Toward a second generation of an automatic product coding system

3CE公司为客户提供半自动分类系统，从产品描述到相应的HS（协调制度）代码，用户只需提出最少的问题。 例如，从“瓷砖”开始，系统将询问它是“建筑物品”还是“地板覆盖物”，因为这将导致两个稍微不同的代码（69.03或69.05）。 或者从“chicken”开始，它会问它是否是活的，如果它是活的，它有多重，因为这些因素会影响最终的代码。 3CE的在线系统包含一个很好的用户界面，对进口商已经很有帮助，但3CE正在进一步扩大他们的业务并继续增长，为了做到这一点，在这个合作研究项目中，他们希望解决两个挑战。

The company 3CE offers to their clients, a semi-automatic classification system, which leads users with a minimal number of questions, from their product description to the appropriate HS (Harmonized System) code. For example, from "ceramic tiles", the system will ask whether it is a "constructional good" or a "floor covering" as these would lead to two slightly different codes (69.03 or 69.05). Or from "chicken" it will ask whether it is alive or not, and if it is alive how much does it weigh, as these factors will influence the resulting code. 3CE's online system contains a nice user interface and is already very helpful to importers, but 3CE is looking further to expand their business and continue growing, and for doing so, in this collaborative research project, they wish to address two challenges.