Ranking & matching transparency

1. What this page is

When a buyer describes what they need, ZoraMatch produces a ranked shortlist of suppliers. The Platform-to-Business Regulation requires us to explain the main factors that determine that ranking, and their relative importance. This page does exactly that, without the technical detail that would let anyone game the system.

2. The three steps

Matching runs in three ordered steps:

1. Hard filters (must-haves).First we remove suppliers that cannot meet the buyer’s stated requirements at all — for example the wrong sector, a missing required certification, a country mismatch, or a capacity below (or minimum order quantity above) the buyer’s volume. Filtering is absolute: a supplier that fails a hard requirement is never shown for that request, regardless of anything else.
2. Text relevance.Among the suppliers that pass, we rank by how well their profile and product descriptions match the buyer’s request, using classic keyword / text-relevance search. This favours precise, well-described capabilities (e.g. an exact certification name or material grade) over vague marketing language.
3. AI re-ranking.Finally, an AI model reviews the top candidates against the buyer’s full intake and orders them by overall fit, adding a short plain-language reason for each. The AI only re-orders suppliers that already passed the hard filters — it can never surface a supplier that failed a must-have requirement.

3. The main ranking parameters

In rough order of importance, the factors that determine your position are:

• Sector fit — how well your sector and product categories match what the buyer is sourcing.
• Certifications — holding the certifications the buyer requires (and, more broadly, relevant quality/compliance credentials).
• Capacity & minimum order quantity— being able to serve the buyer’s volume: enough capacity, and an MOQ they can meet.
• Geography— country and region fit for the buyer’s needs (for example shipping distance or in-market requirements).
• Profile completeness — a fuller, clearer, well-structured profile ranks better because it gives the matching engine more to work with. Thin profiles rank lower simply because there is less to match against.

4. The Verified badge

Suppliers can earn the ZoraMatch Verifiedbadge by completing identity and quality checks. Verified status is a positive signal that can improve a supplier’s position and is shown clearly on the profile, so buyers know why. It never overrides the hard filters: a Verified supplier that does not meet a buyer’s must-have requirement is still filtered out. The badge is earned, never bought.

5. No paid ranking

Ranking cannot be bought. No supplier can pay ZoraMatch — directly or indirectly — for a higher position, priority placement, or preferential treatment in match results. Any paid plan changes what features a supplier can use; it does not change how they rank for a given buyer request. If that ever changes, we will disclose it here first.

6. Supplier leads stay separate

Leads a supplier generates through their own widget or branded screening link are private to that supplier. They never enter the buyer marketplace, are never shown to competing suppliers, and play no part in ranking anyone.

7. Keeping your ranking healthy

The best way to rank well is to keep an accurate, complete, and specific profile: correct sector and categories, up-to-date certifications, realistic capacity and MOQ, and clear product descriptions. There is no trick beyond describing your real capabilities well.

8. Questions or a complaint

If you believe your ranking is wrong or unfair, tell us through our complaint form or email contact@mapemedia.com. We handle ranking complaints under our P2B complaint-handling process.