An industrial buyer filtering for a stainless screw needs to know both what it is made from and which strength class the supplier specifies. If your catalog reduces A2-70 to "stainless steel," that buyer loses a useful selection detail. If an import labels every A2 screw A2-70, it creates a claim the supplier may never have made. Keep the material grade, property class and stated fastener standard in separate fields, while retaining the original designation.
Key takeaways
Preserve the full supplier designation, then separate material grade, property class and finish into useful catalog fields.
Leave an unstated class unconfirmed. Common supplier practice is not evidence for every item.
Keep the named standard and any applicable condition with the product. A shared alloy name does not establish equivalent fasteners.
Separate material grade from property class
For a screw described as A2-70, A2 identifies the stainless steel grade and 70 identifies its property class, which describes mechanical properties such as tensile strength. Bossard's current BN 610 page lists stainless steel and A2 separately, then describes class 70 as the commercial quality for its A2 and A4 screws. It also says the applicable product standard defines the screw's strength. That is useful supplier guidance, not permission to fill every missing class with 70. Bossard BN 610
The catalog needs enough structure to answer a practical question: can the buyer filter for A2 screws with a stated class of 70? A single "grade" field containing A2, 70, 304 and bright makes that difficult. Those entries describe different things. Give the material and property class separate labels, and keep a finish such as bright in its own field.
Also preserve standards exactly as the supplier states them. ISO 3506-1 covers mechanical and physical properties for specified stainless steel bolts, screws and studs. It does not set torque/clamp-force or shear-strength requirements. A property class alone therefore cannot supply those missing catalog values. ISO 3506-1 public scope
This is a catalog-editing workflow. An engineer or qualified supplier still needs to determine whether a fastener is suitable for a particular joint or application.
Start with the exact item rather than the product family
KIPP's US page for K0869.106X16 provides a useful example. Its selected-item details list stainless steel A2, grade 70, a bright finish and an M6 thread. The same page's broader description mentions both A2-70 and A4-70 versions. If an import reads only that shared description, it could incorrectly give the A2 item an A4 material value. KIPP K0869.106X16
A compact record for that example would keep these facts apart:
| Catalog field | Source-backed value |
|---|---|
| Supplier item | K0869.106X16 |
| Material family | Stainless steel |
| Stainless steel grade | A2 |
| Property class | 70 |
| Surface finish | Bright |
| Supplier-stated product standard | DIN EN ISO 4762 |
Keep the source URL and check date with the record. The table is an example of how to represent that item, not a complete purchasing specification. Do not add ISO 3506-1 as a product-level conformity claim simply because you used its terminology to design your fields.
When selected-item details conflict with a downloadable sheet or another supplier record, retain both statements for review. The specific-looking source may still be outdated. Resolve the discrepancy before using it in a filter or product description. The same exact-item check belongs in your supplier spec-sheet extraction workflow.
Keep an alloy label separate from a fastener specification
The same problem appears in inch-series stainless bolts. A supplier may describe a bolt as type 304 stainless steel, ASTM A193 Grade B8, or ASTM F593 Group 1. Those descriptions should not become synonyms in a normalization rule. Portland Bolt explains that the named fastener specifications add requirements beyond ordering by material alone, including marking and testing requirements. Portland Bolt on stainless bolt differences
Suppose a file says only "304 stainless hex bolt." Keep that material description. Do not create an F593 filter value because 304 appears in F593's alloy groups. If a buyer explicitly needs an F593 item, the catalog should distinguish the confirmed records from records awaiting supplier evidence.
The reverse shortcut also fails. Portland Bolt's F593 summary lists several alloys in Group 1 and says the manufacturer can select an alloy within a group unless the purchaser requests one. A record that says only "F593 Group 1" does not, by itself, identify its exact alloy as 304. The summary also separates condition, marking and diameter range. Preserve the supplier's complete designation rather than reducing all F593 items to one generic strength value. Portland Bolt F593 specification summary
A mapping rule should preserve what the supplier actually claims. Keep evidence for a standard distinct from a material attribute, just as you would keep certification claims tied to the product they cover.
Test the filters with a missing value
Before applying a new mapping rule to thousands of items, try three small records. Suppose one supplier explicitly states A2-70, another states A4-70, and a third states only A2.
| Supplier wording | Material grade | Property class |
|---|---|---|
| A2-70 | A2 | 70 |
| A4-70 | A4 | 70 |
| A2 | A2 | Unconfirmed |
An A2 material filter should find the first and third records. Adding a confirmed class-70 requirement should leave only the first. If the third still appears, check whether the mapping filled the blank from a default or a family-level description.
Check the product title and comparison table too. A title generator should not turn the third record into an "A2-70 screw," even if that wording is common in other listings. Ask the supplier for the missing class and keep the request attached to the item. An unresolved value means your evidence is incomplete; it does not prove the fastener lacks the property.
Repeat this check after a supplier refresh. A new spreadsheet can replace a previously detailed description with a shorter one. Your team needs to decide whether the older evidence still applies, rather than silently treating the new blank as confirmation or permission to erase a verified value.
Questions catalog teams ask
What should A2 and 70 mean in separate catalog fields?
For an A2-70 screw, store A2 as the stainless steel grade and 70 as the property class. Retain A2-70 as the supplier's complete designation so the separated values remain easy to check. Bossard BN 610
Can we assign class 70 when a supplier says only A2?
Do not assign it from the material label alone. Find evidence that covers the exact item or applicable supplier range. Bossard describes class 70 as common commercial quality, but that statement should not become a default for unrelated supplier products. Bossard BN 610
Does a 304 stainless description establish ASTM F593?
No. A material description does not establish the testing, marking and other requirements of the fastener specification. Keep ASTM F593 unconfirmed until supporting supplier evidence covers the product. Portland Bolt on stainless bolt differences
Does F593 Group 1 tell us the exact alloy is 304?
No. Group 1 includes multiple alloys. Record 304 only when the product evidence identifies it, rather than deriving it from the group number. Portland Bolt F593 specification summary
Should bright finish share a field with A2 or class 70?
Give finish its own field. KIPP's example lists bright separately from stainless steel A2 and grade 70. Keeping those values apart lets a buyer combine filters without treating a surface description as a material or strength designation. KIPP product details
Can the property class fill in tightening torque or shear strength?
Do not derive those values from the class alone. ISO 3506-1's public scope excludes torque/clamp-force properties and shear strength. Use applicable product or engineering documentation for those separate claims. ISO 3506-1 public scope
How this gets done in Merchkit
Buyers need filters based on supported fastener facts, and your team needs to know where each value came from. Bring a small supplier sample to a Merchkit demo to check how much of the repeated cleanup and review work you can simplify:
Keep the exact supplier item and its source wording together, so reviewers can check the record without searching the original file again.
Separate material, class and finish with a reusable mapping, then test incomplete descriptions before applying it more widely. Check how much repeated spreadsheet cleanup the mapping removes.
Review missing or conflicting values before approving copy. Confirm how the workflow preserves unconfirmed values rather than treating a filled field as proof.
Compare the approved fields with the resulting titles, filters and product pages or retailer feeds. Reusing approved facts should reduce retyping without adding a standard or strength claim.
Book a demo using your fastener catalog to see which steps fit your supplier data and review process.
