What the documents look like
In this category, parcel handoff happens at the point where shipments leave the warehouse, and carrier scan records determine where responsibility sits. The materials that matter for order fulfilment and after-sales answers are electronic waybills, handoff manifests, pickup scan records and exception-item registers. These materials update by batch or by day, and that update cadence does not change how citation tracing works. This page addresses one task only: in order fulfilment and after-sales question handling, whether the retrieved source text can support each statement in a drafted answer.
The practical difficulty is that several documents describe the same shipment at different stages, and their field values can diverge without any of them being wrong. A handoff manifest can record what left the warehouse, while a scan record records what the carrier accepted, and an exception register records what was set aside. A drafted answer that merges these into one status will overstate what the sources say. Citation tracing means comparing the drafted sentence against the specific source field it claims to rest on, at the same subject, the same period and the same field.
Constraints at the citation tracing step
The knowledge base search node selects one or more knowledge bases that share the same vector model, and it outputs cited content as an array whose length may be zero. A zero-length array means the search path completed without a hit; the downstream design must handle that case on its own terms. The citation cap is expressed in tokens. The minimum relevance value is a filter threshold and applies only under semantic retrieval or when result reordering is used. Semantic retrieval and relevance scores do not perform permission or entity isolation.
Hybrid retrieval merges multiple result paths through RRF, which is a fusion step in the retrieval process rather than a switch to be turned on. Reordering requires a model and must be enabled in the settings. Image retrieval requires image input and a model that supports it. These optional paths are listed in the overall retrieval flow and do not all execute on every request. Cross-model knowledge bases cannot be associated together; the model identifier is checked first and non-matching bases are excluded before any retrieval runs.
Configuration and implementation checks
| Configuration item | Relevant setting or check on this page | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Associated knowledge bases | Check the selected knowledge bases and the document version, and confirm the vector model identifier matches | Only bases with the same vector model can be associated together; exclude cross-model bases first |
| Cited content output | Observe the output array length, which may be zero | An empty array is not the same as a workflow error or termination |
| Citation input handling | Check whether retrieval output is passed to the answering step | Compare each answer statement against the cited source text |
| Citation display check | Use a traceable sample to check how source text is displayed | A fluent answer does not substitute for source evidence |
| Document currency check | Test sources against current and historical document versions | Whether a citation is adopted still depends on review of the effective version |
| Citation cap | For this hypothetical exercise, the starting value is set at 2000 tokens | The sample material is roughly 300 characters, so a comparison against 500 tokens shows the trimming difference |
Three common errors
- Treating a retrieval hit as an authorization basis. Error: reading cited content returned by knowledge base search as if it granted operational permission. Check: input the hypothetical source text one below, compare the retrieval output against authorization record fields, and observe whether an independent authorization field exists. If the authorization field is absent, record the gap.
- Writing a pending status as completed. Error: converting the "pending" status in exception register E-0310 into "resolved." Check: input source text two below, compare the drafted sentence against the same field value in the source, and observe whether "pending" and "resolved" are mutually exclusive. If the source does not state a resolution status, mark the claim as unsupported.
- Treating an empty citation array as a process failure. Error: deciding the workflow errored when the search output length is zero. Check: input a paper array of
[], compare against the downstream handling design, and observe whether the downstream continues on an empty array. If the downstream design does not state this, record it as unverified.
How to verify the setup
The following is a hypothetical paper exercise sample, used to explain the comparison method. It does not claim that any test was actually run.
Source text one: "On 10 March 2025, the warehouse dispatch team handed 12 parcels from batch B-0310 to the carrier branch. Handoff manifest number J-0310. The carrier scan record shows 10 parcels picked up and 2 awaiting scan."
Source text two: "Exception register E-0310 records: the 2 parcels awaiting scan were held at the branch because the waybills were blurry. The register status is pending."
Drafted sentence to be assessed: "All 12 parcels in this batch have completed pickup, with no exceptions."
- Input source text one and the drafted sentence, compare the "pickup quantity" field, and observe whether the drafted claim of "all 12 completed" is mutually exclusive with the source values of "10 picked up, 2 awaiting scan." If they are mutually exclusive, the drafted sentence is unsupported and must be corrected to match the source.
- Input source text two, compare the "exception item status" field, and observe whether the drafted claim of "no exceptions" is mutually exclusive with the source value of "pending." If they are mutually exclusive, mark the claim as unsupported and retain the evidence gap. If the source does not state a follow-up status, do not supply one.
- Input a paper array of
[], compare against whether the downstream handling design continues on an empty array, and observe whether the downstream errors or halts. If the downstream design does not state this, record it as unknown. Do not claim that a fictional rule retrieval will necessarily return[].
All checks above address citation tracing only. They do not involve identity certification, report analysis or any other task. Retrieval does not carry authorization, and a form collecting values does not mean business verification has been completed.