How does a US manufacturer of air conditioners ensure its distributor in Spain has all of the necessary technical and transactional information to comply with local regulations and sell to Spanish buyers effectively? It standardizes its data into international formats like ETIM.
The ETIM classification standard is the most widely used standard for classifying technical products and describing their technical features. It is used by manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, contractors, distributors, and wholesalers in the electrical, HVAC, plumbing, building, sanitary, and other related industrial sectors.
In February 2024, ETIM officially released the inaugural version of ETIM xChange – a new JSON-based exchange format for international manufacturers and distributors. Before realizing the impact of the standard, let’s examine what makes the format unique.
What is ETIM xChange?
For companies operating globally, establishing a universal format to exchange product data internationally is crucial. Otherwise, the process becomes highly inefficient if you have uniform classified product data that you have to then adjust to different local formats when sharing with your respective trade partners.
ETIM xChange is the first standard for exchanging product data that is entirely controlled by ETIM International and its community.
The format was designed for universal and global adoption, as it's rooted in European Master Data Guidelines (EMDG) and incorporates insights from other prominent product exchange standards, like DICO, BMEcat, and FAB-DIS. It also offers a robust validation structure, exemplified by its adherence to JSON-schema protocols.
Specific characteristics of ETIM xChange
Commerce driven, and strongly accelerated by ecommerce best practices, product data exchange is a strategic business enabler with growing complexity. ETIM xChange has been designed to replace ETIM BMEcat and provide a better framework supporting the constant evolution of new content requirements (e.g. rich media, legal, environmental, etc.)
Let's look at the benefits of this new standard and why it could become your favorite format for global product data exchange in the distribution network.
- JSON-based
JSON is commonly known in many developer communities. The format is easier to read and a very sound alternative to XML (BMEcat is XML-based). In addition to file exchange, JSON is also suitable for web/API exchange.
- Flexible scope of use
ETIM xChange can be used for full catalog transfer or limited to delta changes only. The information is compartmentalized into a well-defined hierarchical structure where most sections and subsections are optional, so you can provide more or less information without compromising the readiness and structure. You can also combine information from multiple suppliers in the same file, making it especially suitable for data pools.
- Structure and data validation
The documentation provides a comprehensive semantic description of all data fields. ETIM xChange also provides a JSON Schema for the technical validation of your data structure.
Need help aggregating multiple data sources, including BMEcat, xChange etc?
Learn more- A better distinction between Products, Trade Items, and Packaging Units
ETIM xChange aims to help clarify each product of the multiple buying options and packaging units, while limiting the redundancy on product information basics.
With ETIM xChange V2.0, the standard expands this capability by introducing dedicated structures for packaging material data. These additions help companies support compliance with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) while improving packaging transparency for trading partners and downstream systems.
- Multiple product classifications
To ease adoption amongst the community, ETIM classification is not mandatory (although strongly recommended). ETIM xChange allows the option for ETIM, ETIM MC, ECLASS, UNSPSC, and company-specific classifications to be embedded.
- Multilingual catalogs
Since the xChange format supports the exchange of single-language or multilingual catalogs, many text fields (e.g. product or item descriptions) are defined as multilingual. Attachments can also be localized with different filenames or URLs and descriptions per language.
- Sustainability, climate, and environmental considerations
Customer expectations and legislation for sustainability have increased considerably. To strengthen the visibility of these topics and facilitate the information exchange between partners, ETIM xChange dedicates specific sections to Legislation and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with numerous specific attributes.
With ETIM xChange V2.0, these capabilities make the standard one of the most suitable product data formats for organizations preparing for the EU's Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements.
- A global standard taking care of local requirements
Designed to be a global standard, ETIM xChange leaves space for country-specific fields and specific extensions. The local guidelines align with the local ETIM organization. You must register as an ETIM member if you want to influence the classification and the format.
For further information on the specifics of ETIM xChange, you can download ETIM International’s documents here.
ETIM xChange 2.0: What changed?
On November 27, 2025, ETIM International released ETIM xChange 2.0, the first major update since the standard launched in 2024. Alongside fixes and improvements, version 2.0 introduces:
- Extended environmental data fields (LCA/EPD) to support sustainability reporting.
- Packaging material data structures aligned with key requirements of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
- Updated MDX media codes to support media-type specification and simplify migration from ETIM BMEcat.
- Serial number management support for improved tracking of serialized products.
Why does this matter? The PPWR enters general application on August 12, 2026, while the EU's Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements begin rolling out from February 2027. The new packaging and environmental data capabilities in ETIM xChange 2.0 help manufacturers and distributors prepare for these requirements now rather than retrofitting product data later.
▶️ For a complete overview of the changes, ETIM International provides the full ETIM xChange 2.0 documentation package, including a detailed change log.
Prepare for the next generation of product data exchange with Productsup
Upgrade from ETIM xChange 1.0 without starting from scratch and prepare your product data for upcoming requirements such as PPWR and the Digital Product Passport.
Contact our expertsHow manufacturers and distributors can work with complex formats
While standards like ETIM xChange enable businesses in the industrial manufacturing sector to collaborate across international markets more effectively and improve their data quality, ensuring their data meets these standards presents its own set of challenges.
For one, manufacturers and distributors often struggle to integrate disparate data sources and systems, leading to data silos that cause inefficiencies and inconsistencies. Another common obstacle is the sheer complexity of the data itself. Raw product data often comes in rigid formats that offer little room for customization or adaptation to evolving requirements. For enterprises handling vast inventories comprising thousands or even millions of SKUs across multiple regions, aligning product data with various standards like FAB-DIS, BMEcat, and ETIM xChange puts tremendous strain on internal resources.
Luckily, new solutions have emerged to support companies in their efforts to standardize their product data. AI and automation can remove a lot of the manual work required to source, clean, enrich, and distribute the data to the necessary channels. For instance, Productsup’s product content syndication platform offers manufacturers and distributors extensive data transformation capabilities to manage, optimize, and distribute product data seamlessly.
Serving as an official ETIM member, Productsup ensures all data aligns with local ETIM classification standards. Its user-friendly interface allows users to easily manage a variety of catalog formats, including CSV, XML, JSON, Excel templates, and more.
ETIM-friendly data exchange with Productsup
Global manufacturers like Prysmian Group rely on Productsup to harmonize their product data across their organization and share it with wholesalers and data pools. With over 600 attributes on each of their thousands of products, Prysmian uses Productsup as a central source of truth to collect all of their data across more than 100 manufacturing plants and 50 offices worldwide.
Productsup eases the process of converting, mapping, and enhancing product data by using automated and configurable processes. By using customer-specific data exports like FAB-DIS, BMEcat, ARGE, etc., and classifying products according to ETIM standards, manufacturers and distributors can meet the needs of diverse channels and systems.
New player in the ETIM playground? Or maybe you’re looking to transition from ETIM BMEcat to ETIM xChange? See for yourself how you can easily map xChange fields to old BMEcat fields using our platform to simplify your data maintenance process even further.
Have questions about migrating from BMEcat, or about ETIM xChange 1.0 vs. 2.0? Contact our experts for more info.
Explore more resources:
- [Platform overview] For retailer and distributor channels
- [Industry overview] Productsup for industrial manufacturing
- [Guide] Product content syndication in industrial manufacturing: A guide for PIM executives
- [Guide] Demystifying digital product passports: The simple way to prepare for sustainability compliance
- [News] < ahref="https://www.productsup.com/media/productsup-and-protokol-partner-to-streamline-creation-of-digital-product-passports/">Productsup and Protokol partner to streamline creation of Digital Product Passports
- [Glossary] What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)?