{"id":15221,"date":"2022-04-13T11:46:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T09:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/pim-wiki\/classifications-product-classification-classes\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T20:18:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T18:18:03","slug":"classifications-product-classification-classes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/classifications-product-classification-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Classifications \/ Product Classification Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"15221\" class=\"elementor elementor-15221 elementor-4775\" data-elementor-settings=\"{&quot;ha_cmc_init_switcher&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\" wpc-filter-elementor-widget=\"1\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e050581 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e050581\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c98ccfa\" data-id=\"c98ccfa\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eb5edd7 elementor-hidden-desktop elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"eb5edd7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Classifications \/ Product Classification Classes <\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2aa320 elementor-widget elementor-widget-ha-breadcrumbs happy-addon ha-breadcrumbs happy-addon-pro\" data-id=\"e2aa320\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"ha-breadcrumbs.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"ha-breadcrumbs\"><li class=\"ha-breadcrumbs-item ha-breadcrumbs-start\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/\" rel=\"home\"><span class=\"ha-breadcrumbs-text\"><span class=\"ha-breadcrumbs-home-icon\"><span class=\"fas fa-home\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span>PIM Consultants<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-00e39d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"00e39d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>In brief:<\/strong> 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.<\/p><h2>Classification and category: the difference<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/product-categories-product-categories\/\">Categories<\/a> structure a product range for navigation and catalogues. Classifications, by contrast, describe characteristics: a class does not contain products, but a list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/properties-attributes\/\">attributes<\/a>. Every product assigned to that class is given these attributes to maintain. Both structures coexist in a PIM system.<\/p>\n<h2>Example<\/h2>\n<p>A fruit merchant creates the class \u201cFruit\u201d with the attributes name, product ID, description, taste, weight and variety. It has two subclasses: \u201cLocal\u201d adds the attribute \u201cGrower\u201d, while \u201cExotic\u201d adds \u201cCountry of origin\u201d and \u201cWholesaler\u201d. A locally grown apple inherits all the attributes of \u201cFruit\u201d plus the grower attribute. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/inheritance\/\">Inheritance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Standard classifications<\/h2>\n<p>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&#8217;s own classification to them. This allows data to be exported automatically in the required format, such as BMEcat.<\/p><h2>See also<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/properties-attributes\/\">Properties \/ Attributes<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/product-categories-product-categories\/\">Product Categories<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/product-categories-categorization-rules\/\">Categorisation Rules<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/inheritance\/\">Inheritance<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-wiki\/data-modelling\/\">Data Modelling<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-07dc68c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"07dc68c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"background:#F5F9FB;border-left:4px solid #0F6E99;padding:24px 28px;margin:8px 0;\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-size:20px;font-weight:600;color:#2F3438;\">How well is your product data set up?<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 20px;\">Our vendor-independent assessment evaluates your data model, governance, processes and systems, and shows how ready you are for PIM and AI.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/agentic-readiness-assessment\/\" style=\"display:inline-block;padding:14px 28px;background:#0F6E99;color:#FFFFFF;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;border-radius:4px;\">Request an assessment<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:16px 0 0;\">Or start by completing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/pim-checklist\/\">PIM checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-58b7968 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"58b7968\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"DefinedTerm\",\"name\":\"Classifications\",\"description\":\"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.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/pim-wiki\/klassifikationen-produktklassifizierungsklassen\/\",\"inDefinedTermSet\":{\"@type\":\"DefinedTermSet\",\"name\":\"PIM Wiki\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/pim-wiki\/\"}}<\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6c6f87d elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6c6f87d\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-dfa6e35\" data-id=\"dfa6e35\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02a1336 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"02a1336\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;,&quot;_animation_delay&quot;:50}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">PIM KNOWLEDGE<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35730bd elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"35730bd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">News &amp; Blog<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-02a83f7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"02a83f7\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c12ed67\" data-id=\"c12ed67\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0abf359 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0abf359\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Any questions?<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7487397 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7487397\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">We\u2019re happy to advise you.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab622da elementor-align-center elementor-mobile-align-justify elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"ab622da\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-md\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/contact\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Contact<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Classifications \/ Product Classification Classes PIM Consultants 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":15140,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15221","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15221"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15319,"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15221\/revisions\/15319"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pim-consultants.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}