Product Matching in Retail: Save time with AI

Product and Retail Matching

Pricing is intimately linked to a brand’s commercial appeal – and therefore to its competitiveness, success and longevity.

The pandemic context confirms this: for a retailer, being able to set the right price at the right time is a matter of survival.

As a result, competitive pressure on prices is stronger than ever. A pricing strategy that is both differentiating and attractive to consumers cannot afford to ignore the competition.

This is where high-performance product matching comes in.

Competitive comparability as a pillar of pricing strategy

Define your prices according to your competitive perimeter

Collecting competitor data – prices, labels, images, EANs – is a prerequisite for product matching. For offline and food retailing, data is generally acquired from panellists. They can also be collected online, by extracting data from competing websites (Web Data Collect) or at points of sale (Scan In Store). While the raw data recovered in this way is of limited use in its current state, product matching makes it possible to add value to it.

Product matching involves linking identical or comparable products sold by the brand and one or more of its competitors. For ease of reading, these links are organized in analysis tables. By browsing them, the brand can compare each of its products – and their prices – with those of its competitors.

The aim of this comparison is simple: to define competitors’ price positioning and incorporate it into future pricing strategies, using relevant and exhaustive competitor price data. The rules for creating pricing strategies can therefore be customized according to the matched data.

In addition, the Matching module of the Optimix Pricing Analytics suite uses Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence for high-performance product matching

Although essential to any competitive pricing strategy, the product matching process is generally a tedious one. It often requires the user to chain products together on a product-by-product basis. Depending on the number of references and competitors, the task can quickly become time-consuming and discouraging for your teams.

To remedy this, Optimix’s Matching module uses Artificial Intelligence on several levels.

The module makes matching fast and easy.

It enables two types of linking: automatic chaining based on the EAN and chaining using AI to support the user.

Automation of EAN-based product matching

Automatic chaining requires no human intervention. The algorithm analyzes imported competitor data and compares it with the brand’s own product data. When it identifies identical
identical EAN
s, it links the corresponding products together. This chaining is automatic.

Obviously, this process saves our customers a great deal of time and performance when it comes to matching. It makes a major contribution to generating a reliable, high-quality product database, useful for improving competitiveness and price positioning.

Depending on the brand’s sector of activity, it is estimated thatbetween 40% and 80% of its products can be matched. However, automatic matching is not always possible. It is then up to the user to check that the products to be linked are identical or comparable. In this case, the AI supports its decision-making.

Manual chaining at the click of a button

There are a number of situations in which user intervention is required, particularly when the products are :

Identical but their EANs do not match,
Comparable or similar because they come from an own brand,
Identical, but their size, capacity, volume, etc., do not match.

Here again, Artificial Intelligence supports simplified decision-making and accelerates matching. Let’s see how.

Optimix Pricing Analytics’ Matching module enables easy chaining on two axes: product photography and product labels. The aim: to match products with a single click.

To do this, the AI compares the photographs and labels of the products in the database. It standardizes the names of competing products using a dictionary of synonyms, then assigns them a price-weighted proximity coefficient. On the basis of this scoring, it sorts the competing products and matches them with the most relevant brand products. All that’s left for the user to do is determine whether the products are identical, comparable or comparable with a coefficient. All it takes is one click to match.

Artificial Intelligence works on the principle of machine learning. In concrete terms, this means that the more it contributes to matching, the more efficient its analysis and scoring will be, speeding up matching tasks even further.

The user can define a threshold above which the AI automatically matches products. For example, we can define that the AI will match all products with a proximity score above 98%.

If, despite this, the retailer is reluctant to mobilize high value-added resources for the few remaining manual tasks, Optimix can provide the necessary resources to subcontract the matching.

Fully customizable reporting

The module features an area dedicated to thestatistical analysis of matchingresults. These include data on frontality levels and the percentage of the brand’s products matched. Reporting is fully customizable to suit your scope and needs.

What is inventory management and why is it essential? Follow our advice on how to effectively manage your inventory and boost your competitiveness.

What is stock management?

What is stock management? Inventory management refers to all the practices and processes used to monitor, organize and optimize the flow of goods in a company. It begins at the point of procurement and continues right through to stock removal, whether for sale, transfer or internal consumption. This central function of the supply chain is designed to answer a key question: how can we have the right products, in the right quantities, at the right time and in the right place, while minimizing costs ? Efficient inventory management secures business activity, limits losses, and guarantees product availability for end customers. Why is good inventory management essential? Inventory management plays a strategic role in a company’s overall performance. It affects both quality of customer service, financial profitability and supply chain robustness. Poor anticipation can lead to stock-outs, resulting in lost sales and brand image damage. Conversely, heavy overstocking ties up cash, takes up storage space unnecessarily, and increases the risk of obsolescence or expiry. The main characteristics of good inventory management Successful inventory management depends on data reliability, responsiveness to fluctuations and the ability to anticipate needs. It implies traceability of all item movements, from receipt to dispatch, as well as rigorous recording of operations. A segmentation This allows us to apply more precise, differentiated strategies. Last but not least, good inventory management is based on performance indicators (KPIs) that enable corrective actions to be managed in real time. How does stock management work? The different stages The process of stock management is structured around several key stages. It begins with procurementwhich includes supplier selection, the negotiation conditions and planning orders. Goods receipt is accompanied by quality control and immediate updating of databases. Next, products are stored according to optimal organizational logic (FIFO, coded locations, specific conditions). Throughout their lifecycle, items undergo movements (in, out, transfers) which must be accurately recorded. Finally, supervision of the whole system relies on reporting, alert and analysis tools. What are the different technologies available for inventory management? Modern technologies are profoundly transforming inventory management. ERP systems ensure global coordination between purchasing, production, logistics and finance functions. WMS systems enable detailed management of warehouses, locations, picking tasks and physical flows. SaaS solutions offer an agile and scalable approach, combining artificial intelligence, demand modelingscenario simulation and automated replenishment. Finally, connected objects (IoT sensors, RFID tags) and mobile terminals enable fast, reliable data capture in real time. Intuitive, it enables everyone, from buyers to logisticians, to view stock levels and make quick decisions, without having to master a complex system. Inventory management challenges Inventory management faces both structural and cyclical challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the need for predictability of demanddemand is subject to many vagaries: consumption trends, weather, health or economic crises. Other constraints include limited storage capacity, variable lead times, and the growing complexity of multi-channel distribution networks. The diversity of products, their heterogeneous life cycles and specific storage conditions add to the difficulty. How are inventories managed? Different inventory management methods There are several inventory management methods to choose from, depending on the type of product and the operating context. The ABC method consists of classifying items by strategic importance, in order to allocate proportionate efforts to their management. The just-in-time aims to minimize inventories by triggering orders as close as possible to actual consumption. Visit safety stocks to absorb unforeseen events and guarantee a constant level of service. The reorder point triggers replenishment as soon as a threshold is reached. Last but not least, Kanban systems provide visual and reactive management, often used in industrial contexts. How can you better manage your inventory? To improve inventory management, it’s essential to work on several fronts simultaneously. The first step is to make data reliableby carrying out regular rolling inventories and raising team awareness. Next, we need to improve forecast accuracyby integrating external data (market trends, weather, seasonality). The implementation of intelligent alerts and customized dashboards enables us to react more quickly to any deviations. Finally, collaboration with suppliers can be optimized through s pull flows or consigned stock agreements. Optimix Forecasting and Replenishment – XFR: inventory management made easy XFR Optimix Forecasting and Replenishment stands out for its ability to manage your Supply Chain, drawing on the power of data and technological agility. Where companies have to juggle product diversity, demand variability, storage constraints or supplier lead times, XFR acts as an intelligent platform that centralizes information, automates critical decisions and aligns flows with business objectives. Its forecasting engine exploits historical, promotional and external data (weather, seasonality, trends) to adjust stock levels in real time, reduce out-of-stocks and limit overstocks. Thanks to a intuitive visual interfaceXFR provides a consolidated view of key KPIs (turnover, coverage, service rate), enabling logistics managers to spot areas of tension, take immediate action, and simulate several management scenarios to make the most profitable decisions. Where traditional methods show their limitations, XFR streamlines every step These include calculation of net requirements, automated order generation, inventory management by product type (ABC method, order point, JIT), and integration with supplier flows. Compatible with your in-house tools, the solution is equally suited to SMEs and large organizations seeking flexibility, reliability and sustainable performance. Its SaaS approach facilitates deployment, scalability and cross-team collaboration. Inventory management is no longer limited to counting or warehouse logic. It has become a strategic competitive leverageThis is a key factor in the company’s ability to directly influence profitability, sales responsiveness and the customer experience. In a world where uncertainties are manifold, and expectations are increasingly high, companies can no longer simply manage their inventories “the old-fashioned way”. Integration of high-performance tools such as Optimix XFR enables a proactive, predictive and data-driven approach to inventory management. By automating repetitive tasks, facilitating decision-making and optimizing the balance between cost and service, these solutions transform inventory management into a sustainable competitive advantage. For ambitious companies, it’s here that an essential part of their logistical and commercial success is at stake.

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