's service | Depends on the tracker contract | Unknown until the contract is read |
| Gate receipts and recorded images | Equipment provider or the ramp | Provider, though the carrier holds copies | Unknown until rights review |
| Provider invoices | Equipment provider | Provider's document, carrier's copy | Unknown until rights review |
Under Section D.2.a of the UIIA, the parties execute a receipt or an electronic equivalent at each handover. Holding a copy of that receipt is not the same as owning it, which is why the bottom rows say unknown.
The yes path: five questions in order
Ask these in sequence. The introduction is the first person who answers yes to question 4.
- Does this person handle disputes or systems day to day? If yes (billing analyst, dispatcher, tracker administrator), they can describe records. Ask who runs operations.
- Does this person run operations? If yes, this is usually the operations director. Ask them to sponsor the conversation, to bring in the CEO, and to say whether any platform change is scheduled.
- Is the company independent, part of a group, or winding down? In a group, authority may sit with the parent. In a wind-down, authority may sit with the board or an appointed administrator; ask counsel who can act.
- Can this person commit company records to an agreement? If yes, introduce them: the CEO. A fractional CFO can prepare the case but does not sign in the CEO's place.
- Does counsel know about the tracker and provider contracts? If not, suggest the sponsor brings general counsel to the first call.
The usual mistake is treating the operations director's yes as the company's yes. They are the right sponsor and the person who can answer system questions, copied on every message, but rarely the signer.
When the tracker vendor, the provider or counsel must weigh in
The two amber branches are where partners should stop and hand over.
Tracker data. Whether the carrier controls its telematics history depends on the vendor agreement. The question is common enough to have its own page: who owns equipment data. The partner's job is only to note the vendor's name and that a contract exists.
Provider-created records. The UIIA is the industry's standard contract between motor carriers and equipment providers, covering liability and other handover issues. Whether copies of receipts, images and invoices can be included in a licensed set is a legal reading of that contract and any provider-specific terms, not a partner judgment.
Personal data. Driver names, phone numbers and locations appear in dispatch email and tracker logs. Counsel decides what is removed or de-identified.
The company's own decisions, the delay reasons, dispute arguments and accepted credits, are usually the clearest starting scope, and the part of the trail that the system map shows to be most at risk.
Two carriers, two paths (Illustrative)
Two fictional carriers show how the same tree gives different answers. Neither describes a real organization or deal.
| Question on the tree | 260-person drayage carrier, employee drivers | 450-person rail-drayage carrier owned by a logistics group |
|---|---|---|
| Who describes the records? | Operations director and billing analyst | Regional operations director |
| Who sponsors? | Operations director | Group head of transport operations |
| Who signs? | CEO | Carrier's CEO, with group legal |
| Tracker branch | One vendor, contract held locally | Group-wide telematics contract |
| Provider branch | Copies of receipts in dispatch platform | Receipts held in a group billing system |
| Likely starting scope | Dispatch decisions, dispute log, credits | Same, after the group confirms which entity owns them |
Both need 50+ full-time employees at peak. Owner-operators working under lease are usually contractors and fall outside that count, so a large fleet does not settle the question by itself.
Still open until SourceX's rights review
When the right executive agrees to talk, be clear about what nobody yet knows:
- Rights: which record classes, years and providers' documents can be included once contracts are read.
- Scope: what personal data must be removed.
- Demand: whether any buyer wants equipment dispute histories when SourceX reviews them.
- Terms: whether an offer follows.
The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application, and one partner is credited per company. Why data rights matter explains the review, and the referral brief template records sponsor and signer on one page.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Once the operations director has named the executive who can say yes and counsel knows about the tracker and provider contracts, register as a partner, check the company on who qualifies and read the program terms before you introduce them.