How RushFlow detects duplicate products before they are created
Yes — RushFlow checks every new product against your entire catalogue in real time and tells you if it already exists, even when you have thousands of very similar items. As you type a name, scan a barcode or upload a photo, RushFlow scores the match against existing products and shows the likely duplicates before you save. An exact barcode or SKU match is a hard stop; a close name or image match is a warning. This is a genuine gap in most POS and ERP tools — they happily let you create the same item twice, and your stock, costs and reports drift apart. RushFlow prevents it, and does so on ordinary shared hosting with no GPU and no paid AI — sub-second even at 100,000 products.
Step by step
- Start adding a productOpen Products → Add product. As you enter the name, code/barcode and (optionally) a photo, RushFlow checks against your catalogue live.
- Read the duplicate panelA panel lists likely matches with a confidence score and why they matched — same barcode, similar name, similar image, same supplier code, or same category path.
- Act on the resultIf it is truly new, save. If a match is the same item, open it instead of creating a duplicate. An exact SKU/barcode match blocks the save outright.
- Override with supervisor approval (if needed)When the top match is very high (over 90%) but you are sure it is a distinct product, a supervisor override is required to proceed — so accidental duplicates cannot slip through unnoticed.
What signals RushFlow compares
The detection engine blends several signals into one confidence score, so it catches duplicates that a single check would miss:
| Signal | How it works | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Exact SKU / barcode | Indexed lookup | Hard stop — save blocked |
| Supplier product code | Indexed lookup | Warning |
| Image similarity | Perceptual hashing (aHash + dHash + pHash), compared by Hamming distance in the database | Warning above ~81% similar |
| Name similarity | Full-text narrowing, then Levenshtein + token-set + Soundex | Warning above ~80% similar |
| Category / subcategory | Same category path | Adds to the score |
Why this is hard elsewhere — and easy here
Most systems only stop an exact barcode clash. Near-duplicates (a renamed item, a re-photographed pack, the same thing from a second supplier) slip through and quietly corrupt stock counts, average cost and sales reports. RushFlow’s multi-signal check runs at creation time, so the catalogue stays clean from the start.
- Runs on shared hosting — no GPU, no external AI API
- Sub-second at 100,000 products (measured)
- Image hashes computed once, at upload
- Every check is logged for an audit trail
See where duplicates are creeping in
A duplicate report summarises checks run, products created, duplicates prevented, overrides used and high-risk clusters of look-alike items — so you can clean up an existing catalogue, not just prevent new duplicates.
Frequently asked questions
Can RushFlow tell me if a product already exists before I add it?
Yes. As you enter a new product, RushFlow checks it against your whole catalogue by barcode, name, image and supplier code, and shows likely matches with a confidence score. An exact barcode/SKU match blocks the save.
Does it work with thousands of similar products?
Yes — that is exactly what it is for. It blends barcode, name, image and category signals so near-identical items are caught, and it stays sub-second even at 100,000 products.
Do I need a GPU or a paid AI service?
No. Duplicate detection runs on ordinary shared hosting with the database and image hashing — no GPU and no external AI API.
Can staff override a duplicate warning?
Soft warnings can be dismissed, but when the top match is very high (over 90%) a supervisor override is required, so accidental duplicates cannot be created silently. Every decision is logged.
Can it clean up duplicates already in my catalogue?
Yes. A backfill computes the name and image signals for existing products, and a duplicate report surfaces clusters of look-alike items to review and merge.
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