Classifications / Product Classification Classes

In brief: Classifications organise products into defined classes and specify which attributes a product in each class has. A hierarchy of these classes is also called a schema or taxonomy. Well-known standards include ECLASS, ETIM and GS1 GPC.

Classification and category: the difference

Categories structure a product range for navigation and catalogues. Classifications, by contrast, describe characteristics: a class does not contain products, but a list of attributes. Every product assigned to that class is given these attributes to maintain. Both structures coexist in a PIM system.

Example

A fruit merchant creates the class “Fruit” with the attributes name, product ID, description, taste, weight and variety. It has two subclasses: “Local” adds the attribute “Grower”, while “Exotic” adds “Country of origin” and “Wholesaler”. A locally grown apple inherits all the attributes of “Fruit” plus the grower attribute. See Inheritance.

Standard classifications

In B2B, distributors and customers often require data that conforms to industry standards: ECLASS in manufacturing, ETIM in the electrical and plumbing sectors, GS1 GPC in consumer goods retail, and TecDoc in the automotive aftermarket. Many PIM systems can import these standards and map an organisation’s own classification to them. This allows data to be exported automatically in the required format, such as BMEcat.

See also

• Properties / Attributes
• Product Categories
• Categorisation Rules
• Inheritance
• Data Modelling