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208 guides across 20 of 20 shelves, grouped below by shelf in shelf order. Page 1 of 5, 50 guides per page. Use the search page to filter by a word in a title.
Components, structures and building work (11 on this page)
Structures, manufacturing components, electronic and electrical parts, building machinery, vehicles, distribution systems, and land and buildings.
- What sits in the building machinery segment?
What sits in the building machinery segment? building and construction machinery with its accessories, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Where does building work meet building maintenance services?
Where does building work meet building maintenance services? the line between buying building components and buying the service of maintaining a building, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Where does a component stop and a finished good start?
Where does a component stop and a finished good start? the point where a part bought to be built in becomes a good bought to be used, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- How do construction contracts use several segments at once?
How do construction contracts use several segments at once? a contract that buys machinery, components, systems and services, each from its own segment, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the distribution systems segment?
What sits in the distribution systems segment? distribution and conditioning systems with their equipment and components, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the electrical and lighting segment?
What sits in the electrical and lighting segment? electrical systems, lighting, components, accessories and supplies, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the electronic components segment?
What sits in the electronic components segment? electronic components and supplies, the parts inside electronic equipment, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the land and buildings segment?
What sits in the land and buildings segment? land, buildings, structures and thoroughfares as a segment of their own, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the manufacturing components segment?
What sits in the manufacturing components segment? manufacturing components and supplies that makers buy to build their own products, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the structures segment?
What sits in the structures segment? structures, building, construction and manufacturing components and supplies, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the vehicles segment?
What sits in the vehicles segment? commercial, military and private vehicles with their accessories and components, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
Personal, domestic and consumer goods (10 on this page)
Sport, domestic appliances, apparel, timepieces, furniture, musical instruments, games and educational materials: the consumer end of the catalogue.
- What sits in the apparel segment?
What sits in the apparel segment? apparel, luggage and personal care products, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- How do consumer goods tenders use UNSPSC?
How do consumer goods tenders use UNSPSC? tender lots that separate goods a buyer might otherwise lump together as general supplies, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Where does a consumer good stop and an industrial good start?
Where does a consumer good stop and an industrial good start? the line set by the codeset wording, where the same kind of thing can sit in two segments by context of use, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the domestic appliances segment?
What sits in the domestic appliances segment? domestic appliances, supplies and consumer electronic products, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the furniture segment?
What sits in the furniture segment? furniture and furnishings for homes and workplaces, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- How is household goods spend counted?
How is household goods spend counted? spend rolled up from commodity detail to segment level, with consumer segments kept apart from industrial ones, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the musical instruments segment?
What sits in the musical instruments segment? musical instruments, games, toys, arts and crafts, and educational equipment and materials with their accessories and supplies, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Where does personal care meet health goods?
Where does personal care meet health goods? the boundary between personal care products and medical or pharmaceutical goods, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the sports segment?
What sits in the sports segment? sports and recreational equipment, supplies and accessories, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the timepieces segment?
What sits in the timepieces segment? timepieces, jewelry and gemstone products, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
Management, professional and business services (14 on this page)
The service segments that support running an organisation: management advice, business administration, engineering, design, finance and related professional work.
- What sits in the business administration segment?
What sits in the business administration segment? management, business professionals and administrative services as a segment, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- How should bundled business services be coded?
How should bundled business services be coded? a bundle split into its service parts, each coded where the codeset puts it, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the industrial cleaning services segment?
What sits in the industrial cleaning services segment? industrial cleaning services, distinct from cleaning equipment and supplies, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the consultation services class?
What sits in the consultation services class? consultation services as a class, with published commodities including strategic planning consultation services, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the contracting services segment?
What sits in the contracting services segment? farming, fishing, forestry and wildlife contracting services, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the editorial and design services segment?
What sits in the editorial and design services segment? editorial, design, graphic and fine art services, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the engineering services segment?
What sits in the engineering services segment? engineering, research and technology based services, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the environmental services segment?
What sits in the environmental services segment? environmental services as a segment, covering work that protects or remediates the environment, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the financial instruments segment?
What sits in the financial instruments segment? financial instruments, products, contracts and agreements as a segment of their own, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the financial services segment?
What sits in the financial services segment? financial and insurance services, distinct from financial instruments as products, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the management advisory family?
What sits in the management advisory family? management advisory services, with consultation services as a class beneath it, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the industrial production services segment?
What sits in the industrial production services segment? industrial production and manufacturing services, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What sits in the mining and oil services segment?
What sits in the mining and oil services segment? mining and oil and gas services, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- At what level should professional services be coded?
At what level should professional services be coded? the level the buyer asked for, or commodity level where no level was asked, with the choice recorded, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
History and governance of UNSPSC (5 on this page)
From the 1998 UNDP and Dun and Bradstreet memorandum through ECCMA and GS1 US to UNDP management again from 1 January 2025.
- How did UNSPSC begin in 1998?
How did UNSPSC begin in 1998? a memorandum of understanding signed by the United Nations Development Programme and Dun and Bradstreet in 1998, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What did ECCMA do for UNSPSC?
What did ECCMA do for UNSPSC? a non-profit membership association formed in 1999 to manage and promote UNSPSC until March 2003, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Why does governance matter to a buyer quoting a code?
Why does governance matter to a buyer quoting a code? because a code is only checkable when a reader knows who publishes the codeset and which version is current, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What did GS1 US do as code manager?
What did GS1 US do as code manager? the body appointed by UNDP in May 2003 to manage UNSPSC, holding the role until 31 December 2024, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What is the short history of UNSPSC?
What is the short history of UNSPSC? from the 1998 UNDP and Dun and Bradstreet memorandum, through ECCMA and GS1 US, to UNDP management again from 1 January 2025, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
Mistakes, traps and borderline calls (10 on this page)
The recurring errors in reading and quoting UNSPSC: goods against services, kits against parts, broad against narrow, and the current version against an old one.
- How should assorted or mixed lots be coded?
How should assorted or mixed lots be coded? at the broader level that genuinely covers the mix, rather than at the level of one item inside it, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Why must brand not drive a UNSPSC code?
Why must brand not drive a UNSPSC code? because UNSPSC groups by kind of thing, never by brand, seller or model, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Why is copying a neighbour's code risky?
Why is copying a neighbour's code risky? a neighbouring commodity that differs by one use, one material or one function, while sharing most of its title, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What happens when a good is coded as a service?
What happens when a good is coded as a service? a purchase counted in the wrong half of the catalogue, so goods spend looks smaller and services spend looks larger, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- How do kits and parts get confused?
How do kits and parts get confused? a kit coded as one of its parts, or a part coded as the whole kit it belongs to, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What goes wrong with coding from an old version?
What goes wrong with coding from an old version? a code that moved, changed wording or disappeared since the catalogue was last reviewed, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Why must price not drive a UNSPSC code?
Why must price not drive a UNSPSC code? because a code groups by kind, and an expensive and a cheap version of the same kind share a code, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- Why is one code for a bundle usually wrong?
Why is one code for a bundle usually wrong? because a bundle spans kinds, and one code can only name one kind, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What goes wrong with coding too broadly?
What goes wrong with coding too broadly? a code that covers far more than was bought, so reports flatter a category and tenders attract irrelevant bids, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
- What goes wrong with coding too narrowly?
What goes wrong with coding too narrowly? a code that claims more precision than the evidence supports, so a purchase is counted under a commodity it does not belong to, in UNSPSC as managed by the United Nations Development Programme since 1 January 2025.
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