Producttaxonomie Standaard Gids voor ETIM
Leer de volledige codestructuur, hiërarchieregels en attribuutvereisten van de ETIM taxonomiestandaard.
Wat is ETIM?
ETIM (European Technical Information Model) is an international classification standard specifically designed for technical products in the electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and building materials industries. Originally developed in the Netherlands in 1999 by the Dutch electrical wholesale association, ETIM has grown into a globally adopted model maintained by ETIM International, with national organizations in over 20 countries driving adoption among manufacturers, wholesalers, and installers.
The strength of ETIM lies in its focus on technical product features rather than just hierarchical classification. Each ETIM class is linked to a carefully curated set of features (attributes), values, and units that describe the technical characteristics buyers need to compare and select products. This feature-driven approach makes ETIM particularly effective for B2B product data exchange in the electrical and technical wholesale industry, where accurate technical specifications directly impact purchasing decisions, project planning, and installation work.
ETIM uses a three-level structure: Product Groups at the top level provide broad categorization, Product Classes represent specific product types, and Features define the technical attributes for each class. With over 5,500 classes covering electrical installation, lighting, HVAC, sanitary, and building automation products, ETIM has become the de facto standard for technical product data exchange in European wholesale distribution and is rapidly expanding into North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
In Één Oogopslag
ETIM Categoriehiërarchie
Voorbeeldhiërarchie die laat zien hoe producten binnen deze standaard zijn georganiseerd
Electrical Installation
Lighting
HVAC
Hoe ETIM is Opgebouwd
Belangrijke regels en principes die bepalen hoe deze taxonomie producten organiseert
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Three-Level Product Hierarchy
ETIM organizes products into three levels: Product Groups (broad categories identified by two-letter codes like EC, EL, EV), Product Classes (specific product types with codes like EC000001), and Features (technical attributes attached to each class). Products are classified at the Class level, which is where features and their allowed values are defined.
EC (Electrical Installation) > EC000001 (Miniature Circuit Breaker)EL (Lighting) > EL000045 (LED Panel Luminaire)EV (HVAC) > EV000120 (Air-to-Water Heat Pump) - 2
Feature-Driven Classification
Each ETIM Product Class has a defined set of features (attributes) that describe its technical characteristics. Features are standardized with specific data types: alphanumeric (A), logical (L), numeric (N), and range (R). Numeric features include standardized units of measurement. This feature model ensures that all manufacturers describe the same product type using the same technical parameters.
MCB features: Rated current (A), Breaking capacity (kA), Number of poles, Tripping characteristic (B/C/D)LED Panel features: Luminous flux (lm), Color temperature (K), CRI, Dimensions (mm), IP ratingHeat Pump features: Heating capacity (kW), COP, Energy label class, Refrigerant type - 3
Standardized Value Lists
ETIM defines controlled value lists for alphanumeric features, ensuring consistency across manufacturers and markets. For example, the feature IP rating always uses the same value list (IP20, IP44, IP65, etc.) regardless of the product class. This standardization eliminates ambiguity and enables automated product comparison in webshops and procurement systems.
IP rating: IP20, IP44, IP54, IP65, IP67, IP68Energy efficiency class: A+++, A++, A+, A, B, C, DMounting type: Surface mounted, Recessed, Pendant, Track mounted - 4
Multilingual Content
All ETIM classes, features, and values are translated into 20+ languages by national ETIM organizations. This enables manufacturers to create a single ETIM-classified product dataset that can be automatically distributed to wholesalers and webshops across different countries without manual translation of technical specifications.
Vereiste Attributen per Categorie
Verplichte en aanbevolen attributen voor belangrijke categorieën in deze standaard
ETIM Toepassingen per Branche
Branches en scenario's waar deze taxonomiestandaard het meest wordt toegepast
Electrical Wholesale & Distribution
Electrical wholesalers use ETIM as the common language for product data exchange with manufacturers. When a manufacturer provides ETIM-classified product data, wholesalers can automatically import it into their webshops and ERP systems, complete with standardized technical features that enable filter-based product search and side-by-side comparison for electricians and contractors.
HVAC & Building Services
HVAC contractors and building engineers rely on ETIM to compare heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products from different manufacturers using standardized performance metrics. ETIM classification enables specification-based product selection in BIM workflows, ensuring that the right equipment is selected based on technical requirements rather than brand familiarity alone.
Lighting Design & Specification
Lighting designers and facility managers use ETIM-classified luminaire data to compare products based on standardized photometric features such as luminous flux, color temperature, CRI, and energy efficiency. This enables automated lighting calculations, compliance checking against building codes, and efficient product substitution when specified products are unavailable.
Building Materials & Construction
Building material suppliers and construction companies use ETIM to standardize product data for plumbing, sanitary, and building automation products. As BIM (Building Information Modeling) adoption grows, ETIM provides the standardized feature data needed to create rich product objects in BIM libraries, streamlining the entire specify-procure-install workflow.
Voor- en Nadelen van ETIM
- Purpose-built for electrical, HVAC, and technical products with deep feature coverage that directly matches how buyers search for and compare these products in wholesale and e-commerce channels.
- Open standard with free access to the classification content through ETIM International and national organizations, lowering the barrier to adoption for manufacturers and wholesalers of any size.
- Widely adopted across European electrical and technical wholesale, with strong momentum in North America and Asia. Supported by major industry data pools like IDEA Connector, 2BA (Netherlands), and FEG (Germany).
- Relatively simple three-level structure (Group > Class > Feature) that is easier to implement and maintain compared to deeper hierarchies like eCl@ss, while still providing comprehensive technical product descriptions.
- Focused primarily on electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and building materials. Products outside these domains (consumer electronics, food, fashion, industrial machinery) have limited or no coverage in ETIM.
- Feature completeness varies by Product Class. Some classes have 30+ well-defined features while others are newer and may only have a handful, requiring manufacturers to supplement with their own attributes.
- No built-in property model for commercial attributes (pricing, logistics, sustainability). ETIM focuses purely on technical features, so organizations need to combine it with other standards or custom attributes for a complete product data model.
Hoe ETIM te Implementeren
Stapsgewijze gids voor het implementeren van deze taxonomiestandaard in uw productcatalogus
Assess your product catalog
Review your product portfolio and identify which items fall within ETIM coverage areas (electrical installation, lighting, HVAC, plumbing, building automation). Check the current ETIM release to verify that Product Classes exist for your key product lines. For products without a matching class, submit a change request to your national ETIM organization for inclusion in the next release.
Download the ETIM model
Access the latest ETIM classification model through ETIM International or your national ETIM organization (e.g., ETIM Nederland, ETIM Deutschland, ETIM North America). The model is available in XML and BMEcat formats. Import it into your PIM, ERP, or product data management system. Tools like WISEPIM, inRiver, Akeneo, and Perfion have built-in ETIM support.
Classify products to ETIM classes
Map each product to the most appropriate ETIM Product Class. Use the ETIM class code (e.g., EC000001 for Miniature Circuit Breaker) and verify the match by reviewing the class description and feature list. For product families with many variants, classify at the base product level and inherit the class assignment to all variants.
ETIM Classification Quick-Start Kit
Everything you need to start classifying your electrical, HVAC, or lighting products with ETIM, including mapping templates, feature checklists, and distribution guides for major data pools.
- Product-to-ETIM-Class mapping spreadsheet with pre-populated class codes for the 200 most common electrical and HVAC products
- Feature completeness checklist with required vs. recommended features for top product categories
- Step-by-step BMEcat export guide for distributing ETIM-classified data to 2BA, IDEA Connector, and wholesale webshops
- Common pitfalls guide covering the 15 most frequent ETIM classification mistakes and how to avoid them
Veelgestelde Vragen
Veelgestelde vragen over ETIM
Ontdek Andere Taxonomiestandaarden
Klaar om ETIM te Implementeren?
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