Matching to ERP items

What links on its own, what is proposed to you, what is refused: similarity, barcodes, descriptions, duplicate master references, product families.

12 rules in force

In forceDecided on 19 September 2026 · Ref. RF-020

Approximate matching

What the tool does: A reference is linked automatically to a similar ERP item only if the similarity reaches a configurable threshold, with a minimum lead over the second candidate and the same sequence of digits. Otherwise the candidate is proposed for review, never linked on its own.
Why: Two references that differ by a single digit are two different products.
Where to see it: Matches to resolve (see the capture)
Links

In forceDecided on 11 October 2026 · Ref. RF-021

Two candidates that contain the whole reference

What the tool does: If at least two ERP references contain the price list reference in full (one with a prefix, the other with a suffix), nothing is linked automatically: both are proposed for review.
Why: The similarity score would only favour the shorter of the two; nothing really separates them.
Where to see it: Matches to resolve (see the capture)
Links

In forceDecided on 10 October 2026 · Ref. RF-022

Matching by description

What the tool does: For an ERP item without a supplier reference, a match by description is proposed, never linked on its own, above a configurable similarity threshold; an identical description comes first.
Why: A lower threshold proposed variants (another width, another colour) as the same item.
Where to see it: Matches to resolve (see the capture)

In forceDecided on 10 October 2026 · Ref. RF-023

Price check on a link

What the tool does: A link is suspended when the price list price and the ERP purchase price differ beyond a configurable ratio. Before comparing, the purchase price is brought back to one unit using its ERP price basis (“per 1,000”) and converted at the rate of its synchronisation date, never at today's rate.
Why: Comparing a “per 1,000” price with a unit price wrongly suspended correct links.
Where to see it: Links
Matches to resolve (see the capture)

In forceDecided on 11 October 2026 · Ref. RF-024

Bulk approval of reliable matches

What the tool does: The buyer can approve reliable matches in bulk (known link, declared rule, secondary identifier), with a reason; the number of links is shown beforehand, along with what remains to be handled one by one. The approval is logged under their name and can be undone. Approximate matches and proposals are approved one by one. Only links approved by a person count as reliable for the ERP export; if the ERP item of a link changes, the link goes back to “set by the tool”.
Why: Without approval, the ERP export had no reliable line; approving already certain links one by one adds nothing.
Where to see it: Links

In forceDecided on 11 October 2026 · Ref. RF-025

Checked barcodes

What the tool does: A barcode read from a price list (EAN, GTIN) is kept only if its check digit is correct. A wrong code, one damaged by the spreadsheet (scientific notation) or of abnormal length stays empty, with its reason and a non-blocking alert. A barcode identical to that of a single ERP item links the line at the reliable level; shared by several items, it links nothing. A line already linked by its reference whose barcode points to another item keeps its link, and an alert flags it.
Why: A mistyped digit points to another item, which may exist: without a check, the barcode would link to the wrong product with full confidence.
Where to see it: Links

In forceDecided on 11 October 2026 · Ref. RF-070

Same barcode at two suppliers: propose, never link alone

What the tool does: When a reference's barcode points to an item already held by another supplier's master reference, the tool proposes, in the review queue, to attach the reference to that existing master (the same item bought from several suppliers). Approving merges the two master references, a reversible operation; rejecting keeps two separate references, and the proposal does not come back. Nothing is linked or merged without this decision.
Why: A distributor reselling a manufacturer's item under the same barcode would otherwise create a second master reference. An identical barcode is strong evidence, not proof.
Where to see it: Matches to resolve (see the capture)

In forceDecided on 12 October 2026 · Ref. RF-099

Product families aligned with the ERP

What the tool does: The master data family can be aligned with the ERP family, read entity by entity. A buyer aligns a product's family only if all its suppliers are theirs; otherwise the decision goes to the purchasing manager. Views switch to the aligned family on an announced date, and a “before / after” report shows the segmentations affected. The initial alignment is done in batches of at most 500 products, after a simulation that writes nothing; each batch can be undone at once. A descriptive family that changes in a price list is information only, never an alert. Management sees a figures-only summary, with no product or supplier named. These choices are configurable.
Why: Until the master data family is aligned, segmentations speak a different classification from the ERP. Aligning changes shared data: a buyer only does it on what is theirs, and the switch of views is announced in advance.
Where to see it: Family compliance

In forceDecided on 13 October 2026 · Ref. RF-112

The review queue only holds decisions that can be made

What the tool does: A match proposal towards an ERP item already approved on another master reference cannot be approved: the tool closes it itself (“already linked elsewhere”), recording the link that makes it pointless, and it leaves the queue and its counters. Undoing the operation that closed it reopens it. In the queue, a candidate already approved elsewhere is no longer offered, and “Approve all similar” skips the conflicting lines and approves the others.
Why: A queue full of impossible proposals, each “Approve” being refused with no way out, blocked all work. The queue keeps only the lines where a human decision is genuinely possible and useful.
Where to see it: Matches to resolve (see the capture)
Links

In forceDecided on 13 October 2026 · Ref. RF-113

Same item at several suppliers: no duplicate master reference

What the tool does: Before creating a master reference for a supplier's line, the tool looks for an active master reference of another supplier with the same reference and an equivalent description (same numbers, hence same dimensions). If it finds one, it creates nothing and proposes to attach the line to the existing reference; rejecting creates the line's own master reference, in a reversible operation. A “Duplicate master references” list shows existing duplicates, to be merged with a reason; a merge can be undone.
Why: The same product sold by several suppliers used to receive one master reference per supplier, and the review queue filled up with impossible proposals. Duplicates are avoided at the source, and existing ones are resolved by merging.
Where to see it: Links

In forceDecided on 18 October 2026 · Ref. RF-134

A mapping typed by hand is a proposal that the purchasing manager validates

What the tool does: A manufacturer family matched to an ERP family, entered one line at a time, does not take effect straight away: the purchasing manager or the administrator validates or refuses it, with a compulsory reason, and the family gap stays displayed until it is validated. If somebody changed the proposal in the meantime, the decision is refused and the screen says so. The type of the family (text or integer) is asked for, text by default, and is set for the whole table. A buyer proposes and sees only their own suppliers; withdrawing a mapping that is already validated is for the purchasing manager alone. The bulk import keeps its own circuit, and the tool never writes to the ERP.
Why: A wrong mapping skews every family check that relies on it, so it goes through a second pair of eyes, with a written trace. A mere pending proposal must never make an already validated line disappear.
Where to see it: Family compliance

In forceDecided on 21 October 2026 · Ref. RF-162

The article matching policy is the client's choice: it is set in the application, and only the buyer turns an alternative into a strong link

What the tool does: How articles are matched depends on each client. It is set in the "Settings" screen, with the same guarantees as the other settings: authorised profile, written reason, history, possible cancellation. Eight choices are visible (what makes two articles identical, how references are written, price comparison, an article of another brand, close references, a record without reference, comparison conditions, who validates). The starting value of each one is what the tool already does, except for close references, which are now proposed to a person rather than linked automatically. A value the tool cannot do is not offered: it is shown as not available in this version. Two choices change the behaviour today: a very close reference is by default only proposed to a person (the former automatic link remains possible on request), and the proposal of a match by description can be switched off. A strong link joins strictly identical articles; everything else is an alternative, and only the buyer can turn an alternative into a strong link, never the program.
Why: So that each client keeps control of its matching policy without the tool promising what it does not do, and so that a resemblance becomes an identity only by a person's decision.
Where to see it: Settings

See these rules at work on your price lists

The demonstration runs on a fictitious data set, then, if you wish, on a real price list from one of your suppliers.

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