What does this change in practice?

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.

Can we adopt a market taxonomy?

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.

How many attributes per family?

The ones that decide purchase, equivalence and tax classification. An attribute nobody consults is a mandatory field that delays registration without improving decisions.

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.

See the glossary Material Description Standardization

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.

It is not the tax classification

Taxonomy organises the catalogue for buyers and users; the tariff code classifies for the tax authority. Both rest on the same attributes and neither replaces the other.

Questions

Frequently asked questions about this term

Keep going

Related terms

Material Description Standardization · Product classification code · Master data

See material description standardization

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