UNSPSC Codes and Unit of Measure

  • Unimarket Units of Measure / UOM

    Unimarket supports the following Unit of Measure (UOM) for catalog items:

    • UNUOM (United Nations Unit of Measure) standard and
    • ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard
    Note: UOM standards cannot be 'mixed' between both available standards.

    If you need the UOM standard confirmed or changed

    • Please reach out to Unimarket support and
    • Request assistance with confirming/changing the UOM standard configuration within supplier profile.

    The chosen UOM standard would apply to all supplier catalogs provided through Unimarket, to ensure customers have access to desired catalog. Please keep in mind: 

    • Any UOM mapping/transformations needed (because a supplier's item does not adhere to the set UOM standard) would be put in place on the supplier's side.
    • If a punchout item is returned in the POOM (punchout order message) shopping cart, that does not adhere to your current UOM setting (UNUOM or ANSI). Unimarket will automatically change the UOM to 'EA'. After that, the revised UOM on the item will also be sent on the order.

    All Unimarket supplier catalog products and quoted items:

    • Require a UOM and
    • The default value is EA (Each), unless specified.

    For a full list of supported UOMs for UNUOM and ANSI standard, refer to Unit of Measure List.csv

    Tip: To search the list, click Ctrl+F in your browser and search by the Name.

     

    What are the most commonly used Unimarket UNUOMs?

    Code Name
    EA Each
    CT Carton
    CS Case
    TO Ton
    DAY Day
    HUR Hour
    KGM Kilogram
    LTR Liter
    MTR Meter
    DRA Dram (US)
    DZN Dozen
    MIL Thousand
    PR Pair
    GRM Gram
    ANN Year
    LBR Pound
    ONZ Ounce
    PT Pint (US)
    QT Quart (US)
    BG Bag
    BX Box
    CR Crate
    PA Packet
    PK Pack
    RO Roll
    ST Sheet
    RM Ream

     

     
  • Unimarket Product Categorization (UNSPSC)

    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:

    UNSPSC version 16.0901

     

    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.”

     
  • Category Mapping (UNSPSC Codes)

    Suppliers have the ability to map their product categories to Unimarket UNSPSC codes. This means:

    • Variances between UNSPSC code versions can be mapped and customers receive a consistent category value for reporting.
    • Suppliers using another category system can maintain a mapping table. So their categories can be mapped back to the UNSPSC standard.
    • The mapping applies to hosted and punch-out catalogs.

    Suppliers can:

    • Manually add mapping from within their eStore or
    • Upload mapping via the supplied CSV template.
    Note: When mapping between UN versions, only the exceptions need to be mapped. For example, if a code in UN version 9 is the same as in UN version 16, no mapping is required. If the code is different, mapping set up is required.

     

    Manually Adding Mapping 

    To manually add or modify mapping, go to Profile on left panel > select Configure Store.

    Once selected, the Configure Store screen will populate > click Categories tab. 

    If 'Calculator' in UNSPSC version 9 is 44101801 but it needs to be mapped to 'Pocket Calculator' in UNSPSC version 16 which is 44101809, click +Add Category Mapping. 

     

    The Add Category Mapping pop-up box will appear to enter information in all required fields marked with a red asterisk. Once completed, select Add or Add More to create additional mappings.

    Note: When setting the domain, ensure the value specified matches the value that will be returned from your roundtrip catalog. You can also choose to leave the domain blank and Unimarket will look for a matching mapping rule and ignore the domain.

     

    Upload mapping via CSV

    To upload mapping using a CSV file, to add mapping information into the category template, click Download Category Mappings.

     

    A Job Submitted pop-up box will appear > select the Here hyperlink. Once selected, the Background Jobs will appear to select Download when in Finished State. 

     

    Fields available within the category template are:

    Column Name Description Mandatory
    A External Code Category code that needs to be mapped back to Unimarket UNSPSC standards Y
    B External Domain What the external code is N
    C Unimarket Code Unimarket UNSPSC code Y

     

    When ready to upload, select Browse in the Upload Category Mappings field > click Process > a pop-up box will appear to select OK to begin uploading. 

     

    Set Default Mapping

    Suppliers have the ability to set a default UNSPSC category, when:

    • A category value is not recognized (or is blank) and
    • There is no mapping setup for the value.

    Go to Profile on the left panel > click Configure Store > select Categories tab > key in default UNSPSC code in Default Category. If you are unsure which category to key in, select search icon in Default Category field to locate default UNSPSC category.

     

    The Browse UNSPSC Categories pop-up box will appear, to locate desired categories > once located, click Select to set as default.

    UNSPSC.png

    Note: If no default is setup and a value is not recognized, the system will display 'NA' in the category.