The international classification system for procurement items called the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) will replace the Government of Canada’s Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN) codes in 2017.
GSIN mapped to UNSPSC
Find below an open data file that maps the UNSPSC goods and services codes to the Government of Canada’s current system for classifying commodities: the Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN). The data are available in Comma Separated Values (CSV) file format and can be downloaded to sort, filter, and search information (link is below). Please refer to the section “Files for Download” below.
Chronology of activity
Spring 2016: More than 60 contracting officers and managers participated in the validation and mapping exercise of 5,200 GSIN codes to their UNSPSC equivalent. We released the first instance of the map as an open data file.
Approximately 500 GSIN codes were not validated; many of these codes were outdated and no longer used in the procurement process. We are in the process of finalizing 80 of the 500 non-validated GSIN codes. Once we have completed the review, the valid codes will be added to the GSIN-UNSPSC concordance table and the remaining non-valid codes will be deactivated. The revised concordance table will be released as an open data file, along with a news article informing you of the update.
December 2014: We launched the UNSPSC Working Group to review and validate the concordance table. The working group consisted of commodity managers and subject matter experts from PSPC Acquisitions Branch sectors and regional offices.
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Data Fields and Definitions
The following is a definition list of the data fields used in UNSPSC. For more information, please visit the UNSPSC website.
For definitions of other procurement-related terminology, please consult the Buyandsell.gc.ca Glossary.
- Class
- The third level of the taxonomy. A group of commodities sharing common characteristics.
- Commodity
- The fourth level of the taxonomy. A group of substitutable products or services.
- Date file published
- The date and time when the file was published.
- Family
- The second level of the taxonomy. It is the commonly recognized group of inter-related commodity categories.
- GSIN code
- The Goods and Services Identification Number used by the federal government to identify generic product descriptions for its procurement activities.
- GSIN description
- The description of the good or service that corresponds to the GSIN code.
- Segment
- The top level of the taxonomy. The logical aggregation of families for analytical purposes.
- UNSPSC code
- An eight-digit number, the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) is an international open standard for the classification of products and services in the context of procurement activities.
- UNSPSC description
- The description of the product or service that corresponds to the UNSPSC code.
Files for Download
UNSPSC: View and download open data files for United Nations Standard Products and Services Code on the Government of Canada's Open Data website.
GSIN mapped to UNSPSC: View and download the open data file of the Mapping of Goods and Services Identification Number to United Nations Standard Products and Services Code on the Government of Canada’s Open Data website.
Publisher
GS1 US on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Date Published
2015/05/08
Time Period
All active
Update Frequency
Ongoing
Language
Bilingual
Description of Data
The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) is a hierarchical convention that is used to classify all products and services.
Source of Data
GS1 US on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Available Formats
CSV/Text file (comma separated values file)