Information and Description
The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC), owned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is an open, global, multisector standard for efficient and accurate classification of products and services.
UNSPSC provides a single global classification system that can be used for:
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Cross-company visibility in spend analysis
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Cost-efficient procurement optimization
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Full utilization of electronic commerce
UNSPSC consists of a hierarchical set of classification codes that enable spend analysis at grouping levels relevant to your business needs.
Classification Levels
The classification has four levels, aach grouping identified by an eight-digit number.
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Segment
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Family
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Class
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Commodity
A Segment has a definition that explains which types of goods, services, or construction work groups are found within the underlying categories.
Versions
We recommend using version 26, as it is the latest and most developed version. The current version 26 can be found here. If you prefer to use a Swedish version, a searchable database is available on the Finfo portal.
There is also an Excel version translated into Swedish available publicly on the SFTI website. However, this is version 11, several years old, and lacks many groups present in version 26. It also contains translation issues, where different groups may have identical names.
If you use version 11, you must cross-check against version 26 for missing groups or duplicate names.
Change Requests
If you find that certain product groups are missing for your articles, you can request changes via Byggmaterialhandlarna.
Influencing the development of UNSPSC is a longer process, as only one new version is released per year under the current governance model. Until your requested changes are implemented, you should select the classification that most closely matches your product.
Responsibilities
Supplier
The supplier specifies the UNSPSC code at the Commodity level.
When choosing, select the Commodity that best matches the article. If the article is an accessory and there is no group for the product group the accessory belongs to, classify it under the group corresponding to the main product it complements.
Example: If the accessory is screws, start by checking if there is a group for screws. If not, place the screws in the group where the main product they belong to is classified.
To find the correct Commodity, start from the top and first select the Segment, Family, and Class to ensure you are in the correct branch before selecting the Commodity. The recommendation is to filter downward step by step for each selection.
Finfo
Finfo verifies that the specified UNSPSC code exists in the standard and corresponds to a number at the Commodity level. Any errors will generate an error message.
Receiver
Uses the information in sales processes where classification is required. It is used for industry-wide product classification and for verifying relevant data based on class.