PRODUCT CHAIN
Definition
Product chaining involves linking successive SKUs for the same product over time, despite changes in packaging, EAN codes, trade names, or internal SKUs.
The goal is to reconstruct a product's complete history in order to analyze trends in its prices, sales, and performance, even if its technical model number has changed.
Why it's important
- Analyzing long-term trends: without price indexing, it is impossible to compare a product’s sales over several years if its product code has changed in the meantime.
- Calculating reliable elasticities: To measure the impact of a price change, a continuous time series is required. Chaining reconstructs this time series even when data gaps occur.
- Managing product launches and relaunches: When a product is replaced by a new version (new packaging, new formula), tracking allows us to monitor the shift in sales.
Example
A laundry detergent brand is launching a new formula for its flagship product
The former "Laundry Detergent X 2L EAN 123" is being replaced by "Laundry Detergent X Eco 2L EAN 456." Without a product chain, the brand loses its price and sales history, which prevents any trend analysis.
Using chaining, the system identifies EAN 456 as the successor to EAN 123 (same brand, same format, launched at the same time the old one was discontinued)
Historical data is linked, allowing for a comparison of pre- and post-launch performance and enabling the pricing strategy to be adjusted accordingly.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Matching different products: confusing "Laundry Detergent X 2L" with "Laundry Detergent X Sensitive 2L" because their names are similar. Matching must be done rigorously to avoid these false positives.
- Ignore overlaps: sometimes, the old and new products coexist for a few weeks. The chaining must handle these transition periods.
- Do not document the chains: keep a record of the chains you create so that you can audit and correct them if necessary.
Key takeaways
Chaining is particularly critical in sectors where:
- Product lines are frequently updated (fashion, high-tech, cosmetics)
- Manufacturers regularly change their packaging (food, personal care)
- Retailers are transitioning their systems (ERP migration, store mergers)
Chaining relies on algorithms that cross-reference product attributes, launch and end dates, sales volumes, and prices to identify logical sequences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Product mapping automatically identifies equivalent products across different retail chains or catalogs
It ensures that price comparisons are based on truly comparable items, thereby preventing analysis errors and pricing decisions based on different products.
The engine analyzes multiple criteria, such as the EAN code, brand, product name, technical specifications, packaging, weight, and product images
The most advanced solutions use artificial intelligence to automatically recognize equivalent SKUs, even when descriptions differ from one retailer to another.
Matching involves identifying identical or equivalent products across multiple catalogs
Linking goes a step further by creating a lasting connection between these product listings to automatically track their changes over time, even when a product is replaced, renamed, or its packaging is updated.
Product benchmarking automates a particularly time-consuming task
It improves the quality of competitive comparisons, reduces matching errors, speeds up pricing positioning analyses, and allows pricing teams to focus on strategic decisions rather than data preparation.
No
While product chaining is essential for leveraging data obtained through web scraping, it is also used to compare multiple internal catalogs, match national brands with private-label brands, analyze product assortments, and feed artificial intelligence models dedicated to pricing and sales optimization.
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