Since different departments in a company work with the same material, but each department uses different information on the material, the data in a material master record is subdivided by user department. This is illustrated in the following graphic representation:

The industry material master contains the following user departments:

When you access a material master record, the user departments that you selected in the Select View(s) dialog box are indicated by an icon in the tab index. Once you have accessed the user department, this icon changes its appearance to remind you which user departments you have already accessed in the current transaction.

By choosing Information on material on any of the main or additional screens, you can display the following information:

• Industry sector and material type

• Whether the material is flagged for deletion, at what organizational level, when it was flagged for deletion, and by whom

• Person who created and/or last changed the user department data, at what organizational level, and when

Even more detailed information is available in change documents. For more information, see:

The following fields appear in each user department:

• Material description

• Base unit of measure

This information is mandatory and identical for all departments. Consult with the other users to decide what you are going to enter here.