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{{Short description|Anything that can be offered to a market}}
In ], a '''product''' is matt is stupid,
{{Other uses|Product (disambiguation){{!}}Product}}
anything that can be offered to a ] that might satisfy a want or need.<ref> Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Brown, L., and Adam, S. (2006) ''Marketing'', 7th Ed. Pearson Education Australia/Prentice Hall.</ref> In ], products are called '''merchandise'''. In ], products are purchased as ] and sold as ]. ] are usually raw materials such as metals and agricultural products, but a commodity can also be anything widely available in the open market.
] ] ]]]
In ], a '''product''' is an object, or system, or service made available for ] use as of the consumer demand; it is anything that can be offered to a domestic or an international market to satisfy the desire or need of a ].<ref>Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Brown, L., and Adam, S. (2006) ''Marketing'', 7th Ed. Pearson Education Australia/Prentice Hall.</ref> In ], products are often referred to as ], and in ], products are bought as ]s and then sold as ]. A ] is also regarded as a type of product.


In ], products are the formal definition of the ] that make up or contribute to delivering the objectives of the project.
The verb produce (pr{{IPA|ə}} doos' or -dyoos') is from the Latin ''prōdūce(re)'', (to) lead or bring forth. The noun product (prod'{{IPA|ə}}kt or-ukt) is "a thing produced by labor or effort".<ref>Random House Dictionary, 1975</ref> Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced.<ref>, etymonline.com.</ref> Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things produced". The economic or commercial meaning of product was first used by political economist ].<ref>, etymonline.com.</ref>


A related concept is that of a sub-product, a secondary but useful result of a ] process.
In general usage, product may refer to a single item or unit, a group of equivalent products, a grouping of goods or services, or an industrial classification for the goods or services.


Dangerous products, particularly physical ones, that cause injuries to consumers or bystanders may be subject to ].
==Single unique product==
Product may refer to a unique product, such as a single carton of brand X milk, a single customized interior design, a single piece of lumber, or a single hour of technical support. ]s are used to identify certain unique products. A ] identifies a unique motor vehicle.


==Product classification==
The term "defective product" usually refers to a single instance or a few instances of unique products not meeting ]s or ]s. Every product is unique in the sense that it cannot be sold to different customers such as customer A and customer B at the same time, or sold twice at the same time to a single customer. An ] is a business document requesting payment for actual product delivered. ] is the error of charging a customer twice for the same unique product.
]
A product can be classified as ] or ]. A tangible product is an actual physical object that can be perceived by touch such as a building, vehicle, gadget, or clothing. An intangible product is a product that can only be perceived indirectly such as an insurance policy. These ] can be broadly classified under intangible products, which can be ].


===By use===
==Equivalent or interchangeable product==
In its online product catalog, retailer ] divides its products into "departments", then presents products to potential shoppers according to (1) function or (2) brand.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217122009/http://www.sears.com/ |date=2007-02-17 }}, sears.com.</ref> Each product has a Sears item number and a manufacturer's model number. Sears uses the departments and product groupings with the intention of helping customers browse products by function or brand within a traditional ] structure.<ref>When an online Sears customer goes to the "Parts and accessories" section of the website to find parts for a particular Sears item, the "model number" field actually requires a Sears item number, not a manufacturer's model number. This is a typical problem with product codes or item codes that are internally assigned by a company but do not conform to an external standard.</ref>
The specific meaning of generic product names varies over time and location. Some products such as bread, milk, and salt have been ]ed or sold for centuries, but the meaning of "bread" or "milk" as a product varies. The technologies were not available for ] and ] of milk until the 20th century, and these ] technologies are not used worldwide. Bread varies by type of grain, specific recipe, and size of loaf. In 1924, ] introduced iodized table salt, a product previously unavailable. Since 1961, ] have traded on the ], but due to selective breeding and changes in hog feed, today's pork belly is not exactly equivalent to a 1960s pork belly. Certain products may be considered equivalent or interchangeable for the purposes of trade, record-keeping, and reporting, despite gradual changes in the product or variations among geographical locations.


===By association===
The distinction between a new product and a minor modification to an existing product is not always clear. Certain products have a ] in which the supply and demand for the product increases then decreases over time. The demand for certain food products such as bread will tend to increase with population, but the supply and demand for a specific brand of bread may decline over time.<ref>, agmrc.org.</ref> In the United States, a ] for a product is recognition that the product is new in a legal sense. "Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof; design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and, plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant."<ref>, uspto.gov.</ref>
A product line is "a group of products that are closely related, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges."<ref>{{cite book |last=Kotler |first=Philip |author2=Gary Armstrong |title=Principles of Marketing, fourth edition |publisher=Prentice-Hall, Inc. |year=1989 |pages=639 (glossary definition) |isbn=0-13-706129-3|edition=Annotated Instructor's }}</ref>
In business an equivalent, interchangeable or ] product is defined by a company and its customers. A company's inventory is comprised of physical products, or goods, that are usually recorded as counts of equivalent unique products, such as 50 8-oz cans of salsa. The equivalent unique products may be assigned a product code or item code, such that "50 8-oz cans of salsa" is recorded as "50 17766443" on the company's records. If the company carries two brands of 8-oz salsa, it may assign separate item codes to the brands, or it may use a single item code for both brands.
Many businesses offer a range of product lines which may be unique to a single organisation or may be common across the business's industry. In 2002 the US Census compiled revenue figures for the finance and insurance industry by various product lines such as "accident, health and medical insurance premiums" and "income from secured consumer loans".<ref> US Census Bureau, 2002, p.14.</ref> Within the ] industry, product lines are indicated by the type of risk coverage, such as ], commercial ] and ].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}


===National and international product classifications===
Product numbers in many businesses clearly identify the product by linking to a full description.<ref>, gurneys.com. Accessed on 2007-07-01.</ref>
Various classification systems for products have been developed for economic statistical purposes. The NAFTA signatories are working on a system that classifies products called NAPCS as a companion to the ] (NAICS).<ref>, U.S. Census Bureau</ref> The European Union uses a "Classification of Products by Activity" among other product classifications.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012145212/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm?TargetUrl=LST_NOM&StrGroupCode=CLASSIFIC&StrLanguageCode=EN |date=2007-10-12 }}, ec.europa.eu.</ref> The United Nations also classifies products for international economic activity reporting.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703074531/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=16 |date=2007-07-03 }}, unstats.un.org.</ref>


The '''Aspinwall Classification System''' <ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829162515/http://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/17341697/social-marketing |date=2013-08-29 }}, Social Marketing AED Resource p. 45</ref><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205141121/http://www.sagepub.com/clow/study/articles/PDFs/01_Shaw.pdf |date=2010-12-05 }}, Marketing theory Volume 5(3): 239–281, 2005 SAGE, p. 249</ref> classifies and rates products based on five variables:
Product identification codes such as ], ] and ] allow multiple businesses to use a single product identification code to indicate one unit of a ] product.
# Replacement rate (How frequently is the product repurchased?)
# Gross margin (How much profit is obtained from each product?)
# Buyer goal adjustment (How flexible are the buyers' purchasing habits with regard to this product?)
# Duration of product satisfaction (How long will the product produce benefits for the user?)
# Duration of buyer search behavior (How long will consumers shop for the product?)


The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP)<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026173727/http://www.nigp.org/ |date=2008-10-26 }}, nigp.org</ref> developed a commodity and services classification system for use by state and local governments, the ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209070611/http://nigp.com/ |date=2008-12-09 }}</ref> The NIGP Code is used by 33 states within the United States as well as thousands of cities, counties and political subdivisions. The NIGP Code is a hierarchical schema consisting of a 3 digit class, 5 digit class-item, 7 digit class-item-group, and an 11 digit class-item-group-detail.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017101312/http://www.nigp.com/nigp-code-sample-01.jsp |date=2008-10-17 }}</ref> Applications of the NIGP Code include vendor registration, inventory item identification, contract item management, spend analysis, and strategic sourcing.
===Lots or batches===
Lot numbers, ] or control numbers are used in manufacturing to sub-divide equivalent product by its manufacturing batch or run. The publishing page of a book lists the printing run that produced that unique book. Industries such as pharmaceuticals,
food processing, and ] use some form of control number to sub-divide equivalent product for product testing or expiration dating. See also ]. Two separate lots may vary slightly, but they are not assigned separate product identification codes because the variation does not give them significantly different features or uses as products.


== Product model <span class="anchor" id="Product Model"></span>==
] labels on vaccines in the UK contain a product code but do not currently contain the batch number or expiry date.<ref>, info.doh.gov.uk. Retrieved on ] ].</ref> Inventory records of ]s in the United States must include a "batch number or other appropriate identifying number".<ref>"(ii) For each controlled substance in the process of manufacture on the inventory date, the inventory shall include:...(C) The physical form which the substance is to take upon completion of the manufacturing process (e.g., granulations, tablets, capsules, or solutions), identified by the batch number or other appropriate identifying number, and if possible the finished form of the substance (e.g., 10-milligram tablet or 10-milligram concentration per fluid ounce or milliliter) and the number or volume thereof.", deadiversion.usdoj.gov.</ref>


A manufacturer usually provides an identifier for each particular design of product they make, known as a '''model''', '''model variant''', or '''model number''' (often abbreviated as '''MN''', '''M/N''' or '''model no.''', and sometimes as ]). For example, ], a manufacturer of appliances (mainly vacuum cleaners), requires customers to identify their model in the support section of the website.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827002857/http://www.english.dysoncanada.ca/support/help.asp?article=32 |date=2011-08-27 }}</ref> ] and model can be used together to identify products in the market. The model number is not necessarily the same as the ] (MPN).<ref>SOTW, Celebird, et al. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927042816/http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/base/thread?tid=15712f8613820165&hl=en |date=2011-09-27 }}. ''Google Merchant Center: Help forum''. August 31, 2009, accessed September 6, 2011.</ref>
==Product groups==
===Categories===
In its online product catalogue, retailer ] divides its products into departments, then presents products to shoppers according to (1) function or (2) brand.<ref>, sears.com.</ref> Each product has a Sears item number and a manufacturer's model number. The departments and product groupings that Sears uses are intended to help customers browse products by function or brand within a traditional ] structure.<ref>When an online Sears customer goes to the "Parts and accessories" section of the website to find parts for a particular Sears item, the "model number" field actually requires a Sears item number, not a manufacturer's model number. This is a typical problem with product codes or item codes that are internally assigned by a company but do not conform to an external standard.</ref>


Because of the huge amount of similar products in the ], there is a special kind of defining a car with options (marks, attributes) that represent the characteristics features of the vehicle. A model of a car is defined by some basic options like body, engine, gearbox, and axles. The variants of a model (often called the '''trim levels''') are built by some additional options like color, seats, wheels, mirrors, other trims, entertainment and assistant systems, etc. Options, that exclude each other (pairwise) build an option family. That means that you can choose only one option for each family and you have to choose exactly one option.
===Sizes and colors===
A catalog number, especially for clothing, may group sizes and colors. When ordering the product, the customer specifies size, color and other variables.<ref>. llbean.com. Accessed 2007-07-01.</ref>
example: you walk into a store and see a group of shoes and in that group are sections of different colors of that type of shoe and sizes for that shoe to satisfy your need.


In addition, a specific unit of a product is often (and in some contexts must be) identified by a ], which is necessary to distinguish products with the same product definition. In the case of automotive products, it is called the ] (VIN), an internationally standardised format.
===Product line===
A product line is "a group of products that are closely related, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges."<ref>{{cite book |last=Kotler |first=Philip |coauthors=Gary Armstrong |title=Principles of Marketing, fourth edition (Annotated Instructor's Edition) |publisher=Prentice-Hall, Inc. |date=1989 |pages=639 (glossary definition) |isbn=0137061293}}</ref>


==Product information==
Many businesses offer a range of product lines which may be unique to a single organization or may be common across the business's industry. In 2002 the US Census compiled revenue figures for the finance and insurance industry by various product lines such as "accident, health and medical insurance premiums" and "income from secured consumer loans".<ref> US Census Bureau, 2002, p.14.</ref> Within the ] industry, product lines are indicated by the type of risk coverage, such as ], ] and ].<ref></ref>
{{See also|Product analysis}}
Product information, beyond ] price information, can include:<ref name="978-0-262-03492-0">{{cite book |last1=Sarokin |first1=David |last2=Schulkin |first2=Jay |title=Missed Information: Better Information for Building a Wealthier, More Sustainable Future |date=26 August 2016 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-03492-0 |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8toPDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA100 |language=en}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=November 2022}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* Product description – typically on a label on or ] of the product or in ]
* ] – including ] and for unobservable quality attributes<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jahn |first1=Gabriele |last2=Schramm |first2=Matthias |last3=Spiller |first3=Achim |title=The Reliability of Certification: Quality Labels as a Consumer Policy Tool |journal=Journal of Consumer Policy |date=1 March 2005 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=53–73 |doi=10.1007/s10603-004-7298-6 |s2cid=154681347 |language=en |issn=1573-0700}}</ref>
* Various types of ratings, comparisons, third-party information, and ]s – including ]s
* ]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Horne |first1=Ralph E. |title=Limits to labels: The role of eco-labels in the assessment of product sustainability and routes to sustainable consumption |journal=International Journal of Consumer Studies |date=March 2009 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=175–182 |doi=10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00752.x |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rubik |first1=Frieder |last2=Frankl |first2=Paolo |title=The Future of Eco-labelling: Making Environmental Product Information Systems Effective |date=29 September 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-28079-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5G1QDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lusk |first1=Jayson L. |last2=Roosen |first2=Jutta |last3=Shogren |first3=Jason |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Food Consumption and Policy |date=8 September 2011 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-956944-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B3UUYFNnWbEC |language=en}}</ref> – such as ]s
* Information about ingredients
* Visual content
* Place/region and company of origin
* Estimated ]
* Safety information
* Nutrition information, mainly contained ]
}}
Many of these types of product information are regulated to some degree, such as to some degree prohibiting false or misleading product information or requiring sellers or manufacturers to specify various information such as ingredients of food-, pharmaceutical- and hygiene-products. There also is ]. Marketing to entice the shopper<ref name="978-0-262-03492-0"/> is often prioritized over accurate, high-quality or extensive and relevant information.


Product information is often a key element in the ]. Relevant factors include trust in the accuracy of the information and social normative pressure.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sayogo |first1=Djoko Sigit |last2=Zhang |first2=Jing |last3=Picazo-Vela |first3=Sergio |last4=Bahaddin |first4=Babak |last5=Luna-Reyes |first5=Luis |title=Understanding the Intention to Trust Product Information and Certifications to Promote Sustainable Consumption: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior |date=January 2018 |pages=5412–5421 |url=https://eprints.umm.ac.id/46626/ |publisher=University of Hawaii at Manoa |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rupprecht |first1=Christoph D. D. |last2=Fujiyoshi |first2=Lei |last3=McGreevy |first3=Steven R. |last4=Tayasu |first4=Ichiro |title=Trust me? Consumer trust in expert information on food product labels |journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology |date=1 March 2020 |volume=137 |pages=111170 |doi=10.1016/j.fct.2020.111170 |pmid=32014536 |s2cid=211025095 |language=en |issn=0278-6915|doi-access=free }}</ref> Easily accessible and up-to-date medicinal product information can contribute to the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Electronic product information: From principles to actions |url=https://www.efpia.eu/publications/downloads/regulatory-policy/electronic-product-information-from-principles-to-actions/ |website=www.efpia.eu |access-date=4 November 2022}}</ref> Online shopping is usually more informationally rich than shopping at physical stores traveled to and usually has higher comparability and customizability.<ref name="978-0-262-03492-0"/>
===Service types===
==National and international product classifications==
Various classification systems for products have been developed for economic statistical purposes. The ] (NAICS) classifies companies by their primary product. The European Union uses a "Classification of Products by Activity" among other product classifications.<ref>, ec.europa.eu.</ref> The United Nations also classifies products for international economic activity reporting.<ref>, unstats.un.org.</ref>


Production information-related developments can be useful for enabling, facilitating, or shifting towards ] and support more ]s. Environmental ] (LCA) has been widely used for to assess environmental impacts across the life cycle of products.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Troullaki |first1=Katerina |last2=Rozakis |first2=Stelios |last3=Kostakis |first3=Vasilis |title=Bridging barriers in sustainability research: Α review from sustainability science to life cycle sustainability assessment |journal=Ecological Economics |date=1 June 2021 |volume=184 |pages=107007 |doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107007 |s2cid=233550701 |language=en |issn=0921-8009|url=https://zenodo.org/record/5075694 }}</ref> There are ] that assess all products in some supermarkets in a standardized way.<ref>{{cite news |title=These are the UK supermarket items with the worst environmental impact |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2332392-these-are-the-uk-supermarket-items-with-the-worst-environmental-impact/ |access-date=14 September 2022 |work=New Scientist}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Michael |last2=Springmann |first2=Marco |last3=Rayner |first3=Mike |last4=Scarborough |first4=Peter |last5=Hill |first5=Jason |last6=Tilman |first6=David |last7=Macdiarmid |first7=Jennie I. |last8=Fanzo |first8=Jessica |last9=Bandy |first9=Lauren |last10=Harrington |first10=Richard A. |title=Estimating the environmental impacts of 57,000 food products |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=16 August 2022 |volume=119 |issue=33 |pages=e2120584119 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2120584119 |pmid=35939701 |pmc=9388151 |bibcode=2022PNAS..11920584C |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}</ref> Consumers may seek reliable ] relevant characteristics of products such as durability and reliability.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Levin |first1=Mark A. |last2=Kalal |first2=Ted T. |title=Improving Product Reliability: Strategies and Implementation |date=25 July 2003 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-86449-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORUgQAU18eAC |language=en}}</ref> Development of 'transparency by design' scenarios have been suggested to "complement the physical product with layers of digital information", improving transparency and traceability (T&T).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barata |first1=João |last2=da Cunha |first2=Paulo Rupino |title=Augmented product information: crafting physical-digital transparency strategies in the materials supply chain |journal=The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology |date=1 February 2021 |volume=112 |issue=7 |pages=2109–2121 |doi=10.1007/s00170-020-06446-9 |s2cid=234046442 |language=en |issn=1433-3015|hdl=10316/115189 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The app CodeCheck gives some smartphone users some capability to scan products for assessed ingredients.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mulka |first1=Angela |title=Apps for Earth Day: 5 options to keep your green goals |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Earth-Day-apps-eco-conscious-apps-17108115.php |website=SFGATE |access-date=26 May 2022 |date=21 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Frangoul |first1=Anmar |title=How tech is helping to change the way people think about the food on their plate |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/how-tech-is-helping-to-change-the-way-we-think-about-food.html |access-date=4 November 2022 |work=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> Many labels are considered to be flawed and few have the time to "study the true environmental impact of every purchase". Full product transparency is a concept of making the full life-cycle impacts public.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arratia |first1=Ramon |title=Full product transparency gives consumers more informed choices |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/full-product-transparency-life-cycle-consumers |access-date=4 November 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=18 December 2012 |language=en}}</ref> An important element that is required for various product information is ] transparency, which relates to human rights and ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mollenkopf |first1=Diane A. |author-link=Diane Mollenkopf |last2=Peinkofer |first2=Simone T. |last3=Chu |first3=Yu ( Jade) |date=June 2022 |title=Supply chain transparency: Consumer reactions to incongruent signals |url=https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/5262 |journal=Journal of Operations Management |language=en |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=306–327 |doi=10.1002/joom.1180 |issn=0272-6963 |s2cid=248198930}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Supply chain transparency, explained |url=https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/supply-chain-transparency-explained |website=MIT Sloan |access-date=4 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
The '''Aspinwall Classification System''' {{Fact|date=April 2007}} (Leo Aspinwall, 1958) classifies and rates products based on five variables:
# Replacement rate (How frequently is the product repurchased?)
# Gross margin (How much profit is obtained from each product?)
# Buyer goal adjustment (How flexible are the buyers' purchasing habits with regard to this product?)
# Duration of product satisfaction (How long will the product produce benefits for the user?)
# Duration of buyer search behaviour (How long will consumers shop for the product?)


===Produce traceability===
{{Excerpt|Produce traceability|paragraphs=1-2}}


===Product passports===
In the EU, under the renewed ], the inclusion of a ] has been proposed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/leading_way_global_circular_economy.pdf |title=Leading the way in the global circular economy |website=] |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.epc.eu/en/events/Digitalisation-for-a-circular-economy-A-driver~30dbd0 |title=Digitalisation for a circular economy |website=European Policy Centre |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> A ] is a document consisting of all the materials that are included in a product or construction. It consists of a set of data describing defined characteristics of materials in products, useful for recovery, ], re-use and various evaluations. They may contribute to a more ].


===Product information management===
==Notes and references==
{{Excerpt|Product information management|paragraphs=1}}

==See also==
* ]
* ]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}} {{Reflist|2}}


== See also == == Further reading ==
*{{cite book|title=Product Lifecycle Management: Volume 1: 21st Century Paradigm for Product Realisation|last=Stark|first=John|publisher=Springer|year=2015|isbn=978-3-319-17439-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyFHvgAACAAJ}}
* ] (NAPCS)
* ]


==External links==
]
*{{Wikiquote-inline|Merchandise}}
]
*{{Commons category-inline|Products}}
]
]
]


{{Authority control}}
]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Product (Business)}}
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Latest revision as of 06:48, 6 January 2025

Anything that can be offered to a market For other uses, see Product.
Products on shelves at a Fred Meyer hypermarket superstore

In marketing, a product is an object, or system, or service made available for consumer use as of the consumer demand; it is anything that can be offered to a domestic or an international market to satisfy the desire or need of a customer. In retailing, products are often referred to as merchandise, and in manufacturing, products are bought as raw materials and then sold as finished goods. A service is also regarded as a type of product.

In project management, products are the formal definition of the project deliverables that make up or contribute to delivering the objectives of the project.

A related concept is that of a sub-product, a secondary but useful result of a production process.

Dangerous products, particularly physical ones, that cause injuries to consumers or bystanders may be subject to product liability.

Product classification

Eurail, a type of rail pass for multiple journeys by train, an intangible product

A product can be classified as tangible or intangible. A tangible product is an actual physical object that can be perceived by touch such as a building, vehicle, gadget, or clothing. An intangible product is a product that can only be perceived indirectly such as an insurance policy. These services can be broadly classified under intangible products, which can be durable or nondurable.

By use

In its online product catalog, retailer Sears, Roebuck and Company divides its products into "departments", then presents products to potential shoppers according to (1) function or (2) brand. Each product has a Sears item number and a manufacturer's model number. Sears uses the departments and product groupings with the intention of helping customers browse products by function or brand within a traditional department-store structure.

By association

A product line is "a group of products that are closely related, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges." Many businesses offer a range of product lines which may be unique to a single organisation or may be common across the business's industry. In 2002 the US Census compiled revenue figures for the finance and insurance industry by various product lines such as "accident, health and medical insurance premiums" and "income from secured consumer loans". Within the insurance industry, product lines are indicated by the type of risk coverage, such as auto insurance, commercial insurance and life insurance.

National and international product classifications

Various classification systems for products have been developed for economic statistical purposes. The NAFTA signatories are working on a system that classifies products called NAPCS as a companion to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The European Union uses a "Classification of Products by Activity" among other product classifications. The United Nations also classifies products for international economic activity reporting.

The Aspinwall Classification System classifies and rates products based on five variables:

  1. Replacement rate (How frequently is the product repurchased?)
  2. Gross margin (How much profit is obtained from each product?)
  3. Buyer goal adjustment (How flexible are the buyers' purchasing habits with regard to this product?)
  4. Duration of product satisfaction (How long will the product produce benefits for the user?)
  5. Duration of buyer search behavior (How long will consumers shop for the product?)

The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) developed a commodity and services classification system for use by state and local governments, the NIGP Code. The NIGP Code is used by 33 states within the United States as well as thousands of cities, counties and political subdivisions. The NIGP Code is a hierarchical schema consisting of a 3 digit class, 5 digit class-item, 7 digit class-item-group, and an 11 digit class-item-group-detail. Applications of the NIGP Code include vendor registration, inventory item identification, contract item management, spend analysis, and strategic sourcing.

Product model

A manufacturer usually provides an identifier for each particular design of product they make, known as a model, model variant, or model number (often abbreviated as MN, M/N or model no., and sometimes as M- or Mk). For example, Dyson Ltd, a manufacturer of appliances (mainly vacuum cleaners), requires customers to identify their model in the support section of the website. Brand and model can be used together to identify products in the market. The model number is not necessarily the same as the manufacturer part number (MPN).

Because of the huge amount of similar products in the automotive industry, there is a special kind of defining a car with options (marks, attributes) that represent the characteristics features of the vehicle. A model of a car is defined by some basic options like body, engine, gearbox, and axles. The variants of a model (often called the trim levels) are built by some additional options like color, seats, wheels, mirrors, other trims, entertainment and assistant systems, etc. Options, that exclude each other (pairwise) build an option family. That means that you can choose only one option for each family and you have to choose exactly one option.

In addition, a specific unit of a product is often (and in some contexts must be) identified by a serial number, which is necessary to distinguish products with the same product definition. In the case of automotive products, it is called the vehicle identification number (VIN), an internationally standardised format.

Product information

See also: Product analysis

Product information, beyond currency price information, can include:

Many of these types of product information are regulated to some degree, such as to some degree prohibiting false or misleading product information or requiring sellers or manufacturers to specify various information such as ingredients of food-, pharmaceutical- and hygiene-products. There also is standardization. Marketing to entice the shopper is often prioritized over accurate, high-quality or extensive and relevant information.

Product information is often a key element in the buyer decision process. Relevant factors include trust in the accuracy of the information and social normative pressure. Easily accessible and up-to-date medicinal product information can contribute to the health literacy. Online shopping is usually more informationally rich than shopping at physical stores traveled to and usually has higher comparability and customizability.

Production information-related developments can be useful for enabling, facilitating, or shifting towards sustainable consumption and support more sustainable products. Environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely used for to assess environmental impacts across the life cycle of products. There are LCA datasets that assess all products in some supermarkets in a standardized way. Consumers may seek reliable information to evaluate relevant characteristics of products such as durability and reliability. Development of 'transparency by design' scenarios have been suggested to "complement the physical product with layers of digital information", improving transparency and traceability (T&T). The app CodeCheck gives some smartphone users some capability to scan products for assessed ingredients. Many labels are considered to be flawed and few have the time to "study the true environmental impact of every purchase". Full product transparency is a concept of making the full life-cycle impacts public. An important element that is required for various product information is supply chain transparency, which relates to human rights and supply chain sustainability.

Produce traceability

This section is an excerpt from Produce traceability.

Produce traceability makes it possible to track produce from its point of origin to a retail location where it is purchased by consumers.

Produce traceability is an important link in protecting public health since it allows health agencies to more quickly and accurately identify the source of contaminated fruit or vegetables believed to be the cause of an outbreak of foodborne illness, remove them from the marketplace, and communicate to the supply chain.

Product passports

In the EU, under the renewed Sustainable Product Policy Initiative, the inclusion of a Digital Product Passport has been proposed. A material passport is a document consisting of all the materials that are included in a product or construction. It consists of a set of data describing defined characteristics of materials in products, useful for recovery, recycling, re-use and various evaluations. They may contribute to a more circular economy.

Product information management

This section is an excerpt from Product information management.

Product information management (PIM) is the process of managing all the information required to market and sell products through distribution channels. This product data is created by an internal organization to support a multichannel marketing strategy. A central hub of product data can be used to distribute information to sales channels such as e-commerce websites, print catalogues, marketplaces such as Amazon and Google Shopping, social media platforms like Instagram and electronic data feeds to trading partners. Moreover, the significant role that PIM plays is reducing the abandonment rate by giving better product information.

  • wide array of products and/or complex product data set
  • frequently changing product characteristics
  • increasing number of sales channels
  • non-uniform information technology infrastructure (plethora of data sources and formats)
  • online business and electronic ordering
  • various locales and localization requirements
  • support SEO strategies of business

See also

References

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Further reading

External links

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