Buyers manage the products they purchase in their IPS list by creating IPSs (Interchangeable Product Sets). The term IPS refers to a set of one or more products, similar in function, appearance, and application, making them interchangeable and suitable alternatives to each other.
Although all products comprising an IPS share similarities and represent identical categories/subcategories, they may differ slightly in terms of attribute combinations. For example, there may be 10 laptops in one IPS, all suitable for personal use, but differing in attribute values such as RAM, display type, graphics card, operating system, etc.
The main purpose of an IPS is to allow the buyer to create a unified place where they can generate a list of similar products, all of which can serve the business needs of the company buyer. In this case, the seller can offer any choice of products within the IPS, based on their inventory availability. All of them will be considered suitable for the intended purpose. For example, a buyer needing to purchase mobile phones for its employees can create an IPS containing Apple, Samsung, and Huawei phones with specific attributes such as display size, memory, price, etc. Any of these three brands that the mobile phone seller can offer to the buyer will be considered a suitable option, as the products within each IPS are interchangeable and suitable alternatives to each other.