Using Zoho Inventory for managing Item compatibilities

Using Zoho Inventory for managing Item compatibilities

Use case: Using Zoho Inventory for managing (as an example) aftermarket car parts, where a single part can suit many makes, models and years.

How do most businesses assign and manage compatibility for each part?

Do ZI users typically do this using multi-select picklists?

- With a multi-select picklist, "You can provide up to 500 values but select only up to five options in this field." So this wouldn't be suitable for an aftermarket car parts site, as there might be over 500 values and the need to select more than 5 options.
- Don't appear to be able to search Items by the multi-select picklist, either in the standard search or advanced search

NOTE:
- The category/subcategory structure would not work for this use case.
- There is no ability to add multiple tags and search by item tag (reporting tags are not suitable, as we can only select one option per tag).
- Item groups doesn't appear to be any help here, as each part is a unique Item with its own inventory level and not a variant of another part.

Can anyone (Zoho?) suggest something?