eCl@ss® is a hierarchical classification and product description system for grouping materials, products, and services. This includes a logical structure with a level of detail that corresponds to product-specific attributes. These classifications and standardized attributes are an international standard and can be used for reliable information exchange between suppliers and their customers. For detailed information about eCl@ss, search the web.
With eCl@ss you can import the Basic CSV and XML formats for any language using versions 7.0, 7.1, 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, and 9.1 and 10.0.1. For more information on the eCl@ss license, contact your Stibo Systems account manager.
When an eCl@ss classification exists in STEP, you can make identification of your objects easier by using Bulk Update to add a 'product-to-classification link type' reference between your objects and the eCl@ss classification system. This displays your materials, products, and/or services within the eCl@ss folder as shown in the image below. For more information, see Bulk Updates documentation here.
eCl@ss is available for selection only in the eCl@ss Classification Import wizard. For details, see eCl@ss Classification Import here.
There is no need to recreate attributes you already have in STEP to gain the benefits of using standard eCl@ss attributes. After importing an eCl@ss classification hierarchy, you can map each eCl@ss attribute to a STEP attribute to merge the attributes and delete the eCl@ss attribute. For details, see Map eCl@ss Attributes to STEP Attributes here.
Important: Typically, industry standard attributes should not be altered, so limiting access to eCl@ss attributes via user privileges is recommended.
The eCl@ss classification data is delivered in a .ZIP file, where the file name indicates the version. The import wizard uses a background process to create classification folders that include the version number. This allows you to access multiple versions of eCl@ss simultaneously.
The import wizard also creates eCl@ss attributes, and saves all versions to the same attribute group. Depending on the number of classifications imported, System Setup may not allow browsing through the attributes created. However, you can view a portion of them, or find a particular one, using the right-click 'Search Below' functionality.
Any units or LOVs created upon import of an eCl@ss XML file will also be stored in their own unit / LOV groups labeled 'eCl@ss', with the version specified as a metadata attribute on the object.
Important: Units and LOVs can only be imported via eCl@ss XML files, not CSV.
If you want to update existing products to a newer eCl@ss classification version, you can re-classify them using the Bulk Update operation 'Industry Classification Synchronization.' For more information, see the References and Links Industry Classification Synchronization Operation topic of the Getting Started documentation here.
It is also possible to create version-specific classification object types. To create a version-specific object type structure, select 'Version specific object types' on the Advanced step of the eCl@ss Classification Importer. Selecting this option during import will automatically create a new version-specific object type structure for eCl@ss classifications if one does not already exist for that version.
For more information, see the eCl@ss Classification Importer section of the documentation here.
eCl@ss Classification Import
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