Unimarket has adopted the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) as the common global standard for categorizing products and services in supplier catalogs and RFX (tender/bid) submissions.
Why Unimarket Uses UNSPSC
Using a common global standard provides the following benefits:
Commonality: Ensures a greater level of commonality between suppliers and buying organizations, which minimizes the need for custom category mapping.
Analysis: Provides a powerful tool for consistent category analysis both within and across connected organizations.
Supported UNSPSC Version
Unimarket supports version 16.0901 of the UNSPSC code set.
How to Search for UNSPSC Codes
Download the UNSPSC Code Set.
Open the code set in a spreadsheet application (e.g., Microsoft Excel).
Use the application's search function (commonly Ctrl+F) to search for keywords related to your products or services.
UNSPSC Taxonomy Structure
UNSPSC is a hierarchical classification system with four main levels. The full code is a two-character numerical value at each level, resulting in an eight-digit code (plus an optional two digits for business relationship).
| Level | Description | Numerical Value (Two Digits) | Example Code | Example Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment | The most broad category, grouping families for analysis. | XX |
44 | Office Equipment, Accessories and Supplies |
| Family | A recognizable group of related commodity categories. | XX |
12 | Office Supplies |
| Class | A group of commodities sharing a common function or use. | XX |
17 | Writing instruments |
| Commodity | The most specific level, representing a group of substitutable products or services. | XX |
04 | Ballpoint pens |
- 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.
Example Code: The full UNSPSC code for "Ballpoint pens" is 44121704.