How does Unimarket categorize products and services?
Unimarket has adopted the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) for categorizing products and services in supplier catalogs and RFX tenders/bids.
Why does Unimarket use UNSPSC codes for categorizing products and services?
The use of a common global standard ensures a greater level of commonality between suppliers and buying organizations, meaning category mapping is minimized. A common standard across Unimarket also provides are a powerful tool for category analysis within and across organizations.
Which versions of the UNSPSC code set are supported?
Unimarket supports version 16.0901 of the UNSPSC code set. You can download this code set on the below link:
How do I search for UNSPSC Codes?
- Download the UNSPSC Code Set available in Excel (.xslx) format.
- Open the code set in a spreadsheet application.
- Use the search function of your application (most commonly CRTL+F) to search for keywords.
UNSPSC Taxonomy
UNSPSC is a hierarchical classification having four levels:
- Segment: The most broad category, representing a logical grouping of families for analysis.
- Family: A recognizable group of related commodity categories.
- Class: A group of commodities sharing a common function or use
- Commodity: The most specific level, representing a group of substitutable products or services.
Each level contains a two-character numerical value and a description. UNSPSC can be further extended by adding the ninth and tenth digit after commodity to indicate the business relationship to the supplier.
In the example below, UNSPSC code 44121704 identifies the category “Ballpoint pens.”