It can sometimes be necessary to temporarily block an article for subsequent transactions such as purchase orders or sales. For example, it can be necessary to temporarily block the purchase of an article from a particular vendor if the vendor is currently delivering poor quality. Likewise, it can be necessary to temporarily block the sale of an article if it is spoiled, broken, or damaged.

The article status and the sales status have been created in Customizing for the Article Master in Define Article Statuses and Define Sales Statuses respectively. These statuses determine how an article is handled in different applications and in business transactions; in particular, they define whether a warning or an error message is displayed if you include the article in a particular function.

Since it is often necessary to block an article for different areas of validity (such as distribution centers, distribution chains, stores, or vendors) and not for the whole company, articles can be blocked at different levels. The system cannot help you decide which.