Taxonomy Templates
The Template field is the foundational "scaffolding" for your taxonomy. It instantly populates your environment with a proven, multi-level classification hierarchy, allowing you to move from setup to analysis in minutes rather than weeks.
🚀 Accelerating Deployment
The primary role of a template is to provide immediate structure while embedding industry best practices:
- Eliminate Manual Entry: Instead of defining thousands of categories from scratch, a template automatically loads a complete hierarchy of Level 1 (Categories), Level 2 (Sub-Categories), and Level 3 (Commodities).
- Industry-Validated Models: Templates are based on global standards like UNSPSC or refined models derived from successful SpendCraft implementations within your specific sector.
- Global Standardization: Using a consistent base template across different business units (e.g., NA vs. EMEA) ensures that core definitions remain aligned for global consolidation.
🔗 The Industry Dependency
The options available in the Template dropdown are dynamically filtered based on your previously selected Industry:
- Strategic Filtering: If "Financial Services" is your industry, the system will only suggest templates optimized for banking and insurance (e.g., IT-Heavy Services Model), hiding irrelevant options like Heavy Machinery or Mining.
- Tailored Granularity: Industry-specific templates ensure depth where it matters most. A Manufacturing template will provide extreme detail in MRO and Raw Materials, while a Technology template prioritizes SaaS and Cloud Infrastructure.
🛠️ Customization & Flexibility
A template is a starting point, not a rigid constraint. Once loaded, you have full administrative control to refine the hierarchy:
| Feature | Capability |
|---|---|
| Refinement | Add unique rows for proprietary commodities or highly specific niche services. |
| Localization | Rename levels to match internal jargon or specific company cost center definitions. |
| Cleanup | Delete irrelevant classification paths that do not apply to your specific spend profile. |
| Validation | Use the template as a benchmark; if your needs vary significantly from the template, it may indicate a need to re-evaluate your Industry selection. |
Best Practice
Start with the most comprehensive template available for your industry. It is significantly easier to delete irrelevant categories than it is to manually build out new hierarchical paths later.