Product code scheme — proposal

1. In short

Today every product has a code like BU121213. It is unique (mostly), but it tells you nothing: you cannot see from it that it is a Lune R 10W downlight in matt black at 3000 K. The proposal adds a second, readable code to every product code.

Today's BU121213 becomes RL-LNR010-MB30. Three promises:

1. Today's codes stay. BU121213 remains the permanent identifier for quote history and the future ERP. Nothing that already points at it breaks.
2. One to one. Each new code belongs to exactly one of today's codes, and the other way round. The new code is a readable name for the same product, not a new product.
3. Readable and sortable. The new code always has the same blocks in the same order and width, so a list sorts by category, then product, then wattage, then finish, then light colour.

Look up a code

Type one of today's codes to see the code the scheme would give it, block by block. Every one of today's codes in the workbook is here. The series codes and dictionaries are a draft: they become final only when you approve them, and a code marked pending waits on one of the decisions in §7.

2. The rule

• Blocks are separated by a hyphen and every block has a fixed width.
• Characters: the digits 0–9 and the capital letters A–Z except I and O. Because the letters I and O never appear, a round character is always zero and an upright stroke is always one, even handwritten or on a poor phone line.
• Length: 14 characters for most products, 18 when the beam is part of the code, 17 when a model is needed. The spec-sheet target of 18 is met by every code in the workbook today.
• Family code: the first two blocks alone (RL-LNR010) name the whole product family. Products quoted by family (no codes today) are quoted with this family code. A family code has two blocks, a product code three or more, so the two can never be confused.
• Codes are frozen once issued. If a finish is later renamed or a product moves category, its code does not change. A code is never reused for another product, even after a product is withdrawn.

Segment table

Reserved: XX / XXX = "not applicable or not stated"; AX = accessory; Z as the first character of a block = special or project-only version (never used by the catalogue); no new code ever starts with BU, so it cannot be mistaken for one of today's codes.

3. Ten sample families

Chosen to cover every shape the catalogue has. Four are families you named (Lune R 10W, Aglaia 12W IP66, Emergence I, Gisele 10W Diffused); six fill shapes your list did not cover (a beam per code, an optic chosen on the quote line, a colour product, accessories, a family without codes, an LED driver). The other six families you named are in Appendix B.

3.1 Lune R 10W — a simple recessed downlight (finish × CCT)

Ceiling Recessed Trimless · IP20 · one beam for the whole family (24°), so the beam is not in the code. Family code RL-LNR010 · 12 codes.

3.2 Extense S 7W — the beam is part of each code

Ceiling Recessed Trimless · IP20 · each code has its own beam (15°, 24° or 35°), so the code gets the beam block. This is the longest shape: 18 characters. Family code RL-EXS007 · 9 codes.

3.3 Martine 8W — the optic is chosen on the quote line

Ceiling Recessed Trimless · IP20 · the workbook lists optics 15°/24°/36° for the family but gives one code per finish and CCT, not one per optic. The code therefore has no beam block; the visitor picks the optic on the quote line, and the quote shows it next to the code (for example RL-MRT008-TW30 · optic 24°). Whether each optic should get its own code is a question for the client (§7). Family code RL-MRT008 · 6 codes.

3.4 Aglaia 24W RGBW IP66 — a colour product

Exterior · IP66 · one beam for the family (30°). The light block holds the colour (RW = RGBW) instead of a Kelvin value. The white-light Aglaia 24W IP66 also exists at 24 W, so the colour line gets its own series code (AGC, not AGL): that is how the scheme keeps two families with the same name and wattage apart. Family code EX-AGC024 · 2 codes.

3.5 Aglaia 12W IP66 — an exterior IP66 product

Exterior · IP66 · one beam for the family (24°). Family code EX-AGL012 · 6 codes.

3.6 BU1616T — a profile with accessories

Profile System · the profile itself has no code in the workbook; its two codes are accessories (an end cap and a bracket). Accessories use the reserved category AX, followed by the parent profile's product block and a four-letter block: accessory type (EC end cap, BR bracket) + finish (WH white, XX not stated). Profiles have no wattage, so the number is a running number (001). Family code PR-PRF001 · 2 accessory codes.

3.7 Led Track Light Fixed 60W — a family without codes

Industrial · IP20 · 60 W · no codes in the workbook; staff assign the exact code when quoting. The optics (30°/60°/90°/120°/PC Diff/Double Asym) are chosen on the quote line. The family is quoted with its family code ND-LTF060. Its sister, Led Track Light Double 60W, would be ND-LTD060.

No product codes: the family code is the only code.

3.8 Emergence I — an emergency light that needs the model block

Emergency Lights · IP54 · all nine codes are White, 6500 K, with no beam — finish and light cannot tell them apart (the workbook flags this family as ambiguous). The model block keeps every code distinct. Today the difference only lives inside the old code (the "Model" column shows that part); until the client names what LFP, CV, CS, RF, FB and PL03/05/10 mean, the model block is a plain running number. The name has no wattage, so the number block is a running number (001, which also matches the "I" in the name). Family code EM-EMG001 · 9 codes.

3.9 60W IP20 — an LED driver

LED Drivers · IP20 · no codes in the workbook. The family code uses the driver's rated wattage: DR-DRV060. The other drivers would be DR-DRV100, DR-DRV150 and DR-DRV200.

No product codes: the family code is the only code.

3.10 Gisele 10W Diffused — a magnetic-track product with a missing code

Magnetic System · IP20 · one beam for the family (120°). The workbook has a 3000 K row with no code, so today that version cannot be sold on the site. The scheme can name it (MG-GSD010-TB30), but the code stays reserved — not shown — until the client confirms the product exists and gives it one of today's codes (or agrees that the new code is enough). Family code MG-GSD010 · 2 codes + 1 reserved.

4. Edge cases and how the scheme handles them

5. What would change on the site

Only what people see. Data, links and the ERP key stay as they are.

• Product page: the picker shows the new code large (with the copy button) and today's code just under it as "Ref. BU121213". The "All codes in this family" table gets both columns.
• Search and links: searching either code, or opening ?code= with either code, finds the product.
• Quote list, request emails, PDFs and CSV export: every line shows both codes. Each request's snapshot stores both, so a sent request always shows the codes it was sent with.
• Families without codes: the quote line shows the family code ("DR-DRV060 · exact code assigned by Búho").
• wp-admin: staff see both codes on every request and message.
• Not changed: today's code stays the WooCommerce SKU and the permanent key for the ERP and quote history; URLs, filters and datasheets stay as they are (the datasheet PDFs show today's codes until the client reissues them).

6. How we would get there

1. You approve the rule (this page), then the client approves it.
2. The lead prepares the dictionaries — 16 category codes, one series code per product line, the finish list, the colour list and the beam list — and the client approves them.
3. The importer generates a new code for every one of today's codes and checks them all: every code unique, every code at most 18 characters, nothing that looks like an old code. Anything it cannot code (an unknown finish, a duplicated old code, a missing code) goes on the client's fix list, like the import issues today.
4. The approved codes are frozen in a registry file in the repository (old code ↔ new code, plus the family codes). From then on, a re-import never changes an issued code; only new products get new codes.
5. The site shows both codes (§5). A dry run on staging first, then live.
6. The client starts using the new codes in its own price lists, datasheets and packaging, at its own pace.
7. The ERP connects on today's codes. Switching the ERP to the new code as its main key can be decided later; the registry makes that a lookup, not a migration.

7. Decisions needed

For Ibrahim

1. Approve the shape CC-SSSNNN-FFLL[-BBB][-MM], including the category at the front. Recommended: yes — it makes lists sort by category and reads well on a spec sheet.
2. Which code leads on the site: the new code large with "Ref. BU…" under it (recommended), or today's code first until the client has adopted the new one.
3. Accessories: own AX category block (recommended — an accessory code can never be mistaken for a light), or the parent profile's category.

For the client

4. The finish list: are "Text White" and "Textured White" the same finish (both would be TW)? Same for "Text Black"/"Textured Black". Some finish names also hold an IP rating or a wattage ("… (White Reflector) IP44", "ss316 front cover 36W"), and there are typos ("Snad Grey"). The clean list decides the finish codes.
5. Optics chosen on the quote line (11 families today, e.g. Martine 8W): keep one code per finish × CCT and the optic on the quote line (recommended — matches today's codes one to one), or give each optic its own code.
6. The 16 ambiguous families: what really tells their codes apart (e.g. Emergence I: LFP, CV, CS, RF, FB, PL03/05/10)? The answer replaces the running-number model block with a meaningful one.
7. Missing codes (e.g. Gisele 10W Diffused 3000K): does the product exist, and should it get one of today's codes?
8. The 43 codes used by two or more families: which family owns each code?
9. Series codes for products whose name is only a number (drivers "60W IP20", profiles "BU1616T"): accept DRV / PRF with a number, or propose names.
10. Using the new codes outside the site (datasheets, price lists, packaging) — and from when.

Appendix A — technical details

A.1 Grammar

product code : ^[A-HJ-NP-Z]{2}-[0-9A-HJ-NP-Z]{3}[0-9]{3}-[0-9A-HJ-NP-Z]{4}(-[0-9A-HJ-NP-Z]{3})?(-[0-9]{2})?$
family code  : ^[A-HJ-NP-Z]{2}-[0-9A-HJ-NP-Z]{3}[0-9]{3}$

• Upper case only; input is normalised (trim, upper-case, Unicode dashes → -) before lookup.
• Within a family every code (accessories apart) has the same blocks: either all codes have a beam block or none; either all have a model block or none.
• The beam block (3 characters) and the model block (2 digits) differ in width, so a parser always knows which is which.

A.2 Category codes

The category block records the category when the code is issued; moving a product later does not change its code.

A.3 Dictionaries used in the samples

• Finishes: MW Matt White · MB Matt Black · PW Polish White · PB Polish Black · TW Text/Textured White · TB Text/Textured Black · TG Text Grey · WH White · BK Black · GY Grey · WB White body / Black reflector · RW / RC / RS Textured White with White / Chrome / Silver reflector · XX none. Guidance for the full list: first letter = treatment (M matt, P polished, T textured, S sand, G gun), second = colour (W white, B black, G grey); plain colours get a two-letter colour code; two-tone and special finishes get a dictionary code. The workbook has 83 raw finish values today; after the client's cleanup (decision 4) we expect roughly 45–50 codes.
• Light: 27 30 35 40 50 60 65 (Kelvin ÷ 100) · RG RGB · RW RGBW · RD Red · GN Green · BL Blue · XX none. Other colour names in the workbook ("Red & pink", "Light Green", "Nattier Blue") get codes once the client confirms them.
• Beam: degrees as three digits (008, 015, 024, 120) · E24 20×40° · E26 20×60° · A15/A30/A45 asymmetric · XXX none.
• Accessory types: EC end cap · BR bracket (more as the client supplies them: clip, connector, cover, diffuser…).
• Series used here: LNR Lune R · EXS Extense S · MRT Martine (recessed/surface) · MRM Martine (magnetic) · AGL Aglaia · AGC Aglaia RGB/RGBW · PRF aluminium profiles · LTF / LTD Led Track Light Fixed / Double · EMG Emergence · DRV LED drivers · GSD Gisele Diffused · RBM Orbit Moon S · PCP PCP Profile · SLA Solar (IP44) · SLR Solar R · FAB Fabio · TRA Terra. Series codes are assigned by hand once, then frozen.

A.4 Checks run on the real workbook (27 October 2026)

• The 88 sample codes (49 in §3, 39 in Appendix B) are all unique, all match the grammar, and the longest is 18 characters.
• None of the 1,954 SKU rows (1,885 distinct codes) in the workbook matches the new grammar, so an old code can never be read as a new one, and search can tell them apart by shape.
• 41 groups of families share the same collection and wattage (Lune 5/7/10/18/30 W, Aglaia and Phantom white vs RGBW, Neo Flex 8 W in six sizes, Maigre 40 W in seven versions…). That is why the series code names the product line, not the collection, and why the registry, not a formula, gives out series codes.

A.5 Storage and display (when built)

• Today's code stays in the WooCommerce variation SKU (_sku) — the ERP key.
• New meta: _buho_code on each variation (unique), _buho_family_code on each product. Written only by the importer, from the registry.
• Registry file data/code-registry.php (in git): families (family key → family code), codes (old code → new code) and reserved codes. The importer refuses any change to an issued pair; it only adds.
• Generation (for new products): category from the sheet, series from the registry (a new product line needs a series code first), wattage from the title, finish/light/beam from the dictionaries, model only when the family is ambiguous. An unknown dictionary value or a block collision is an import error for that family (new issue codes such as CODE_UNMAPPED_FINISH, CODE_COLLISION), like today's duplicate-SKU errors.
• Search, the picker (?code=), the quote list snapshot, the PDF, emails, CSV and the ERP REST read both codes. data-no-translation applies to the new code as to today's.

Appendix B — the other families you named

All codes of the six remaining families from your list, to show the scheme on products you know.

Orbit I Moon S 15W IP65

Wall Surface · family code WS-RBM015

PCP Profile 30W IP20

Suspended · family code SU-PCP030

Solar 25W IP44

Industrial · family code ND-SLA025. The three finishes differ only in the reflector, so the finish codes name the reflector (RW, RC, RS).

Martine 4W

Ceiling Surface · family code CS-MRT004

Fabio 12W

Track Light · family code TR-FAB012

Terra 48W Adj

Inground Lamp · family code GR-TRA048. No finish in the workbook, so the finish half is XX. Today's codes end in "-Adj"; the new code does not need it, because every Terra family is adjustable.