Glossary

eCl@ss

International classification standard for products and services, widely used in German manufacturing and procurement.

What is eCl@ss?

eCl@ss is an international, cross-industry standard for classifying and describing products and services. It uses a hierarchical structure with four levels (Segment > Main Group > Group > Commodity Class) and assigns standardized properties (attributes) to each class. It's maintained by the eCl@ss e.V. association.

Who uses it?

eCl@ss is the dominant product classification in German manufacturing, automotive, and chemical industries. Companies like Siemens, Bosch, and BASF use eCl@ss for procurement and supplier data exchange. It's increasingly required by large manufacturers and OEMs in their supplier portals.

Why it matters for product data

If your customers are German manufacturers or automotive OEMs, they likely expect eCl@ss-classified data. eCl@ss covers over 45,000 product classes with detailed attribute sets. Getting it right means mapping your products to the correct 8-digit class code and filling the associated properties with correctly formatted values.

eCl@ss versions

eCl@ss is versioned (e.g., eCl@ss 13.0, 14.0). Different customers may require different versions. The "Advanced" edition includes additional properties and reference structures. Always confirm which version your customer expects before classifying.

How FacetFlux helps

FacetFlux maps products to eCl@ss classifications during AI enrichment, filling properties with correctly formatted values. If you need both ETIM and eCl@ss for different customers, FacetFlux handles both from the same source data.

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