Node Description
Scale Products
The Scale Products node changes the value of individual Product Attributes within the Input Product Array. For example, the Scale Products node could be used to discount Price, trim Cost, and increase Capacity of one or more Products.
Product Attributes are any numeric value associated with a Product. Scaling Product Attributes can help to analyze a variety of potential market strategies. For example, would it be more profitable to increase Price or decrease Cost? Should vendors invest in expanding their production Capacity? Would Customers respond favorably to smaller Products containing less Volume? How would a Store be impacted if a competitor discounted their entire Brand?
Several Scale Products nodes can be cascaded one after the other to fine-tune the updated Product Attributes. This allows several concurrent changes to be analyzed together, such as a simultaneous change in both Price and Cost.
See Also: The Edit Attributes node is a simplified version of the Scale Products node. It can be used when the set of Products to be edited is well defined and does not have a complex relationship to a Focus Product. And unlike this Scale Products node, the Edit Attributes node can also be used to change the String and Boolean Attributes of Products.
This Community Node documentation assumes you have already downloaded the open-source KNIME analytics platform and installed the free Market Simulation (Community Edition) plugin. If not, start by returning to Getting Started.
Downloads
Scale Numeric Attributes
This workflow upgrades the Spacely Sprockets and Cogswell Cogs Products within the Market from the “Standard” Category to a “Premium” Category by doubling the Price and Cost of these Products. Note that, unlike the Edit Attributes node, the Scale Products node only changes numeric values. But the Scale Products node can operate on Products having more complicated relationships.
Inputs
Product Array
The set of Products, along with their Attributes, that define the Market. Each row corresponds to a Product that competes for customers in the Market. Each numeric column correponds to an Attribute that can be scaled.
WTP Matrix
(Optional) The Willingness To Pay (WTP) Customer Distribution matrix for each Product column in the Market by each Virtual Customer row. The total number of Virtual Available Customers is equal to the number of rows in the WTP Matrix. If only a simple relationship to the Focus Product is needed then the ‘Input WTP Matrix’ is optional. But if the ‘Scale Product Set’ of Products is more complicated (for example, if it includes ‘Top Rival’ Products) then the Input WTP Matrix is required.
Node
Configuration
The user can define the set of Products that will change in accordance with the ‘Scale Scenario’. The ‘Scale Product Set’ may or may not include the Focus Product, other Products with the same Brand, Store, Location, Family, Category or Platform as the Focus Product, and Products that are top Competitive Rivals with the Focus Product. The degree of Competitive Rivalry is determined by the sensitivity the Focus Product has to a change in Price by the other Products in the Market.
The ‘Scale Scenario’ is the method by which the Products in the ‘Scale Product Set’ will be changed. The Product Attributes can be raised/lowered by a fixed or even or variable amount, or can trend towards a value. Note that, unlike the Edit Attributes node, the Scale Products node can only change numeric values.
Outputs
Product Array
The Output Product Array is based upon the Input Product Array with modified Attribute values.
WTP Matrix
The Output WTP Matrix is equivalent to the Input WTP Matrix without any changes. The WTP Matrix is simply passed through the node as a convenience.
