catalog interchange format (CIF)

The Catalog Interchange Format(CIF) is a special file format for the electronic exchange of catalogs between trading partners, i.e. manufacturers and retailers.

The CIF file format is a standardized file format that is freely available and can also be used to exchange contract information. It can also include details about the products, supplies and services. The CIF format is a de facto standard and was developed by Ariba in 1996 for electronic commerce, e-commerce.

The Catalog Interchange Format has a predefined structure in which the products are described, pricing is covered, part numbers are listed as well as links to the Internet addresses to the manufacturer's product page. In addition, the file format contains the classification for each commodity. The entire file structure consists of the file header, the user data and the trailer.