Product Information Manager : Classifications - Setup

Access

To manage Classifications click   - > Setup - > Classifications (in the Classification section).

Contents

Overview

A classification is a hierarchical system for grouping materials, products and services according to a logical structure with a level detail that corresponds to the product-specific properties that can be described using norm-conforming properties. Standard classification systems are for example eCl@ss and UNSPSC.

Example: UNSPSC Classification

What is UNSPSC? The UN/SPSC categorization scheme is a global standard for the classification of products and covers the broadest collection of industries and commodities available today. It was developed through a merger of the United Nation's Common Coding System (UNCCS) and Dun & Bradstreet's Standard Products and Services Codes (SPSC).

Sample UNSPSC Categorization Coding for Square Nuts: 31161730

Four (4) levels of UNSPSC categorization, consisting of eight (8) digits. Each two digit segment represents a deeper descriptive element driving down to the specific product. Overall, UN/SPSC offers a ten-digit, five-level logical hierarchy for organizing commodities and services. Each level in the hierarchy has its own unique number.

• XX Segment - the logical aggregation of families for analytical purposes
• XX Family - a commonly recognized Group of inter-related commodity categories
• XX Class - a Group of commodities sharing common characteristics
• XX Commodity - a Group of substitutable products or services

Why do we need classification: to ensure a common understanding and a general treatment of product data, classification and dictionary systems are used to define their essential technical parameters and/or to categorize the products. As a result of this there is a growing number of classification or dictionary systems on the market. If the systems used by sender and recipient of data are different, it is necessary to transform one system into the other. This is done by a classification mapping.

The exchange of product data is an essential part of the electronic business: product selection, business transactions, maintenance procedures etc. rely on the availability of data about products. Problems with mismatched classification systems result in non-functional catalogs where shop searching produces no results. A classification mapping allows you to adapt your catalog to the required system.

Functionality

The Classification Editor can be used to modify/add/delete classifications.

See the Basic Actions page for more info on standard actions (search, sort, edit, delete etc.).

Add Classification

To add a new classification, click  , the Create Classification page will be displayed.

General Tab

On the General tab enter the Classification ID (mandatory field), Short Description, Long Description - click to add descriptions in an additional language and  to delete them, Version No (unique number to track classifications), Type of classification (like UNSPSC or eClass) and the Order No. The Order No. determines the order the classification is displayed on the Product Preview page in PIM.

It is possible to assign Documents to a classification. The subsystem accepts file formats that can be viewed by an Internet browser, including PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file format. These files may be product pictures, line drawings, MSDS, specifications or other clarifying information of use to the buyer.

Some of the most commonly used formats are:

• JPG (picture)
• GIF (picture)
• PDF (Adobe Acrobat)

Once all the required data has been entered click  to save the newly added classification,  to save and proceed with creating a new classification  or  to cancel.

After saving the newly created classification the other tabs: Attributes and Compatibility Attributes become available.

Attributes Tab

On the Attributes tab, click  to add new attribute to the classification. The newly added attributes will be available in the group attribute value editor accessible from the Edit Classification Group page.

Click  to remove the selected attribute.

Compatibility Attributes Tab

On the  Compatibility Attributes tab, click  to add compatibility attributes to the classification. Click  to remove the selected compatibility attribute.

Compatibility attributes are available for the selection on the Compatibilities tab of the Product Editor to define constraints for the compatibility.

Edit Classification Groups

Click  to open the editor and switch to the edit mode to edit classification groups.

Enter the Classification Group ID.

Select  Status for the classification from the drop-down menu. Enter Short and Long Descriptions for the classification in multiple languages if required.

Enter Short Description Fallback to be displayed in case no language-specific Short Description is available. Terms can be used in Short Description Fallbacks. Find more information in the Terms page in PIM.

Type the Order Number for the classification group. It determines the order, in which classification groups of this classification appear on Product Preview page in PIM and on Product Details page in OPC.

It is possible to assign documents to a classification group. You can set a classification group image in Document 1 field, which will be displayed in Classification Browser and Classification Cockpit.

Click  to save the changes or click to save the changes and proceed to creating a new classification group. Click the Back link in the upper-right corner to return to the classifications search page.

To create a child category under a selected classification group, click , enter the relevant details and click  .

To edit the attributes assigned to the classification group, click the name of the attribute from the attributes list in a lower-left section.

Make the desired changes in the Attribute editor and click .

To assign attributes to a particular classification group select a group in the tree and click in the upper-right corner of the attributes list.

This opens the attributes search browser. 

Click  in the upper-right corner of the attributes list to create a new attribute.

Click  to remove the selected attribute.

To delete the classification group from the Classification Group Editor click  .

Classification Group Attribute Values

Classification group attribute values specify the characteristics of the classification group. To manage classification group attribute values, click in the Classification Group Editor.

The header contains the classification group description (or ID, if the description is unavailable), for which the attribute values are displayed.

It is possible to resize the column width, which remains effective for the current working session in the group value editor.

The grid contains the following pre-filled information:

• Attributes from the list of attributes assigned to the current Classification on the Attributes tab of the Classification Editor
• UoM, if any unit of measure was assigned to the attribute at Attributes - Setup
• Section, if the attribute belongs to any section
• Type/info (attribute long description or its type, if the attribute has no long description)

Select a Language for a multi-language attribute and set the attribute value Status, when needed.

Enter the value directly into the Value cell or click in the cell (available for some attribute types) to open the relevant attribute value editor.

Find descriptions of different attribute value editors on the Attributes page in PIM.

It is possible to add more than one value for the following types of attributes:

• multi-valued attributes (they can have multiple values for the same attribute)
• multi-language attributes (they can have different values for one attribute, but for different languages)

To add a new value for a multi-valued attribute:

• click in the Value cell to open a multi-valued attribute value editor
• click to add a new value
• use drag-and-drop function to sort multiple values
• click to save the value

To add a new value for a multi-language attribute:

• click in the Actions column of the relevant attribute
• select Language and enter other information

Click at the bottom of the grid to save the changes. The saved classification attribute values can be viewed in Classification Cockpit when you select a relevant classification group.

To delete an attribute value, click in Actions column of the relevant row.

Duplicate Classification/Classification Group

Select the option from the drop-down list or click on the editor's page to create a copy of an existing classification or classification group. Enter a unique Classification or Classification Group ID for the newly created classification/group and click  to save the duplicated entry.