OMX Innovation · Deck 20 · Product Matching — Alternatives, Substitutions, Environmental
Match every product against every other — competitor SKU, off-range SKU, supplier SKU, environmental alternative — so the customer-facing team can answer "what's a better option?" …
Win-win: customer pays less or chooses better, OMX wins margin or relationship.
01 / 06
Why now

The wedge.

02 / 06
What this covers

What's in scope.

01
The matching engine
embedding-based (AI) + attribute-based (structured) + price comparison
02
The three internal use cases
depth on each
03
Plex-CI feed
competitor SKU → OMX SKU; the data spine
04
PDX integration
canonical OMX master (Deck 16); enriched attributes feed matching quality
05
Sustainability data
recycled content, certifications (FSC, EnergyStar, EWG), carbon proxy
06
Confidence scoring
every match cites confidence + evidence
03 / 06
The problem

What's broken.

01
OOS = lost sale
customer service rep can't find the equivalent fast enough; customer goes elsewhere
02
Off-range guess-work
quoting team manually proposes alternatives based on hunch
03
No sustainability angle
when the RFP asks "what's your greener option", the answer is bespoke each time
04
Switching is anecdotal
Stage 3 (Deck 09) needs "here's the OMX SKU that matches your old supplier" — no engine today
05
Margin opportunity missed
no system suggests the higher-margin alternative when both meet customer need
04 / 06
The benefits

The value story.

Lever
Mechanism
Sizing
Substitution sale rescue
OOS → equivalent → kept sale
Each rescued sale = full revenue; sizing needs OOS frequency
Switching conversion
"Match my old supplier" engine in Stage 3 (Deck 09)
Direct enabler — sizing in Deck 09
RFP win rate
Sustainability + cost alternatives baked in (Deck 19)
Win rate lift
Margin uplift
Smart suggestion = higher-margin alt where customer-need-equivalent
1-3% category margin lift achievable
Quoting speed
Engine vs manual hunt
Quote turnaround ↓
05 / 06
The ask + roadmap

What we need.

Now
Cover
customer-service rep at desk; chat from customer "this is OOS, what now?" + system showing 3 matched alternatives with confidence scores
P2
Problem vector grid (4-6)
: OOS-lost-sale / Off-range-guess / Sustainability-gap / Switching-no-engine / Margin-miss
P3
Three use cases — side by side
Lower-cost / Substitution / Environmental
P4
The matching engine
embedding + attribute + price diagram
P5
Confidence scoring visual
match quality bar with citation pop-out
Audience
Primary: Chief Commercial Officer + Customer Service Director + Master Data lead. Secondary: Sales-Ops + Sustainability lead + RFP team (Deck 19). Tertiary: Digital — Phase 2 external surface owner.
References
  • Memory: IBP-PROGRAM.md — WS5 Competitive Intelligence explicitly lists "Product/price matching" as in-progress; this deck IS that
  • Memory: Plex-CI — competitor SKU data feed; 545k URLs, 471k changes captured
  • Memory: Deck 16 PDX — canonical OMX product master that matching reads against
  • Memory: Deck 09 Switching — substitution engine is core to switching narrative
  • Memory: Deck 19 RFP Platform — alternatives are RFP-response ammo
06 / 06
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