In the engineering e-commerce environment, a large part of enterprise data management revolves around the integration of product information into various technical documentation. Typical examples of this would be centralizing multi-vendor product descriptions into one single, consistent e-catalogue, or aggregating itemized BOMs for spend analysis.
The number of transactions, the volume of data, and the time needed to do this has made it essential for global Products and Services Categorization Standards (PSCS) to be developed. The two most familiar to system design engineers in the USA are eClass classification and UNSPSC coding.
Both the eclass and UNSPSC use a standardized vocabulary, which is used to tag data sets, categorized using a four-tier classification hierarchy. For example, the category “integrated circuits” might contain VLSI and FPGA designs as subclasses.
In the US, the language used in PSCS ranges from broad, non-detailed categorizations, such as the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System), to detailed, technically expressive language, such as is used in eClass classification. UNSPSC coding falls somewhere between these two classifications. It has a neutral taxonomy that takes into account classes of products and services – but with no detailed descriptions. This is because the UNSPSC was originally intended for statistical evaluation; it did not need individual sets of properties, as it did not focus on identifying individual products.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, and since they are not interchangeable it is essential you know which is best for your needs before you start. We at Enventure Technologies offer a comprehensive range of master data management solutions, allowing you to categorize data for eClass or UNSPSC classification with ease.
eClass/UNSPSC classification /enterprise data management / technical documentation / system design / UNSPSC coding/ UNSPSC/FPGA design/ master data management
