2. Definitions
The literature on economics, commodity science, and logistics does not always provide unambiguous definitions of very important terms. As a result of research into literature and legal documents, the author presents some of them, while proposing several changes.
Goods – things or services satisfying human needs, created as a result of the production process [16].
Goods – all means capable of satisfying human needs (free goods, manufactured goods, energy, and services) [12]. The synonym “goods” is often used to describe commodities.
In product coding, goods are everything that has the capacity to satisfy human needs.
Goods – all means capable of satisfying human needs (free goods, manufactured goods, energy, and services) [12]. The synonym “goods” is often used to describe commodities.
In product coding, goods are everything that has the capacity to satisfy human needs.
The term classification comes from two Latin words: classis – “division” and facio – “I make,” which in common understanding means “systematic division of something, e.g., sets of objects or phenomena into classes, divisions, and subdivisions according to a specific principle” [16]. Such a definition does not reflect the term classification well because it specifies division only into divisions, classes, and subclasses. Is the division of a population into groups, sections, etc., not a classification? The definition provided below, contained in the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of April 6, 2004, on the Polish Classification of Products and Services (PKWiU), does not have this flaw.
Classification is a systematized (generally hierarchical) division of a population (e.g., entities, phenomena, activities) according to accepted principles and criteria into parts, each of which is distinguished by features that the others do not have. It assigns a code and a name to each part of the set, defines its scope, and its place in the classification scheme. Every classification, apart from the scheme, contains a methodological part in which the subject of classification, the applicable rules for its application, and its purpose are defined [13].
However, the phrase in the above definition is debatable: “(…) each of which is distinguished by features that the others do not have.” It is proposed to adopt the following definition of classification in product coding:
Classification is a systematized (generally hierarchical) division of a population (e.g., entities, phenomena, activities) into parts according to accepted principles and criteria.
However, the phrase in the above definition is debatable: “(…) each of which is distinguished by features that the others do not have.” It is proposed to adopt the following definition of classification in product coding:
Classification is a systematized (generally hierarchical) division of a population (e.g., entities, phenomena, activities) into parts according to accepted principles and criteria.
Three definitions of the term “code” are presented below.
Code – an unambiguous assignment of elements of one finite set to elements of another finite set. In computer science, alphanumeric codes (e.g., ASCII, Unicode), numeric codes (e.g., decimal code, binary code), and control codes (used for detecting and correcting errors; e.g., parity check codes) are the most widespread.
In information theory, a code is a kind of dictionary that assigns meaning to a finite number of elements of an information set. These units can have any physical form.
In statistics – codes are signs or strings of characters and their combinations that are assigned to specific concepts, constituting an established representation of a specific state of reality, adopted for use in statistics [13].
Code – an unambiguous assignment of elements of one finite set to elements of another finite set. In computer science, alphanumeric codes (e.g., ASCII, Unicode), numeric codes (e.g., decimal code, binary code), and control codes (used for detecting and correcting errors; e.g., parity check codes) are the most widespread.
In information theory, a code is a kind of dictionary that assigns meaning to a finite number of elements of an information set. These units can have any physical form.
In statistics – codes are signs or strings of characters and their combinations that are assigned to specific concepts, constituting an established representation of a specific state of reality, adopted for use in statistics [13].
For the purposes of product coding, the following definition can be adopted:
a product code is a unique string of characters (most often alphanumeric) or a graphic symbol assigned according to a specific principle and criterion to an element of a set of products. This code uniquely identifies the product, e.g., product name, price, and even the manufacturer or other data elements related to the product; it can be presented in a visually and/or machine-readable form.
Codification comes from the French-Latin codex – “book” and the Latin facio – “I make,” and it is a “method of establishing law consisting of replacing numerous regulations in a given field of law with one new legal act” [16]. This is the most well-known meaning of this word.
In the NATO Codification System (NCS), two terms are provided: codification and NATO codification.
Codification – a basic system designed to create a uniform common supply language for identification, classification, assignment of a stock number, recording of manufacturer data, and maintaining an up-to-date set of data on supply items in order to provide management tools for logistics [17].
NATO codification – the entirety of activities in the scope of identification, classification, and assigning stock numbers to NATO supply items in order to create a common logistics language, in accordance with the principle of assigning only one stock number to one supply item. Within the framework of NATO codification activities, the following are carried out: maintaining codification data and providing updated information to all countries that are registered as users of these items [17].
NATO Codification System (NCS) – A uniform system of supply classification and item identification described in detail in standardization agreements STANAG 3150 and STANAG 3151 [17].
a product code is a unique string of characters (most often alphanumeric) or a graphic symbol assigned according to a specific principle and criterion to an element of a set of products. This code uniquely identifies the product, e.g., product name, price, and even the manufacturer or other data elements related to the product; it can be presented in a visually and/or machine-readable form.
Codification comes from the French-Latin codex – “book” and the Latin facio – “I make,” and it is a “method of establishing law consisting of replacing numerous regulations in a given field of law with one new legal act” [16]. This is the most well-known meaning of this word.
In the NATO Codification System (NCS), two terms are provided: codification and NATO codification.
Codification – a basic system designed to create a uniform common supply language for identification, classification, assignment of a stock number, recording of manufacturer data, and maintaining an up-to-date set of data on supply items in order to provide management tools for logistics [17].
NATO codification – the entirety of activities in the scope of identification, classification, and assigning stock numbers to NATO supply items in order to create a common logistics language, in accordance with the principle of assigning only one stock number to one supply item. Within the framework of NATO codification activities, the following are carried out: maintaining codification data and providing updated information to all countries that are registered as users of these items [17].
NATO Codification System (NCS) – A uniform system of supply classification and item identification described in detail in standardization agreements STANAG 3150 and STANAG 3151 [17].