What the documents look like
Central chain procurement work runs on records produced by headquarters purchasing and distribution rather than on store-level display checks. ERP purchase records, WMS warehouse data, store POS transactions and supplier delivery data form the main comparison sources, while centralized procurement contracts, replenishment plans, delivery notes and store requisitions are the documents that circulate daily. Contract-to-transaction comparison requires matching contract clauses against later replenishment, delivery and requisition records item by item, confirming that each cited source can be traced back to an identifiable document. Data updates daily or weekly, so comparison work stays inside one period scope.
A centralized procurement contract carries the signing parties, effective date, validity end and supply scope. A replenishment plan carries a plan period and a distribution center. A delivery note carries an execution date. A store requisition carries a requesting store. These four documents describe different stages, and a record at one stage does not carry the status of another.
Constraints at the citation tracing step
The knowledge base search node can select one or more knowledge bases that share the same vector model, and it outputs cited content as an array whose length may be zero. The citation limit controls, in tokens, the maximum content cited per search. The minimum relevance value is a filter threshold and applies only under semantic retrieval or result re-ranking. Retrieval returns candidate content and does not perform authorization judgment. Whether a contract has taken effect, whether a replenishment plan has been approved and whether a delivery note has been executed must be checked against the status fields of the business documents themselves. A retrieval hit or a completed form does not constitute authorization to execute.
Hypothetical drill sample: a chain enterprise supply chain center holds a centralized procurement contract whose text states "This contract takes effect on the date both parties sign and remains valid through 31 December 2026; the supply scope is limited to the East China distribution center." A replenishment plan for the same period states "Plan period 1 March 2026 to 31 March 2026; distribution center: East China distribution center." A draft sentence awaiting judgment reads "This centralized procurement contract is currently in effect and covers the distribution scope listed in this replenishment plan." Checking requires confirming whether the contract signature block carries both signing dates, whether the replenishment plan has been approved, and whether the two distribution center names match. All of these materials are hypothetical paper samples and were not tested in any real system.
Configuration and implementation checks
| Configuration item | Hypothetical trial starting point | Reason and comparison method |
|---|---|---|
| Associated knowledge bases | Select the centralized procurement contract base and the replenishment plan base; confirm both carry the same vector model identifier | Only knowledge bases with the same vector model can be associated together; check model identifiers one by one and exclude any that do not match |
| Search mode | Hybrid retrieval | Contract numbers and distribution center names are exact queries, while semantic recall supplements clause wording |
| Citation limit | Set to a token amount covering the body of one contract and one replenishment plan | Estimate from the actual length of the sample materials and compare against the full-text token count of a single document |
| Minimum relevance | Set to 0.5 for this trial | This is a trial starting point only; compare against the score distribution returned by retrieval before adjusting |
| Question optimization | Enabled | Completes references in multi-turn follow-ups; compare against recall results with the setting disabled |
| Result re-ranking | Enabled | Performs secondary ordering when candidates are numerous; compare against ordering without re-ranking |
Three common errors
- Treating a retrieval hit as proof that a contract is in effect. The input is a retrieval result from the contract base, and the comparison object is the signature block of the contract text. A returned citation shows only that text was recalled; when the signing date is absent, the contract's effective status remains unsupported.
- Conflating replenishment plan approval status with delivery execution status. The input is the replenishment plan, and the comparison object is the delivery note execution record. An approved plan does not mean delivery has been executed, and the two must be checked separately.
- Forcing knowledge bases with different vector models into one association. The input is the model identifiers of two knowledge bases, and the comparison object is the same-vector-model requirement. When identifiers differ, exclude that base and do not run cross-model retrieval.
How to verify the setup
- Input the centralized procurement contract text and the draft sentence from the hypothetical sample, then compare the contract signature block against the effectiveness wording in the draft sentence. When the signing date is absent, the effectiveness judgment in the draft sentence is not supported and is recorded as pending verification.
- Input the replenishment plan and the delivery note, then compare the distribution center name and the plan period. When the names match and the delivery note carries an execution date, the distribution scope coverage relationship is supported; when the delivery note is absent, record the gap.
- Input the vector model identifiers of the two knowledge bases and compare them for consistency. When they match, joint association is allowed; when they differ, exclude the base and record the observed result without inferring missed recall or redundancy.
A paper input of an empty citation array can be used to check downstream handling design, without claiming that any fictional rule returns an empty array. Optional paths in the overall retrieval flow, such as image retrieval or re-ranking, execute only when the corresponding input and model capability are present and the setting is enabled.