FAB-DIS: definition
FAB-DIS is the French product data exchange model used by manufacturers and distributors in the building and industrial supply sectors. Its current version, FAB-DIS 3.0, structures one file into thematic blocks: commercial, logistics, media, regulatory, variants, cross-references and ETIM data.
What version 3.0 changes
FAB-DIS 3.0 organises the model into twelve thematic blocks, with mandatory, conditional or optional fields depending on the type of item and sector. The mandatory foundation covers the file header, commercial data, logistics, media and regulatory information. The other blocks cover variants, substitutions, cross-references and ETIM features in particular. The model standardises the container and exchange rules; it does not create data that the manufacturer does not have.
What a FAB-DIS file contains
- The manufacturer’s identity and commercial references, mapped to GTIN/EAN codes;
- the ETIM codes for each reference: class and features;
- URLs for documents: technical data sheets, instructions and images;
- regulatory information, including WEEE, eco-contributions and eligibility data for incentive schemes.
FAB-DIS and ETIM are not the same thing
ETIM is the vocabulary — the classification and its features. FAB-DIS fills in the rows: it is the file that carries a manufacturer’s actual product data, expressed in that vocabulary among others. A distributor receives one FAB-DIS file per manufacturer; the file then serves every use case and is not specific to one project.
Practical pitfalls
FAB-DIS rows are linked to catalogue products using GTIN first, then the manufacturer reference as a fallback — but only when corroborated by the brand, because the same short reference can exist at several manufacturers. A gap is better than data from the wrong manufacturer. Other field realities include documents served without an explicit file extension, values outside official lists, and manufacturer images that sometimes appear before the websites are updated. In those cases, FAB-DIS data prevails.
Official sources
- FAB-DIS — overview of model 3.0;
- FAB-DIS — preamble to the official 3.0 guide;
- FAB-DIS — mandatory blocks in model 3.0.
Sources accessed on 15 July 2026.