What Is ETIM?

ETIM organizes technical products into two levels. At the top sit product groups, a purely administrative layer for keeping an overview. Below that is the real working level: the product class. A product class groups comparable products from different manufacturers under a single definition, for example "socket outlet" or "circuit breaker." Every socket outlet from every manufacturer ends up in that same class, regardless of brand or model name.

Every product class carries a fixed set of features, the technical properties used to describe products within that class in a consistent way. ETIM distinguishes four feature types. Alphanumeric features (A) take a value from a predefined list, for example a colour or a mounting type. Numeric features (N) consist of a single numeric value, for example rated voltage. Logical features (L) answer a yes/no question, for example whether a hinged cover is present. Range features (R) give two numeric values that mark the limits of a span, for example a permitted operating temperature range. Numeric and range features almost always need a unit, the only exception being pure counting features like "number of...".

A simplified example makes the principle concrete. A flush-mounted socket outlet could be described, within its product class, using features such as rated voltage (numeric, unit V), rated current (numeric, unit A), IP protection rating (alphanumeric, drawn from a defined value list), number of socket positions (numeric), and hinged cover present (logical). Each manufacturer fills in these same features for its own model. This is a simplified illustration, not a literal quote of the current ETIM class definition, which is maintained in the online ETIM Viewer tool and can change with every release.

Every class, feature, value and unit carries a language-independent identifier. Only the descriptions attached to them are language-specific. That's why a German wholesaler can exchange the same data set with a Spanish installer without losing meaning, even though field labels appear in different languages on each system. This language independence is one of the main reasons ETIM managed to expand beyond the Netherlands.

ETIM International also maintains synonyms for each class: alternative names under which the same product class is known in different countries or sectors. A wholesaler using a different but common term in its own catalogue still finds the right class through these synonyms, without changing the underlying structure.

ETIM is often confused with BMEcat or the newer ETIM xChange, even though the three solve different problems. ETIM itself is the classification model: it defines which classes and features exist and which values they can take. BMEcat was for a long time the most common exchange format for that data, an XML format used to package classified product data into a file a recipient could import into its own system. ETIM International has since introduced its own format, ETIM xChange, a JSON-based format fully under the organization's own control, meant to gradually replace BMEcat as the preferred route. In some countries BMEcat remains in parallel use, and a mapping file between the two formats is available.

Another term that comes up in this context is GS1, with its familiar EAN and GTIN numbers. GS1 uniquely identifies a specific product, usually through a barcode. ETIM, by contrast, describes that product's technical properties. The two systems complement each other in a complete product record, but they answer different questions: GS1 answers which product this is, ETIM answers what technical features that product has.

ETIM is maintained by ETIM International, a non-profit organization headquartered in Margraten, Netherlands. The standard started out much smaller: in 1991 the Dutch electrical installers association launched the ETIM project for its own sector. In 1998 the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing sector in the Netherlands was added. In 1999 came the first international expansion, with the founding of ETIM Germany.

In 2005, version 3.0 enabled smooth data exchange across multiple countries for the first time, an important step because until then each national ETIM organization had largely maintained its own classification in isolation. In 2006 that led to an informal international interest group with six members, which in 2008 became the formal international association ETIM International. The shipbuilding sector joined in 2009, the building industry in 2014. The 21st member country joined in 2019, and in 2020 the tools, hardware and site supplies sector was added through the integration of the proficl@ss classification. Today ETIM International brings together 21 national organizations, and the classification is available in 17 languages. The sectors covered are electrical engineering, heating/ventilation/air conditioning/plumbing, building materials, shipbuilding, and tools and site supplies.

Content and structure of the classification are decided by a Technical Committee within ETIM International. According to the organization, official international releases come out roughly every three years; the current version is ETIM 10.0, published in December 2024. Between major releases there are also dynamic releases, which publish classes that are already finished or ready for publication in the meantime, so the market doesn't have to wait years for urgently needed new classes. In January 2026 the Technical Committee approved the release planning for the next major version, ETIM 11.0, not yet published at the time of this research and therefore still at the approved-planning stage. In May 2026, ETIM International also launched its own ETIM Academy as a training platform, a sign that correctly applying the classification is now treated as a training subject in its own right.

The practical benefit of ETIM is that product data from different manufacturers becomes comparable. Because every product in a class carries the same set of features, an online store in the technical wholesale trade can filter products from different brands by the same technical criteria, for example switches by rated current or protection rating, regardless of who made them. That's exactly what the standard was originally built for: electronic product data exchange between manufacturer, wholesaler and installer, without each side having to maintain its own attribute lists.

This shows up most clearly in e-commerce for the technical wholesale trade. An online store with tens of thousands of items can only offer reliable faceted search if the underlying product data is classified consistently. Without ETIM, every wholesaler would have to maintain and reconcile its own attributes for every supplier. With ETIM, that work is largely handled by the manufacturer when it sets up its product data, once for all trading partners. Downstream systems such as ERP, PIM or the online store itself can then process the classified data automatically, without manual rework on a product-by-product basis.

That's different from structured data in the Schema.org sense, which helps search engines understand a web page. ETIM isn't aimed at search engines, but at data exchange between trading partners across the technical supply chain. Both concepts structure product information consistently, but for different audiences and in different formats.

Another common practical case is finding a technically equivalent replacement product. If a specific switch model is no longer available, an installer or buyer can search, based on identical ETIM features such as matching rated voltage, rated current and protection rating, for a comparable model from another manufacturer, instead of comparing datasheets by hand one at a time.

• Before starting, check the ETIM Viewer to see which product classes are actually relevant to your own range, instead of trying to implement the whole classification at once.
• Plan the mapping between your own article data and ETIM classes and features together with your ERP or PIM system, not as a purely marketing project.
• Ask the relevant national ETIM organization whether there are country-specific requirements or certifications for the data you export.
• Clarify whether your main trading partners expect BMEcat or ETIM xChange, and plan for both formats if requirements differ by partner.
• Set up a fixed process to keep your own classification current against dynamic releases and against a major release such as the upcoming ETIM 11.0.
• Check exported files with ETIM International's official BMEcat certification tool before sending them to a trading partner for the first time.

• Mistaking ETIM for a simple product category: behind every class sits a complete system of features, values and units, not just a label or category.
• Assuming ETIM is a legal requirement: the standard is a voluntary industry standard with no legal basis, though some large trading partners do require it contractually.
• Treating ETIM as the same thing as BMEcat or ETIM xChange: ETIM is the classification model, while BMEcat and ETIM xChange are simply formats for moving that classified data between systems.
• Assuming ETIM covers every technical product: the classification is limited to the electrical engineering, heating/ventilation/air conditioning/plumbing, building materials, shipbuilding, and tools and site supplies sectors.
• Treating ETIM as a one-off project: because classes and features can change with every release, keeping an ETIM classification current requires an ongoing process, not a single reconciliation.