In the world of electrical, HVAC/plumbing, and building materials products, there’s a problem that costs the industry enormous amounts of time and money: everyone describes products differently. One manufacturer calls it “Rated Voltage.” Another calls it “Max Operating Voltage.” A distributor’s system expects “Nominal Voltage (V).” A contractor just wants to know if it’s 120V or 277V. Same information, different languages. That’s where data standards—and ETIM specifically—come in.

First, What Is a Data Standard?

A data standard is simply an agreed-upon way to describe and organize information so that everyone uses the same structure. Think of it as a shared vocabulary and grammar for data. Instead of every company inventing its own way to describe products, a data standard provides a common template that everyone can use for common terminology.

 

In B2B industries like electrical distribution, the “menu” is product data: the technical attributes, specifications, and classifications that describe every product in the supply chain. Without a standard, every manufacturer, distributor, and system speaks its own dialect. With a standard, everyone speaks the same language.

Why Do Data Standards Matter?

Product data flows through a long chain: from the manufacturer who creates the product, to the distributor who stocks and sells it, to the contractor or end user who installs or specifies it. At every handoff, the data needs to be understood, processed, and presented accurately.

Without a standard, each handoff introduces friction. Manufacturers format data one way. Distributors reformat it to fit their systems. E-commerce platforms need it structured yet another way. The result is manual rework, errors, delays, wrong orders, and returns—all because the same product information keeps getting translated and re-translated.

A data standard eliminates that translation layer. When everyone uses the same structure to describe products, data flows cleanly from one system to the next without manual intervention. That’s not a theoretical benefit—it’s a measurable reduction in cost, errors, and wasted time.

So, What Is ETIM?

ETIM stands for Electrotechnical Information Model. Originally developed in Europe, it’s an international standard—used in over 20 countries, available in 17+ languages, and actively growing in North America.

ETIM is a classification standard specifically designed for technical (i.e. electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.) products. It provides a structured, uniform way to describe products using predefined classes, features, values, and units. The goal is simple: make it possible for any company, anywhere, to describe the same product the same way.

A few important clarifications about what ETIM is—and isn’t:

ETIM Is	ETIM Is Not
An open, industry-governed classification standard	A software product or platform
A common language for describing technical products	A replacement for your internal systems (ERP, PIM, etc.)
An accompaniment to a manufacturer’s master data	A replacement for it
Free to use for product classification	A proprietary format owned by a single vendor
Built for B2B building materials in the wholesale market (electrical, HVAC, plumbing, building materials)	A retail or consumer product standard
Created and governed by industry experts—manufacturers, distributors, and contractors together	Imposed by an outside body with no industry input

How ETIM Works

The ETIM model organizes products using a straightforward structure. Here’s how it breaks down:

1	A product is assigned to an ETIM Class Each class represents a product category—like “Circuit Breaker,” “LED Luminaire,” or “Thermostat.” Think of it as the product group.

2	Each class has predefined Features Features are the technical attributes that describe products in that class. For a circuit breaker, that might include “Rated Current,” “Number of Poles,” and “Breaking Capacity.”

3

Each feature has standardized Values and Units Instead of free-form text descriptions, ETIM uses predefined values and measurement units. So “Rated Current” might be “20 A” (amperes), not “20 amps” or “20A” or “twenty amperes”—it’s always expressed the same way. *Important to note that values and units are also separate fields, so a value of “20” and unit of “A” (amperes) per this example.

4

The structure is identical worldwide The same class, same features, and same values are used in every country—just translated into the local language. A circuit breaker classified in ETIM in the United States looks structurally identical to one classified in Germany or Brazil. *Also worth noting that each country can have their own “local standards” to align with regulatory and certification standards if those are unique to their country.

What This Means in Practice

Here’s where it gets tangible. When a manufacturer classifies their product catalog using ETIM, they’re creating a dataset that any ETIM-compatible system can ingest automatically. A distributor receiving that data doesn’t need to reformat it, re-map the attributes, or guess what the manufacturer meant by a particular field. The data arrives structured, consistent, and ready to use.

For distributors, this means less manual data cleanup, better product search and filtering on their websites, and fewer errors in their catalogs. For end users—contractors, specifiers, engineers—it means they can search for a product by its actual technical attributes and compare options across brands on a level playing field.

For the industry as a whole, it means a shared infrastructure for product data that gets stronger with every company that adopts it.

ETIM by the Numbers

20+ Countries actively supporting ETIM

17+ Languages with translations available

21+ Member organizations worldwide

4+ Industry sectors covered and growing

ETIM started in the electrical sector in the late 1990s and has since expanded to cover HVAC & Plumbing, Building Materials, Shipbuilding, and more. Major global brands—including Schneider Electric, ABB, Siemens, Eaton, Legrand, Leviton, Lutron, Atkore, and Rockwell Automation—are ETIM members. On the distribution side, companies like Sonepar, WESCO, and Rexel are building their data strategies on ETIM. Industry associations including NAED/NEMA/IDEA, Electro-Federation Canada, and NEMRA are also members.

What Is ETIM North America?

ETIM North America (ETIM NA) is the regional non-profit organization responsible for supporting ETIM adoption in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As a member of ETIM International, ETIM NA handles the translation of the model into North American English, French Canadian, and Mexican Spanish—and works with local industry experts to ensure the model includes products, features, and values specific to the North American market.

ETIM NA is governed by a board that includes representatives from major manufacturers, distributors, and industry associations. It’s an industry-driven organization—not a vendor or a consulting firm. The standard is open, and participation in shaping it is available to any member.

Why This Matters Now

The electrical and technical products industry is in the middle of a digital transformation. E-commerce is growing. PIM systems are becoming standard. Contractors and specifiers increasingly expect to research and order products online with the same precision they get from a paper catalog—or better.

All of that depends on product data. And the quality of that data depends on whether there’s a shared structure everyone can agree on. ETIM provides that structure. It’s not a new idea—it’s a proven model with decades of global adoption that’s now gaining serious momentum in North America.

Whether you’re a manufacturer trying to simplify how you share product data, a distributor trying to improve your online experience, or an industry leader thinking about where the market is headed—understanding ETIM is an important first step.

ETIM North America is a non-profit regional member of ETIM International, responsible for supporting the adoption of the ETIM classification standard in the North American wholesale electrical industry and associated verticals. For membership inquiries, contact info@etim-na.org.