What the documents look like
Inventory-procurement and supplier materials belong to the front-end question-and-answer preparation side of customer-service knowledge maintenance. They do not approve refunds. The main data sources are the customer-service system, product detail pages, after-sales issue statistics and quality inspection sampling. Day-to-day documents are FAQ entries, script templates, product parameter tables and escalation tickets. Compared with platform refund and return handling, this material preparation does not include a refund approval action. Update frequency is weekly or monthly, and this cadence does not by itself imply any synchronization or trigger configuration. The most time-consuming steps are consolidating high-frequency questions, rewriting standard answers and syncing new product parameters, and these steps directly shape the quality of inventory-procurement and supplier content in the knowledge base. Material errors lead to off-topic answers, escalated complaints or failed customer-service training.
A retrieval check on this material has to keep the document identities distinct. A supplier contract, a quotation validity period and a supply period are separate fields. A contract status of pending review is not a signed contract, and a quotation validity end date is not a supply period.
Constraints at the retrieval step
The knowledge-base search node can associate one or more knowledge bases that use the same vector model. Knowledge bases with different vector models cannot be associated together; the vector model identifier must be checked first and non-matching bases excluded. Cross-model retrieval is not executed to compare missed recalls.
Semantic retrieval computes similarity through vector distance. Full-text retrieval depends on keyword hits. Hybrid retrieval uses both and merges the two result sets through RRF. RRF is a fusion process for hybrid results, not a standalone switch that can be turned on. The reference cap controls, in tokens, the maximum content referenced per search. The minimum relevance value takes effect only under semantic retrieval or when result re-ranking is used; it is a filter threshold, not the final ranking rule. When question optimization is enabled by configuration, it performs coreference resolution and question expansion and adds one model call. Image retrieval requires a corresponding image input and model capability, and re-ranking requires a model and must be enabled by configuration. The optional paths shown in the overall document flow diagram do not mean every path runs on every request. Retrieval output is an array and its length can be 0; when nothing is found, the output link still completes. Retrieval itself does not handle permission or entity isolation, and a similarity setting is not a mechanism for excluding unrelated business or unauthorized records.
Hypothetical paper exercise sample: on 10 June 2025 a customer-service supervisor submits one inventory-procurement document. The source text reads: "Supplier A's procurement contract number is CG-2025-0610, the signing date is 1 June 2025, and the contract status is pending review. The quotation is valid until 31 July 2025." The draft sentence to be judged is: "Supplier A's procurement contract has taken effect, and the supply period runs until 31 July 2025." This sample is used only to check retrieval and recall results and does not involve a real customer or an actual business action.
Configuration and implementation checks
The following items concern this page's sample. They list only settings documented in the official material or implementation checks. The values are starting points for this hypothetical exercise, not official default values.
| Configuration item | Starting point for this hypothetical exercise | Reason and comparison method |
|---|---|---|
| Associated knowledge base | One inventory-procurement knowledge base using the same vector model | Check the vector model identifier first, exclude bases with different models, and do not run cross-model retrieval |
| Search mode | Hybrid retrieval | The sample contains both the identifier CG-2025-0610 and natural-language description; compare actual recall differences across semantic, full-text and hybrid modes |
| Reference cap | 2000 tokens | The sample source text is short; set 2000 to observe whether the contract number and status fields are recalled completely, then compare against a smaller value for content completeness |
| Minimum relevance | 0.3 | Takes effect only under semantic retrieval or result re-ranking; label relevant and irrelevant samples first, then adjust the threshold |
| Question optimization | Enabled | The sample subject is complete, so it can first be turned off; when enabled, check whether the supplier and contract number are preserved |
| Result re-ranking | Enabled | Requires a ReRank model; re-ranking produces a 0-1 score that can be used for filtering |
Three common errors
- Treating retrieval output as an authorization action. In the sample the contract status is "pending review". Retrieving that contract does not mean it has taken effect or has been authorized. Pending review does not show that an operation permission is missing, and it does not equal approval. Retrieval is information lookup and does not carry out authorization judgments.
- Treating the quotation validity period as the supply period. The sample source text states only that the quotation is valid until 31 July 2025 and does not state a supply period. The draft sentence rewrites the quotation validity period as the supply period, which confuses two different fields with the same subject and the same date range. A field that is not stated should be recorded as unsupported or pending verification.
- Associating knowledge bases that use different vector models. The official document states that one or more knowledge bases using the same vector model can be associated. Cross-model association requires checking the identifier first and excluding non-matching bases; no missed-recall or redundant-result outcome of a shared association is to be invented.
How to verify the setup
- Input the sample source text and the draft sentence, then compare whether the retrieval output contains contract number CG-2025-0610, signing date 1 June 2025, contract status pending review, and quotation validity until 31 July 2025. Check recall completeness and evidence of effect separately: even when the pending-review status is returned, the source text still contains no condition for taking effect and no performance record, so "has taken effect" remains pending verification; the quotation period also cannot supply a supply period. Record the content actually recalled and do not guarantee a first-item hit.
- Input an exact query containing only contract number CG-2025-0610, and compare the references returned by full-text, semantic and hybrid retrieval separately. A hit or miss in one mode is recorded only as that observation; a single result does not determine the effect for all identifiers. Record the actual observation and do not claim that an unrelated query must return an empty result.
- Input a clearly stated paper empty result []. Check whether the downstream design handles it as an empty array. Retrieval output length can be 0 and the output link still completes. Do not claim that a fictional rule's retrieval must return []. If the downstream treats an empty array as an exception or triggers an automatic business action, record that behavior and check whether a corresponding implementation exists, without assuming hidden controls or automatic judgment.
This page addresses only customer-service knowledge maintenance / inventory-procurement and supplier materials / knowledge-base retrieval and recall. At operational handover, which materials, operations and requests are in which authorization state must be kept clear; retrieval or a form must not be treated as authorization execution. Semantic recall and relevance do not handle permission or entity isolation, and the same-vector-model requirement for associated knowledge bases does not extend to business-registration sites or other external systems. Any system error or automatic business action not stated in the source text must not be asserted. RRF is a fusion process for hybrid results and is not written as a toggle. Cross-model knowledge bases cannot be associated together; check the identifier, exclude non-matching bases and record actual observations. Optional paths shown in the overall flow diagram do not mean every request executes them: image retrieval requires the corresponding image input and model capability, and re-ranking requires a model and must be enabled by configuration. A judgment requires the same subject, the same period and the same field; only mutually exclusive values in the same field count as a contradiction. A field that is not stated, or evidence that shows only a related stage, is unsupported or pending verification and is not a negation or a conflict. Pending review does not show that an operation permission is missing; signing, reaching cooperation and contract effect are three different facts; a quotation validity period does not indicate a supply period. Do not supply authorization or effect clauses to obtain a definite answer, and keep the evidence gap explicit.