Substitute
Definition adopted by the guide
An offering meeting the same need by another route, including work done by hand.
CPM-E guide, Appendix A, page 108
Assessed in the Certified Product Manager Enterprise, domain 2: Market, competition and positioning.
In detail
Definition and scope
A substitute is an offering meeting the same need by another route, including work done by hand. The defining question is whether the need is met through a different route, not whether the alternative resembles your product.
The CPM-E guide also includes the decision to stay as things are. Do not exclude an alternative simply because it involves manual work or no new purchase. Use the Substitute glossary entry as the vocabulary reference.
Distinguish neighbouring terms
Direct rivalry means an offering fully covers the use a customer makes of your product. Indirect rivalry covers part of that use or serves the same use for another audience. Substitute focuses instead on meeting the same need by another route.
An undeclared rival is an alternative that is not a product, such as a manual process, spreadsheet, outsourcing or doing nothing. Manual work therefore appears in both definitions. Analogous offerings have a different purpose: they are comparable products used as an estimate base when your own history is unavailable.
Apply the term in practice and preparation
Use the rivalry grid to make the distinction explicit. Record one offering per row, with the use covered, audience served, route to a solution, relative price and resulting classification. Review the grid by segment rather than once for the whole product.
For CPM-E certification preparation, practise explaining the classification, not only recalling its name. Ask what need is met and which route meets it. The guide connects credential preparation with developing judgement, rather than memorising definitions alone.