Category Explorer is a feature that allows you to browse for items within your hosted catalogues by product category code. This method works well if you do not know details about what you want to order. For example you may not know the item’s actual name, manufacturer or the supplier. All items in all your supplier catalogues have been coded with a product classification code (e.g. UNSPSC).

All items in all catalogues that you have access to are grouped in the Category Explorer by Product Category Code. The product category code is hierarchical with the top level code being displayed. To search for an item using the Explorer you “drill down” through the levels of the hierarchy. There can be up to five different levels of categorisation within each category and items can be categorised to any of these five levels.

3.5.1 Using Catalogue Explorer

1. Click the Item Search tab to open the PECOS P2P search page.
2. In the Left Navigation panel click ‘Category Search’.
3. To search for an item, scroll and select the appropriate category:
   • Categories with an expand symbol  indicate that they have additional subcategories. Click to expand the folder  and open the next level of subcategory.
   • Click the collapse symbol  to collapse a category back one level.
4. When the folder icons  change into a document indicator icon  this signifies that there are items coded to this category level.
5. Clicking on the document indicator icon  will invoke a search for all items that are coded to this category.
6. Category search results will display.
7. Review and filter results and select an item by typing the desired quantity in the Qty field.
8. Click the Add button to add the item(s) to your shopping basket.