One of the first decisions during onboarding is not technical.

It is practical:

What do we actually want to track?

A good price monitoring tool does not assume the answer is “everything”. Instead, it gives you control by using your catalogue as the filter that determines where pricing intelligence is applied.

The Catalogue as a Control Layer

Your catalogue is more than a product list.

In onboarding, it becomes the control layer for competitor tracking:

• Which SKUs are actively monitored
• Which categories are prioritised
• Which products are excluded

Rather than being overwhelmed with data, teams decide upfront where focus should sit.

Starting With a Focused Scope

Early on, clarity matters more than coverage.

Most teams begin by selecting:

• Top-selling products
• Key value items
• High-visibility SKUs

This ensures that competitor pricing analysis is concentrated on products that influence performance and perception.

Everything else can follow later.

Deciding What Not to Track

Just as important is what you leave out.

Not every product needs active monitoring:

• Long-tail SKUs with low volume
• Products with little competitive pressure
• Items where pricing is already fixed or stable

A well-configured competitive intelligence tool allows these to sit outside active tracking, reducing noise and keeping outputs focused.

Simple Controls, Not Complex Rules

During onboarding, the aim is ease of use.

Teams should be able to:

• Select or deselect products quickly
• Group SKUs into categories or segments
• Adjust tracking scope without technical effort

A competitive pricing tool that keeps this simple allows non-technical teams to manage scope directly.

Aligning Tracking With How You Trade

The catalogue should reflect how decisions are made internally.

For example:

• Pricing teams may focus on KVIs
• Trading teams may prioritise category leaders
• Commercial teams may track supplier-specific ranges

By structuring tracking around these groups, competitor monitoring software becomes more aligned with day-to-day decision-making.

Evolving Scope Over Time

Tracking is not fixed.

As teams become more familiar with the platform, scope can expand:

• Adding new SKUs or categories
• Increasing depth in competitive areas
• Refining which products need closer monitoring

A price tracking software should support this gradual build, without requiring a full reset.

Reducing Noise From the Start

One of the biggest onboarding challenges is signal quality.

Tracking too much too early can:

• Create cluttered dashboards
• Make trends harder to spot
• Slow down decision-making

By using the catalogue to control scope, competitor intelligence starts cleaner and stays more usable.

From Selection to Insight

Once tracking is defined, everything that follows becomes clearer:

• Reports reflect relevant products
• Alerts are more meaningful
• Pricing decisions are easier to justify

The catalogue ensures that insight is tied directly to the products that matter.

Final Thought

You do not need to track everything to understand the market.

You need to track the right things.

Using the catalogue as a control layer during onboarding gives teams that clarity from the start, ensuring that your price monitoring software is focused, relevant, and ready to support real decisions from day one.