Product Classification Systems as Web Ontologies
This page presents the set of product classification systems that have been transformed into Web ontologies using the PCS2OWL tool. The product classification systems currently supported are divided into two groups:
To learn more about the project and the PCS2OWL tool that was used to create the product Web ontologies published on this page, please refer to these additional resources:
Short introduction on GoodRelations Wiki Source code repository at Bitbucket Evaluation
Group 1. Product Classification Standards
Some of the subsequent product ontologies are freely available as .csv, .txt, .xml, .xls, .mdb, ... files on the Web.
- Central Product Classification (CPC)
- Classification of Products by Activity (CPA)
- Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- eCl@ss standard
- ElektroTechnisches InformationsModell (ETIM)
- FreeClass
- Global Product Classification (GPC)
- proficl@ss
- United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC)
- Klassifikation der Wirtschaftszweige (WZ)
1. Central Product Classification (CPC)
The Central Product Classification, abbreviated as CPC, is the classification of products (goods as well as services) recommended for worldwide use.
| Version: | 2 (2008) |
| Organization: | United Nations Statistics Division |
| Data source: | CPC v2 MDB |
| Official report: | United Nations Statistics Division: The Central Product Classification (CPC) Version 2.0. Available online at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/cpc-2.asp |
| Usage domain: | Products that are an output of economic activities, including transportable goods, non-transportable goods and services |
| Language support: | 1 language (English) |
| Regional use: | Worldwide |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
Deliverable withheld. Classification system is subject to copyright license, publication terms and conditions have yet to be arranged with authorizing organization.
2. Classification of Products by Activity (CPA)
The statistical classification of products by activity in the European Economic Community, abbreviated as CPA, is the classification of products (goods as well as services) and is the European version of CPC Ver. 2. In contrast to the CPC, the CPA follows the structural breakdown of the classification of economic activities, i.e. individual products are classified directly according to their industrial origin.
| Version: | 2008 |
| Organization: | United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) |
| Data source: | CPA 2008, .mdb file |
| Official report: | European Commission, "Regulation (EC) No 451/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 establishing a new statistical classification of products by activity (CPA) and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3696/93", Official Journal of the European Union, No. L 145, pp. 65-226, June 4, 2008 |
| Usage domain: | Statistical Classification of Products (goods as well as services) by activity in the European Economic Community |
| Language support: | 23 official languages of the European Union as well as several non-EU countries |
| Regional use: | European Union |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/cpa/
- Example URIs:
- Semantic Sitemap: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/cpa/sitemap.xml
3. Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
The CPV establishes a single classification system for public procurement aimed at standardising the references used by contracting authorities and entities to describe the subject of procurement contracts.
| Version: | 2008 |
| Organization: | European Commission |
| Data source: | CPV 2008, zipped .xls |
| Official report: | European Commission, "Regulation No 213/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)", Official Journal of the European Communities, No. L 74, pp. 1–375, November 28, 2007 |
| Usage domain: | The CPV establishes a single classification system for public procurement aimed at standardising the references used by contracting authorities and entities to describe the subject of procurement contracts. |
| Language support: | 22 official EU languages |
| Regional use: | European Union |
| License: | free but with registration? (Die Nutzung des CPV sowie des TED ist kostenlos, jedoch ist eine Registrierung notwendig.) |
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/cpv/
- Example URIs:
- Semantic Sitemap: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/cpv/sitemap.xml
4. eCl@ss standard
eCl@ss is a product classification and description standard for products and services of various branches.
| Version: | 5.1.4 and 6.1 |
| Organization: | eCl@ss e.V. |
| Data source: | eCl@ss classification browser, eCl@ss DownloadPortal |
| Official report: | eCl@ss e.V., eCl@ss Classification and Product Description, 2013. |
| Usage domain: | Materials, products and services of various branches |
| Language support: | 2 languages (German and English) |
| Regional use: | Worldwide |
| License: | Conditions |
Ontology Deliverable (eCl@ss 5.1.4):
- Namespace URI: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/eclass/5.1.4/ (generated by a predecessor of our converter)
Ontology Deliverable (eCl@ss 6.1):
Deliverable withheld. Classification system is subject to copyright license, publication terms and conditions have yet to be arranged with authorizing organization.
5. ElektroTechnisches InformationsModell (ETIM)
ETIM 4.0 offers an open standard for the unambiguous grouping and specification of products in the installation sector through a uniform product classification model.
| Version: | 4.0 (2008) |
| Organization: | ETIM Deutschland e.V. |
| Data source: | ETIM, ETIM 4.0 Viewer, ETIM Int., ETIM Data model 4.0, 2008. German version, English version |
| Official report: | ETIM Deutschland e. V.: Data Model ETIM Classification System Version 4.0, (2008). |
| Usage domain: | Electrical and electronic products (electrical installation products, home appliances and consumer electronics) |
| Language support: | 9 languages (German, English, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, Belgian Flemish, Belgian French, Swiss, Polish) |
| Regional use: | European Union |
| License: | Die Nutzung von ETIM ist kostenfrei. Mit der Nutzung verbundene Dienstleistungen wie z.B. die Zertifizierung der richtigen Verwendung, oder die Einbringung bzw. Ausführung von Normierungswünschen werden jedoch teilweise berechnet oder sind über eine kostenpflichtige Vereinsmitgliedschaft geregelt. |
Ontology Deliverable:
Deliverable withheld. Classification system is subject to copyright license, publication terms and conditions have yet to be arranged with authorizing organization.
6. FreeClass
FreeClass is a open-source product classification standard for the domain of building and construction materials.
| Version: | 2012 |
| Organization: | inndata Datentechnik GmbH |
| Data source: | FreeClass |
| Official report: | Handle, O.: Konzeption und Realisierung eines branchenübergreifenden Produktklassikationssystems für das Bauwesen unter Nutzung der produktspezifischen Fachkompetenz der Baustoffindustrie. Master's thesis, MCI Management Center Innsbruck (2007) |
| Usage domain: | Construction and building materials |
| Language support: | 8 languages (Czech, English, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, and Slovak) |
| Regional use: | European Union |
| License: | GNU Free Documentation License |
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI (official): http://www.freeclass.eu/freeclass_v1 (official, single-file version; generated by a predecessor of our converter)
- Semantic Sitemap (official): http://www.freeclass.eu/sitemap.xml
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI (inofficial): http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/freeclass/
- Example URIs (inofficial):
- Semantic Sitemap (inofficial): http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/freeclass/sitemap.xml
7. Global Product Classification (GPC)
The GS1 GPC is a system that gives buyers and sellers a common language for grouping products in the same way, everywhere in the world. The official (normative) GPC schema and GPC browser information is published in Oxford English. Both the schema and the browser information are translated to other languages.
| Version: | 2011 |
| Organization: | GS1 |
| Data source: | GPC, GPC publication schema, GPC publication browser |
| Official report: | Global Product Classification (GPC): The Global Language for Classifying Goods, GS1, Third Edition, April, 2005 |
| Usage domain: | Master data management and buying processes |
| Language support: | 13 languages |
| Regional use: | Worldwide |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/gpc/
- Example URIs:
- Semantic Sitemap: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/gpc/sitemap.xml
8. proficl@ss
Proficl@ss is a classification system for products of various branches with the goal to allow e-commerce with these products over industrial sector boundaries.
| Version: | 4.0 (2008) |
| Organization: | proficl@ss International e. V. |
| Data source: | proficl@ss |
| Official report: | proficl@ss International e. V.: proficl@ss - der Branchenstandard. Available online at http://www.proficlass.de/ |
| Usage domain: | Building industry, building equipment, and industrial supplies |
| Language support: | 1 language (German) |
| Regional use: | European Union |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
Deliverable withheld. Classification system is subject to copyright license, publication terms and conditions have yet to be arranged with authorizing organization.
9. United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC)
The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code, abbreviated as UNSPSC and managed by GS1 US™ for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), is the classification of products (goods as well as services) at worldwide level.
| Version: | 9.0501 (2007) |
| Organization: | United Nations |
| Data source: | UNSPSC |
| Official report: | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). Available online at http://www.unspsc.org/ |
| Usage domain: | Products and services of various branches |
| Language support: | 1 language (English) |
| Regional use: | Worldwide (especially in USA) |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
Deliverable withheld. Classification system is subject to copyright license, publication terms and conditions have yet to be arranged with authorizing organization.
10. Klassifikation der Wirtschaftszweige (WZ)
The Classification of Economic Activities (WZ) provides a basis for a consistent classification of economic activities of statistical units in all official statistics. It is based on the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE) which itself is based on the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) of the United Nations.
| Version: | 2008 |
| Organization: | Statistisches Bundesamt (Federal Statistical Office), Wiesbaden, Section "Classifications", Germany |
| Data source: | WZ 2008, CSV files |
| Official report: | Statistisches Bundesamt: Klassikation der Wirtschaftszweige (WZ 2008). Wiesbaden: Statistisches Bundesamt (2008) |
| Usage domain: | Classification of Economic Activities |
| Language support: | 1 language (German) |
| Regional use: | European Union |
| License: | Distribution (also in parts) permitted, provided that the source is mentioned. |
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/wz/
- Example URIs:
- Semantic Sitemap: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/wz/sitemap.xml
Group 2. Proprietary Product Category Systems
Some of the subsequent product ontologies are freely available as .csv, .txt, .xml, .xls, .mdb, ... files on the Web.
1. Google product taxonomy
The Google product taxonomy is a tree of categories that will help you generate values for the 'Google product category' attribute.
| Version: | 2011 |
| Organization: | |
| Data source: | http://www.google.com/basepages/producttype/taxonomy.en-US.txt |
| Official report: | Google Merchant Center: The Google product taxonomy. Available online at http://support.google.com/merchants/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1705911 |
| Usage domain: | Product feeds with the aim to show up products on Google Shopping |
| Language support: | 1 language (English) |
| Regional use: | Worldwide |
| License: |
Evaluation
The PCS2OWL tool, which permitted us to generate this and all the other product ontologies that we made available on this Web page, was evaluated using a reverse-engineering approach based on Google product taxonomy, as outlined on this page.
Ontology Deliverable:
- Namespace URI: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/google/
- Example URIs:
- Semantic Sitemap: http://www.ebusiness-unibw.org/ontologies/pcs2owl/google/sitemap.xml
2. Productpilot category system
Productpilot is a proprietary product category system. More information is available at http://www.productpilot.com/en/faq.
| Version: | 2011 |
| Organization: | Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH |
| Data source: | productpilot |
| Official report: | Messe Frankfurt: Productpilot. Available online at http://www.productpilot.com/. |
| Usage domain: | Companies exhibiting with Messe Frankfurt and the product information they provide meet the buyer's specific information needs. |
| Language support: | 2 languages (German and English) |
| Regional use: | Worldwide |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
Deliverable withheld. Classification system is subject to copyright license, publication terms and conditions have yet to be arranged with authorizing organization.
3. BMEcat standard
The "Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft, Einkauf und Logistik e. V. (BME)" (German for: Federal Association for Material Management, Purchasing and Logistics) developed a standard for electronic data transfer for product catalogs.
| Version: | 2005 |
| Organization: | Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft, Einkauf und Logistik e. V. (BME) |
| Data source: | Specification BMEcat 2005 |
| Official report: | Schmitz, V., Leukel, J., Kelkar, O.: Specification BMEcat 2005. Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft, Einkauf und Logistik e.V., Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2005) |
| Usage domain: | Electronic product catalogs |
| Language support: | Multiple languages |
| Regional use: | Worldwide |
| License: |
Ontology Deliverable:
Deliverable not available. Company-specific exchanges of product catalog group systems.
Acknowledgments
PCS2OWL is available under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. The work on this project has been supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) by a grant under the KMU Innovativ program as part of the Intelligent Match project (FKZ 01IS10022B).