What is an IMPA code and how do you search by it?

What is an IMPA code?

An IMPA code is a six-digit number that identifies one exact item in the Marine Stores Guide (MSG), the catalogue of ship stores published by the International Marine Purchasing Association (IMPA). IMPA was formed in 1978, and the six-digit format has stayed the same for about forty years. Buyers and sellers often use "IMPA code" as a short name for the whole system.

The guide describes each code as tied to one individual description. That is the point of it: a purchaser in one country and a supplier in another can name the same item without sharing a language or a brand. IMPA states that the Guide lists more than 50,000 products, and its FAQ refers to 34 categories. The printed Guide appears roughly every five years (the 7th edition in 2018, the 8th more recently), while the electronic data is updated every six months.

How do you read the six digits (SS GG II)?

Read the code as three pairs: section, group, item. The first pair (SS) is the category, the second pair (GG) is the product family inside that category, and the third pair (II) is the specific item, normally one size, material or specification.

The public descriptions of the code system agree on this general layout, but the pair boundaries are not spelled out on IMPA's own web pages. Treat the group and item pairs as a way to read a code, and always confirm the exact item from its written description in the Guide or in current catalogue data. The first two digits are reliable for the category: Rope & Hawsers sits in section 21, Safety Equipment in 33, Hand Tools in 61, Valves & Cocks in 75.

Why is one code exactly one item?

One code identifies one fully specified item, so every size, material, colour or rating of a product has its own code. Codes next to each other usually belong to the same product family but are not interchangeable.

For example, a range of straight stainless shackles runs through consecutive item numbers as the pin diameter increases. A 12 mm shackle and a 14 mm shackle are two codes, even though the product looks the same in a photo. Likewise a boilersuit in medium and in large, or in white and in blue, are separate codes.

Two practical consequences follow:

• Never round a code to its "nearby" number. A neighbouring code is a different size or specification.
• If the size you need has no code, do not force the closest one. Describe the item in words, with dimensions, and ask the supplier what they can offer.

The unit of measure belongs to the code as well. Rope is typically listed per coil and pipe per length, so a code tells you what one ordered unit is. See the guide on units of measure in marine procurement.

How do you search a catalogue by IMPA code?

Type the six digits with no spaces or dots into the catalogue search box, then check that the name and size shown match your requisition. A code search returns the item that carries that number, so the description is your proof that you typed the right digits. The same code can appear as more than one listing when more than one supplier offers it.

1. Copy the code from your stores list or requisition exactly. Transposed or dropped digits point to a different item.
2. If the code is five digits long, do not add a zero in front on your own. A missing digit usually means a copying error, and padding it can file the item under the wrong section.
3. Compare the returned description, size and unit with your list.
4. If nothing returns, search by product name and size, for example a mooring rope search, and read the descriptions.

You can also browse the catalogue by category when you only know the product family.

What if you only have a supplier part number?

A manufacturer or supplier part number is a different identifier from an IMPA code, and the two do not convert directly. Many spare parts of a branded machine are ordered by the maker's own part number and have no IMPA code at all, so searching them by IMPA number will find nothing.

What to send instead:

• the manufacturer, model and the part number printed on the item or in the instruction book;
• the machine or equipment name with its serial number where the parts book asks for it;
• the description, dimensions and quantity, with the unit;
• a photo of the part or its nameplate if you have one.

Some products carry both numbers. In that case give both, and say which one governs if they ever disagree. Do not guess an IMPA code from a name: a wrong guess delivers a wrong item with a correct-looking code.

Can you use IMPA codes without a licence?

Searching and quoting a code in a purchase request is ordinary practice. The codes themselves are copyrighted, and IMPA offers a Data Licence (an Excel or CSV file of the full catalogue with images, with separate versions for ship owners and managers and for suppliers) to organisations that load the codes into their own systems. A catalogue that shows an IMPA code is therefore a convenience for identification, not the authoritative record. When an item matters, check the description against the current Guide.

What should you put on an RFQ line?

Put the IMPA code first, then the full description, the unit and the quantity, one line per item. For example: code, "Mooring rope, size as listed", unit CL, quantity 2. If the line has no code, leave that field blank and write the dimensions, material and brand or standard instead.

This is how a request for quotation (RFQ) should be built in ShipsBay too: pick items from the catalogue, collect them in the RFQ cart, or send your list as a document if you already have one. Quotes are given per request, so check each line's code, size and unit when the quotation arrives.