// DEEP DIVE | PRODUCT DATA ENRICHMENT
ETIM Classification: The Entry Ticket Into Technical Wholesale.
Anyone who wants their electrical, HVAC, or tool products listed at Sonepar, GC-Gruppe, or Rexel must deliver ETIM-compliant data. Excel won't cut it. BMEcat is mandatory. Xanevo classifies your products automatically into the ETIM standard, fills features from PDF datasheets, and delivers valid BMEcat XML that imports directly into wholesaler systems.
THE PROBLEM
No ETIM, no listing in wholesale
Wholesalers like Sonepar, GC-Gruppe, or Rexel demand digital product data in a clearly defined standard. Excel lists, PDF datasheets, or your own CSV exports won't be accepted. To enter the listing process, you must deliver ETIM-compliant data, including class codes, features, and values.
The problem: ETIM is huge. Thousands of classes, each with dozens of features, every feature with defined values. A miniature circuit breaker EC000042 alone has feature EF000234 (tripping characteristic) with five possible values (B, C, D, K, Z). Transferring this data from datasheets into the ETIM standard manually costs an hour per product, error-prone.
Worse: ETIM lives. Every 2 to 3 years a new release ships (ETIM 7, 8, 9). Features get deprecated, new ones appear, values get reordered. Anyone who misses the version transition drops out of the listing. For 5,000 products, a manual update means weeks of work, with high error risk.
What is the ETIM model?
ETIM (European Technical Information Model) is the international standard for classifying and describing technical products, primarily in electrical, HVAC (sanitary, heating, climate), and tools. It defines a fixed structure of product classes (example: EC000990), features (EF000234), and values (EV000185) to standardize electronic data exchange between manufacturers and wholesalers. No ETIM, no electronic listing, no findability in the shop, no order. The exchange format is BMEcat, an XML-based file that encapsulates ETIM data and that wholesaler systems can import directly.
From PDF datasheet to valid BMEcat export
/ OUR APPROACH
01
Step 01
Class mapping
First step is assigning your products to ETIM classes. A miniature circuit breaker is EC000042, a switch cabinet EC000990, a cable EC001234. The AI reads product name and datasheet and proposes the matching class with confidence score. High confidence runs automatic, low confidence goes to the data steward.
02
Step 02
AI-driven feature capture
The hardest part of ETIM is the features. A cable has cross-section (EF000055), color, insulation material, fire class. Xanevo AI reads the PDF datasheet, recognizes the specification "3x1.5mm²" and auto-fills the ETIM value 1.5 into EF000055. Same principle for all features: numeric, alphanumeric, or logical (Boolean).
03
Step 03
BMEcat as container
ETIM is just the structure, BMEcat is the file. We generate valid BMEcat XML in the version the wholesaler demands (BMEcat 1.2 or 2005). The XML runs through schema validation before export. You upload a finished file, the wholesaler imports without rework.
04
Step 04
Version updates without drama
ETIM 8 becomes ETIM 9, features get renamed or disappear. Instead of manual re-classification, Xanevo loads the new ETIM schema, compares old and new classes, auto-maps, and only reports cases that need manual decisions. Weeks of update effort become hours.
Correct data prevents returns on the construction site
On the construction site, every detail counts. When the electrician orders a miniature circuit breaker with tripping characteristic B at Sonepar but receives C due to misclassified data, the material is wrong, the day's plan ruined, the return eats margin. ETIM data isn't just a listing requirement, it's the foundation of trust. Precise data prevents returns, secures repeat business, makes you the preferred supplier.
5.000+
Products per month transferred into ETIM-compliant data
Teams that automate electrical or HVAC classification typically reach a throughput of 5,000+ products per month in production quality. Manually, experienced master data clerks process 30 to 50 products per day, roughly 800 to 1,200 per month. The gap widens the more features per class need to be maintained.
Example: Miniature circuit breaker in ETIM
Code type
Code ID
Example label
Value
ETIM class
EC000042
Miniature circuit breaker
,
ETIM feature
EF000234
Tripping characteristic
,
ETIM value
EV000185
Characteristic B
B
ETIM feature
EF000055
Rated current In
16 A
Tech stack box: Resolving the version conflict
Every 2 to 3 years a new ETIM release ships. Features disappear (deprecated), new ones appear, values get reordered. Xanevo migrates your data automatically to the newest version: schema diff, auto-mapping for unambiguous cases, steward escalation on conflicts. Re-mapping instead of manual re-classification.
Three questions manufacturers in electrical and HVAC ask
Yes. ETIM Dynamic is the extension for configurable products where feature values depend on each other (example: if material = copper, then rated current = X). Our pipeline knows these dependencies and keeps them consistent.
The ETIM code EC... is identical worldwide; we ship the label set (German, English, French, Dutch, etc.) with it. You list once, the wholesaler in the Netherlands receives the NL label, the one in France the FR label. Same master record, multiplied reach.
Yes. Cross-mapping between ETIM and ECLASS is possible, and for many classes well-defined. For industrial procurement (mechanical engineering, chemistry, automotive) ECLASS is often mandatory, for electrical wholesale ETIM. We deliver both from the same master.
Related deep dives
Taxonomy and Classification
Classification standards in overview: ETIM, ECLASS, custom taxonomies. When which standard fits and how they cross-map.
Attribute Mapping
Before data fits into ETIM, source fields must be mapped to ETIM features. Schema mapping with confidence scores and lookup tables.
// ETIM CLASSIFICATION
Pilot classification
on 100 products.
Give us 100 product datasheets from your assortment plus the target ETIM version. We run the classification pipeline and deliver in a week: ETIM class assignment with confidence score, filled features, valid BMEcat XML. Pseudonymized, documented, with effort estimate for the full assortment.