Glossário
Material taxonomy
A material taxonomy is the tree that organises the catalogue into families and defines, for each family, which characteristics describe an item in it. It answers two questions: where this material fits, and what must be filled in for it to be complete.
In practice
What this changes in your master data
The family defines mandatory attributes
A bolt needs gauge and standard; a cable needs cross-section and insulation. A single form for everything is a form nobody fills in properly.
Depth has a cost
A seven-level tree is precise and impractical. Choosing the number of levels is an operations decision, not a purist one.
Questions
Frequently asked questions about this term
The taxonomy is what turns standardization into a repeatable process: without it, each person decides which attributes matter. With it, the family itself states what is missing — and validation stops depending on the reviewer.
Yes, and it is usually faster than building from scratch — provided it is adapted to the families the company actually buys. Adopting without adapting produces empty levels and irrelevant attributes.
The ones that decide purchase, equivalence and tax classification. An attribute nobody consults is a mandatory field that delays registration without improving decisions.
Keep going
Related terms
Material Description Standardization · Product classification code · Master data