Technical classification

ETIM classification, and how it differs from every other standard on your data request list.

ETIM is the classification standard that carries technical features, not just a category. For an electrical, HVAC or building-technology catalog that is the difference between a code a buyer can file and data a buyer can filter.

Model technical features in Nexodo See the UNSPSC reference

Classes

Every product sits in one ETIM class.

Features

Each class defines the technical features it requires.

Values

Feature values are typed, so they can be filtered and compared.

How it works

A class, a fixed feature list, and typed values.

ETIM assigns each product to a class, and each class carries a defined list of technical features. A circuit breaker class defines rated current, number of poles, tripping characteristic and so on. The point is not the code, it is that two manufacturers describing the same kind of product are asked for the same features in the same units.

Feature values are typed rather than free text. A feature can be a value from a controlled list, a logical yes or no, a numeric value with a defined unit, or a numeric range. That typing is what allows a wholesaler's website to build working filters from supplier data instead of asking a copywriter to rewrite every specification.

Element	What it is	Why it matters in a catalog
Class	The product type, with a stable identifier	Decides which features are expected
Feature	A defined technical property of that class	Becomes a filterable attribute
Value list	A controlled set of permitted values	Removes spelling variants between suppliers
Unit	The unit a numeric feature is expressed in	Removes millimetre versus inch mismatches
Release	The numbered version of the model	Two partners must agree which release applies

Comparison

Four standards, four different jobs.

These standards are routinely treated as alternatives when they are mostly complements. A distributor supplying a public sector buyer can easily need a UNSPSC code for spend reporting and an ETIM class with features for the web catalog on the same product.

The question to ask a trading partner is not which standard they prefer in the abstract, but which one they will validate your file against, and at which release.

Standard	Primary purpose	Carries technical features
ETIM	Technical product classification, strong in electrical and building technology	Yes, per class
eCl@ss	Cross-industry classification with product properties, strong in German industry	Yes, in the advanced form
UNSPSC	Procurement and spend classification for goods and services	No
GS1 GPC	Grouping trade items for global data synchronisation	Attributes at brick level, retail oriented

Practical work

The hard part is the features, not the class.

Assigning a class is usually quick. Populating twenty typed features per class across ten thousand products is the actual project, and it is where supplier data is weakest. Most supplier files contain the values somewhere, in a description string, a datasheet or a column named for the supplier's own internal term, and the work is extracting and normalizing them rather than inventing them.

That makes ETIM readiness a mapping and quality problem. You need a repeatable mapping from each supplier's columns to the class features, unit conversion where the supplier uses different units, and a completeness measure per class so you can see which classes are publishable and which are not.

Map supplier columns to class features once per supplier, then reuse
Normalize units at import rather than at publish
Measure completeness per class, not per product
Keep the supplier original value beside the normalized feature value

Releases

Agree the release before you exchange a file.

ETIM is published in numbered releases, and classes and features change between them. A file built against one release and validated against another will report failures that have nothing to do with your data quality. The same is true of eCl@ss.

Store the release your values were mapped against on the product record. When a partner asks for a different release, that stored value is what tells you which products need remapping rather than forcing a full re-classification. Confirm the current release directly with ETIM International or your national ETIM organisation before committing to a delivery date.

Record the release each mapping was built against
Expect feature changes, not just new classes, between releases
Validate against the partner's release, not your own
Re-map affected classes rather than re-classifying the catalog

Frequently asked questions

Clear answers before you evaluate a PIM.

Is ETIM only for electrical products?

It started in electrical wholesale in the Netherlands and remains strongest there, but the model has been extended into further technical sectors including HVAC, sanitary, building and construction. Check whether your product area has published classes before committing to it.

ETIM or eCl@ss?

Follow your trading partners. In Northern European electrical and building-technology wholesale, ETIM is normally the request. In German industrial and process supply chains, eCl@ss is more common. If both are requested, both are attributes on the same product and neither replaces the other.

Do I need ETIM if I only sell through my own webshop?

Not necessarily, but the discipline is still worth borrowing. A defined feature list per product type with typed values is what makes faceted search and product comparison work, whether or not you exchange the classification with anyone.

How does this fit with a PIM?

The class becomes the product type, the features become typed attributes with units and value lists, and completeness rules can be written per class. Nexodo models attributes and value validation this way, so class-level completeness can be measured before a file is sent to a wholesaler.

Continue your product data research

UNSPSC reference

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ETIM classification, and how it differs from every other standard on your data request list.

A class, a fixed feature list, and typed values.

Four standards, four different jobs.

The hard part is the features, not the class.

Agree the release before you exchange a file.

Clear answers before you evaluate a PIM.

Continue your product data research

UNSPSC code lookup: the structure, the segments, and how to classify a real catalog.

Product taxonomy that makes a changing catalog easier to navigate.

PIM for manufacturing teams with technical product data.

Turn many supplier catalogs into one trustworthy product catalog.

Test Nexodo with a supplier file your team already uses.