Working with matches
Read how a line is matched to your catalogue, and overrule the match when you disagree.
Updated 23 September 2026
On this page
- Why
- A match you cannot explain is a match you cannot defend to the customer's engineer.
- What
- Each line is scored against your products field by field, out of 100, and banded by fixed thresholds.
- How
- Read the fit and its chips on the line, pick another candidate or press Challenge this match.
A request line matched to a catalogue product: a 10mm four flute carbide end mill at a fit of 96, with each field shown as exact, within tolerance or assumed.
The fit, field by field, with every assumption named
What a line resolves to
A part number the request quotes locks to that product. Work on the customer's own item, or a line whose stated parameters fit exactly one of your services, goes to that service. Anything else goes to your catalogue where you stock that kind of product; where you do not, to a designed product you have saved, then a service, then a design module that fits. A line that matches nothing keeps its structure; see Made to spec.
The fit
Each schema field carries a weight, and the fit is the weighted average of how well the product meets each stated field. Exact counts 100 per cent of the field's weight, within tolerance 85, an accepted alternative 60, a value the product does not state 35 and a miss 0. A miss on a stated hard field rules the product out.
| Chip | Means |
|---|---|
| Green | Exact on that field. |
| Blue | Within tolerance. |
| Amber | An accepted alternative, a longer size supplied for a shorter one, or an assumed value. |
| Red | A miss. |
| Grey | The product does not state it. |
The bands
| Band | When | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Matched | Fit 86 or more and 8 points clear of the next | Matched product, with the alternatives a click away |
| Review | Fit 60 or more, no clear winner | Review matches: the top three to pick from |
| Closest | Fit 40 or more | Closest match, unpriced, with where it differs |
| None | Below 40 | The line stays structured and unpriced |
A substituted size, or a match carried mostly by assumptions or contradicting one, never selects itself: it drops to review so a person confirms it.
Tolerances and equivalents
A number matches within the tolerance set on its schema field, or 5 per cent where none is set. A field marked nearest above takes the next size up within a 20 per cent overshoot. Known equivalents, such as TiAlN and AlTiN, score as alternatives and show amber, never as exact.
Where the AI touches matching
Scores and bands are calculation. The model only reorders candidates inside the review band, where a person picks anyway.
Overrule a match
- Step 1.
In Review matches, pick the candidate you want. The selection is saved on the request.
- Step 2.
On a matched line you disagree with, press Challenge this match: the heavier model reranks the candidates and a fresh Review matches card is added to the thread.
Related
- How requests are structuredRead the structured request: typed lines, normalised units and a citation behind every value.
- Schemas and fieldsDescribe a product family with a schema of typed fields, and know which fields the AI matches an enquiry on.
- Made to specHandle a request with no catalogue match: set out, handed to the right product or priced by you.