In Auxionize, each buyer has the ability to create diverse IPSs (Interchangeable Product Sets) in their IPS List. Each IPS contains products from a single category that are similar in function and application, making them interchangeable and suitable alternatives to each other. Despite the significant similarity of products within an IPS, they may vary in terms of certain attributive combinations. For instance, an IPS could contain 10 laptops, all suitable for personal use but differing in attributes such as RAM, display size, graphics card, operating system, and others. It’s also possible for an IPS to consist of only one product when the buyer is fully aware of what they want to purchase.
IPSs are divided into two types: fixed and flexible. To create a fixed IPS, each buyer must start by searching for desired products from the Product Catalog and filtering through categories and subcategories. Once all products from a specific search are found, they are displayed in a list format as individual product cards. The buyer selects which products are of interest and proceeds to create a fixed IPS (the process is described step by step in the “Creating IPS” section). With a fixed status, the newly created IPS prevents similar products from being added to it, as it remains limited to the initially selected products. However, the content of the fixed IPS can be modified by its creator as desired.
Creating a flexible IPS also begins with searching through categories and subcategories from the product catalog until the user reaches the desired result not with specific products, but with filters. Instead of selecting each product individually to include in the IPS, the buyer sorts the resulting products of their search by filtering attributes displayed to the left of the product cards. Upon completing the selection of attributes, a flexible IPS is created. Flexible IPSs allow newly added products with identical characteristics and functionality to enter them.
All buyers have the ability to follow specific IPSs that are of interest to them by initiating a search for such IPSs in the IPS Library. The IPS Library contains only IPSs that have been configured by their creators to have public access for all Auxionize users. Any changes made to a followed IPS by the sellers can lead to those sellers refusing to continue following it. The reasons are likely to be related to changes in IPSs that do not correspond to the interests of the companies following them. The IPS Library also allows for IPSs to be simply copied and modified, thus enabling the buyer to avoid receiving changes made by the owner of the IPS.
IPSs are used in initiating and conducting trades, as well as for receiving price quotations for their variants in the IPS list, which are set as Public by the buyers. The products/items found within IPSs can contain an unlimited number of variants, each with a specifically indicated minimum quantity. This way, the IPS list is not just a set of products for the buyer, but also a place for receiving regular prices. Thus, the buyer can directly place an order from the offer submitted in the IPS list without the need for a trade talks to take place. The expiration date of such an offer is determined by the seller. The visibility of the offers provided by the seller is determined by the visibility settings set by the buyer when creating the variants.