Products and goods are used as synonyms in common parlance. However, a good is something that is tangible in contrast with the services which are intangible. ... Anything, whether good or service offered in the market is a Product. Goods may be consumer goods or Industrial Goods.
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The terms ‘
products’, ‘
goods’ and ‘
materials’ are sometimes used as if they are interchangeable, however, there are differences between them determined by what they are made of, how they are finished and whether they are offered for sale. Unfortunately these differences are sometimes rather vague and are not consistently applied.
Very broadly the difference between
materials and
products is that:
However, this deceptively clear difference becomes more
complex when applied to
composite materials (such as
adhesives), to finished
materials (such as processed
timber), to unfinished
products, and so on. For example,
steel, whilst it has been processed, might be considered to be a
material, whilst a
steel beam, which is the same
material but in a different
form might be considered to be a
product.
A slightly broader definition of
materials as 'physical substances that things can be made from' excludes items such as
doors and
windows, but includes items such as processed
timber,
adhesives,
concrete, and so on.
However, the distinction is confused further by unhelpful definitions such as that in
Approved Document 7: materials and workmanship, which defines
materials as; ‘
manufactured products such as
components,
fittings, items of
equipment and
systems; naturally occurring
materials such as
stone,
timber and
thatch; and
backfilling for
excavations in connection with
building work.’ This would appear to include all the tangible items used in
construction works.
The term ‘
goods’ refers more generically to
possessions, or occasionally to merchandise that is sent by
land (rather than by air or
water). Other similar terms include ‘
commodities’, and ‘
supplies’.