Helpful answers to frequently asked questions
Many questions about ECLASS have been asked before. We place great value on formulating clear and comprehensible answers.
ECLASS is a cross-industry product-data standard for the classification and unique description of products and services. ECLASS has established itself nationally and internationally as the only ISO- and IEC-compliant industry standard.
Introduction to the ECLASS Standard
ECLASS releases and language versions are easily obtained through the Shop. This is where you’ll also find an overview of prices, as well as the terms of use for using ECLASS.
Not every company that wants to use the ECLASS Standard needs to purchase a license.
Find out more in the ECLASS Terms of Use.
Here you can find an overview of prices for ECLASS licenses, as well as for membership in the ECLASS organization.
The price categories are based on company size, depending on the number of employees.
A Single License includes license rights for a single ECLASS Release in all available languages and all release formats. This type of license makes sense if you only need a single ECLASS Release.
A Concordance License includes all previously published releases as well as all releases published during the Concordance term, all available languages, as well as all available update files. This type of license makes sense if you need more than one ECLASS Release.
In addition to the major “hard” benefits a membership gives you, the primary advantages include above all the direct exchange with other members, the access to information in advance of market rivals, and the opportunity to influence the future direction of the ECLASS association and the ECLASS Standard.
The “hard” benefits are in essence the free downloads of the ECLASS Standard, including update files showing correspondences between the various versions.
Have you already looked for a suitable classification class in the ECLASS Content Search by entering your product? Please note: All terms must be entered in the singular (e.g. pencil). If there are synonyms for your product, try searching with this term.
This search is still unsuccessful: ECLASS as an "open standard" offers you the opportunity to actively shape and further develop the Standard by Change Requests. You find further information on submitting a Change Request at ECLASS development. Your Change Request will be reviewed by experts and published in the next ECLASS Release.
We make your ECLASS download available as soon as you’ve purchased a license through the ECLASS Shop and the invoice has been paid.
You can begin implementation immediately after the download, or contract out for the process using an IT Service Provider from our network.
For implementation of ECLASS, we recommend one of our authorized ECLASS Service Providers.
The degree of complexity associated with ECLASS implementation depends on numerous factors that can vary strongly from user to user. For example, these include the quality of the existing master data, the number of products (for catalogs, procurement or sales), product complexity, the number of language versions needed, and so on. In addition, the opportunities offered by ERP systems play a role here, as does the fundamental question of what is intended to be accomplished with ECLASS, and what approach will be taken as a result. The deeper ECLASS is to be integrated in internal or cross-company processes, the greater will be the complexity, but the greater too will be the expected return on investment.
You can find an overview of all available language versions here. If you don’t find a particular language version for an already-purchased ECLASS Release, please contact us. We can generate the language version for you.
You can contact us at any time.
We’d be happy to answer your questions by phone or by mail.
You can always find someone to talk to in our head office in Cologne:
ECLASS Head Office
c/o Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln Consult GmbH
Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 21
D - 50668 Cologne
Phone: +49 (0)221 4 98 18 11
info@eclass.de