What the documents look like
Returned-goods inspections handle inbound reverse parcels and the grade assigned to each item. This work does not cover outbound picking for new orders. Every returned item produces a returns warehouse receipt, inspection photographs, a grade determination sheet and a resale listing sheet. The brief states that these materials update per item and per day. The comparison task for contracts and transaction materials places the returns warehouse receipt, the platform after-sales record, the carrier return information and the inspection determination under one subject, one period and one field for cross-checking.
Tool calls and plug-ins enter this step so that a model decides, from a tool description, whether to invoke a system module or a plug-in, read returns-receipt fields, inspection-photo notes or grade-sheet content, and support the comparison. The tool description states the purpose, the input conditions and the situations in which the tool should not be called. The model uses that description to decide when to call.
Three industry facts shape this task. First, the materials come from four separate sources: the WMS returns module, platform after-sales, carrier returns and the inspection bench. A tool call may invoke several tools at once, yet whether the returned result feeds the comparison depends on whether the description and parameters are written clearly. Second, system-module parameters are fixed while plug-in parameters are configurable. Third, the grade of an item drives whether it can be resold, and a wrong grade can push defective stock back into sale, create refund disputes or contaminate inventory. The update frequency does not change the tool-call behaviour described here, so it is not developed further.
Constraints at the tool calls step
A tool call needs a description that tells the model what the tool does. Parameters carry two key values: the parameter description and whether the parameter is required. With no parameters, the model decides from the description alone, as with fetching the current time. With parameters and no required parameter, the model may call the tool even when the context holds no suitable value, and it may fabricate one. With a required parameter and no suitable value in context, the model may not call the tool; a prompt can guide the user to supply the value.
In models that support function calling, several tools can be invoked in one pass. The tool-call termination node can be attached after a tool; when the workflow reaches it, the current tool call ends, no further tools are called and the AI does not summarise the tool result. A custom tool variable extends the variable input for nodes that are not treated as tool parameters, so the tool call can invoke that node and the workflow after it.
Retrieval and form collection return values. Business verification, approval, database writes and external synchronisation each need their own downstream implementation. A retrieval step or a form does not perform authorisation. A relevance score is not a category, entity or permission filter, and a similarity setting does not exclude unrelated businesses or unauthorised records.
Configuration and implementation checks
Hypothetical paper exercise. A returns warehouse receives one returned item. The returns warehouse receipt reads: "Return number RT-0001, item A, quantity 1, signed date 2025-03-01, return reason: size mismatch." The inspection-photo note reads: "Appearance intact, tags complete." The grade determination sheet draft reads: "Proposed grade: resellable." A draft sentence awaiting determination reads: "This return has been confirmed resellable and the listing has been completed."
| Configuration item | Setting or check for this page | Link to the sample |
|---|---|---|
| Tool description | State that the tool reads the returns receipt and the grade sheet, with the return number as the input condition | Lets the model decide whether to read RT-0001 |
| Tool parameters | Configure return number and field name for the plug-in, and check whether each is required | Return number set as required; no call when it is absent |
| Tool connection | In advanced orchestration, connect available tools to the tool-call module and tune a small number of tools first | Only the receipt-reading and grade-sheet tools are connected |
| Tool-call termination | Attach after the reading tool to end the call without an AI summary | The read result is output directly, with no generated conclusion |
| Custom tool variable | Add a parameter description for a node not treated as a tool parameter | Adds the inspection-photo note field |
Starting value for this exercise: the return number is set as a required parameter because that field is the only basis for locating the returns receipt. This is compared against the documented condition that the model may not call a tool when a suitable required parameter is missing, and the observation is whether no call occurs when the number is absent. This is a hypothetical starting value, not an official default.
Three common errors
- Treating the tool description as a guarantee of execution. The description states the tool's purpose and the model decides whether to call it. It does not mean the call occurs or that the result is correct. Check by entering the sample return number, observing whether the tool is called, and comparing the returned fields with the returns warehouse receipt.
- Treating a draft sentence as verified fact. In "This return has been confirmed resellable and the listing has been completed," the grade sheet draft states only "Proposed grade: resellable." It records neither confirmation nor a completed listing. Compare the draft sentence with the source text; confirmation and completed listing both lack support.
- Treating retrieval or a form as authorised execution. Reading a returns receipt does not authorise resale. A resale listing needs a downstream implementation. Check by comparing the action claimed in the draft sentence with whether a corresponding authorisation record exists, and record the evidence gap when it does not.
How to verify the setup
- Enter the hypothetical returns warehouse receipt text and the draft sentence. Compare "has been confirmed resellable" in the draft with "Proposed grade: resellable" in the grade sheet draft. Condition met: the check identifies that a proposal is not a confirmation and that this part of the draft sentence lacks support.
- Enter return number RT-0001. Compare whether the tool is called and whether the returned fields match the subject, object, quantity and date stated in the returns warehouse receipt. Condition met: record agreement when fields match, record the difference when they do not, and record that no call occurred when the tool is not invoked.
- Enter the draft sentence's claim of a completed listing. Compare whether a resale listing sheet or a corresponding authorisation record exists. Condition met: with no listing sheet, record that the claim lacks support, without deciding that the listing was or was not completed.
Retrieval checks observe actual returns only. They do not guarantee a first hit or full recall. Where an empty result must be handled, a paper input can be used to check the downstream design. Libraries built on different vector models cannot be associated together; check the identifier first and exclude those that do not match.