What the documents look like
Parcel handoff occurs at the point where packages leave the warehouse, and the central fact of that moment is carrier scan responsibility. The documents generated around this node share one batch of parcels: electronic waybills, handoff manifests, pickup scan records, and exception parcel registers. They update per batch and per day, and in cross-border operations the same batch may produce materials in different languages. Alignment between a waybill, a manifest, and a scan record depends on waybill numbers, batch identifiers, and carrier identifiers rather than on matching surface wording. Retrieval serves that alignment: a Chinese-language question may need to locate an English waybill field description, or a waybill number may need to locate the corresponding handoff record.
Constraints at the retrieval step
The knowledge base search node can associate one or more knowledge bases that use the same vector model. That is the association precondition. Semantic retrieval relies on vector distance and supports cross-language understanding, so it suits natural-language questions. Full-text retrieval relies on keyword hits and suits numbers, model designations, and proper nouns. Hybrid retrieval uses both recall paths and merges them through RRF, which widens the search scope and usually calls for a rerank model to perform a second ordering. The minimum relevance value takes effect only under semantic retrieval or when result reranking is used. The reference cap is measured in tokens. Question optimization performs coreference resolution and question expansion and adds one model call before retrieval.
Hypothetical paper exercise sample: one batch of waybills states "Carrier: Site A, handoff date: 10 March, status: picked up." The handoff manifest for the same batch records "10 March, Site A, 12 parcels, status is awaiting scan." The sentence proposed for verification is "This batch of parcels has completed pickup scanning at Site A." The waybill text says "picked up" and the manifest says "awaiting scan," so the two materials give mutually exclusive values for the same field of the same batch. The proposed sentence is not supported, and the original scan record entries still need to be checked.
Configuration and implementation checks
| Configuration item | Setting or check relevant to this page | Hypothetical trial starting point and comparison method |
|---|---|---|
| Associated knowledge bases | Associate only knowledge bases that use the same vector model | Check each base's vector model identifier first, exclude those that do not match, and do not run a joint search across models |
| Search mode | Compare semantic, full-text, and hybrid retrieval against the test question | Try full-text for waybill-number questions and semantic for multilingual description questions |
| Reference cap | Control the amount of referenced content per search in tokens | Set a hypothetical starting point long enough to cover one complete handoff record, then compare against actual materials of differing lengths |
| Minimum relevance | Takes effect only under semantic retrieval or result reranking | Label relevant and irrelevant samples first, then compare the returned set after a threshold change |
| Question optimization | Used for coreference resolution and question expansion | Compare the original question with the optimized question and check whether the subject was altered |
| Result reranking | Requires a rerank model and must be enabled per settings | Compare candidate order before and after reranking and observe the 0-1 score distribution |
Three common errors
- Treating a retrieval hit as an authorization credential. A hit on one pickup record shows only that the text exists. It does not show that the batch has completed handoff or has been released. The input is the retrieval question; the comparison object is the record text against the business status field; the observable result is whether the referenced content contains a status value, and a missing status field is recorded as unsupported.
- Treating minimum relevance as an entity or permission filter. That value is a filtering threshold and does not exclude unrelated business lines or unauthorized records. The input is a retrieval question with a threshold; the comparison object is the returned set against the labeled samples; the observable result is whether low-scoring content was filtered out, and permission boundaries cannot be inferred from it.
- Reading "awaiting scan" as "not picked up." These are values of different fields. Awaiting scan states only the manifest-side status and does not constitute a negation of the waybill-side "picked up." The input is the original text of the two materials; the comparison object is the same status field for the same batch; the observable result is whether the two values are mutually exclusive, and anything not stated remains pending verification.
How to verify the setup
- Enter the waybill text and manifest text from the hypothetical sample, and compare the values of the same status field for the same batch. If the two values are mutually exclusive, the proposed verification sentence is unsupported and the original scan record entries must be checked next. If the scan record explicitly states that scanning was completed, the judgment is redone against that field.
- Enter a retrieval question containing a waybill number and compare the returned sets from full-text retrieval and semantic retrieval. If the number-type content is hit under full-text retrieval and not under semantic retrieval, record that difference and choose the mode accordingly. A first-position hit is not guaranteed.
- Enter an explicit paper input of an empty array [] and check whether that output path still proceeds. Compare how downstream nodes are designed to handle an empty reference. Do not claim that a fictional rule-based query necessarily returns an empty array.
The vector model identifier check belongs to the association step, not to retrieval scoring. A relevance score is not a category, entity, or permission filter, and retrieval is not authorization. Forms collect values; business verification, approval, database writes, and external synchronization require their own stated downstream implementation. RRF is a merge process for hybrid results and is not written as an on/off switch. Optional paths in the overall flow diagram do not mean every request executes them: image retrieval requires a corresponding image input and model capability, and reranking requires a model that is present and enabled per settings. Cross-model knowledge bases cannot be associated jointly; check identifiers, exclude non-matching bases, and record actual observations without asserting runtime outcomes for a joint search across models. A judgment requires the same subject, the same period, and the same field; only explicitly mutually exclusive values in the same field count as a contradiction. Unstated items, or evidence covering only a related stage, are recorded as unsupported or pending verification. A pending review does not demonstrate the absence of operating permission, and signing, reaching cooperation, and contract effectiveness are three distinct facts. Missing evidence stays missing, and no authorization or effectiveness clause is invented to obtain a definite answer.